Has anyone ever tried taking a sculpt, molding it in silicone and using latex as a casting product?
I ask this as I have had mixed concerns over doing this as the "latex" might, could or "would" slowly break down the silicone mold.
I know ultracal is the go to molding medium here because of its water wicking properties but ..... degregation of detail is quickly lost through multiple pulls. Tiny small detail areas tend to snap off and eventually ruin the mold.
My thought is .... even if the mold does not last but 10 or 12 pulls, all final product pulls would remain hi def.
Thoughts??
Hi Mardik,
Just wanted to share my thoughts..I'm a total noob, but from what I've learned so far these past few months I've been doing my project, I also think Ultracal is really bothersome to work with too. It is a God send, true, but, it is so damn heavy, and I've only pulled 2 latex masks so far but already I'm patching heaps of cracks and chips.. It is no surprise that more advanced casters/moulders would choose Silicone with a fibreglass/resin backing. Weighs almost nothing compared to ultracal, and Wreav could tell you (and just by looking at his plethora of resin casts) and attest that even after 10-12 pulls of resin busts, it will remain as hi-def as ever.
Personally, I've got a silicone mould for my dreads, I've pulled 42 currently, and though i'm just pulling Polyurethane foam out of it, I can tell you with all honesty, they're still as hi-def as when I made them.
Not 100% sure, but someone told me that Silicone and latex don't 'mix' well, and I would think that pouring latex as a casting product is not sucha good idea either. I've discovered that when I made my lasks, 'pooled' latex about 2-3mm thick takes ages and ages to dry. Baking it in an oven or using a blow dryer might hasten it a bit, but thick pools of latex is a pain to work with, not to mention the shrinking..ugh
Alphatech (Jeff Shimek, one of my idols! ;P) uses a red substance/mixture, which I would surmise is a form of Silicone on his sculpts to cast, then back it up with fibreglass. His last few posts about his topknot build, he used this same process for the head, and then he poured ecoflex(IIRC). Again, I don't remember if he did say what the red mixture was, but if it is silicone, he's actually pouring Silicone (Ecoflex is a platinum-catalyzed silicone) into a silicone mould. That's a lot of Silicone.
Just my 2 cents, again, just basing it off on my experiences.. Hope it helps somehow, cheers!
