Cheep casting material?

[jason1976]

Ok, thanks to a number of our members, and two threads currently up, we know about the very affordable method of mold making using Silicone Caulk, babylax, and acrylic paint.

Which really does work. I've only tried it once so far, and I didn't use enough babylax, so it took a week to dry completely, but it did produce a very, very nice mold.

Now what do we put in our nice new cheep molds. I mean we've just saved a fortune on silicone, but resin, etc, is still outrages, so what can we us in it that might be as cheep, and easy avalable. Something we might find at a hard ware store, or other commonly found store.

I myself need to do 1) a mask so something I could brush, or slush around the mold, and would dry to a somewhat then, but durable sell would be great. and 2) a bunch of regular solid castings, like you would normally use something like resin for. (like jedi pouches.)

Thoughts, comments, etc. welcome.

 

[robn1]

Fiberglass?

Rob

 

[jason1976]

Fiberglass?

Rob

HHHMMM, where do I get it? how do I use it? how affordable is it? etc.

 

[exoray]

Fiberglass?

Rob

Beware that fiberglass resin needs the glass fiber, without it the resin is extremely brittle... It also is designed to be layered not cast...

 

[stapleton13]

You can also Cast using Liquid Latex. It can be brushed on in layers then lay plaster bandage or Fiberglass over it for a mother mold. There is a brand of Latex called pour a mold liquid latex that can make a mold for a few castings. I did a storm trooper helmet once, and I got 5 0r 6 castings out of it. The mold was about 20.00, and the castings were 10 or so dollars a piece. Fiberglass works well, But You do have to use glass cloth or matt. With some practice you can create some fairly nice reproductions this way. You can find quart containers of fiberglass resin at wal-mart for around 10.00, and cloth or matt is just a couple of dollars extra.

 

[jason1976]

Awesome, so I use it a bit like paper mashay (or how ever you spell that ) Just dip the coth, in the fiberglass solution, and press it into the mold? Something like that?

What section of Wal-mart would I find this in? Auto, craft, hardware? (sorry don't meen to soul like an idiot, but I've spent WAY to much time on past projects walking around looking for stuff that was supposed to be easy to find, and in the end, often never fining them. lol)

If I use this with my silicone mold, sould I use a mold releaser, and if so, what should I use?

BTW, thanks for the help gang.

 

[Aluke123]

Be warned: Working with fiberglass resin without proper protection is dangerous. It will give you chemical burns on your skin, and if inhaled does very bad things to your lungs.

 

[exoray]

Awesome, so I use it a bit like paper mashay (or how ever you spell that ) Just dip the coth, in the fiberglass solution, and press it into the mold? Something like that?

In theory yes, but it's not that easy...

You have give or take 5 minutes (maybe 10) once you mix the resin, and from that point there are two commonly used techniques to apply it to the fabric... One like you said above drip and lay... The other that I prefer is to brush the resin into the mold, then lay the fabric down and using a brush with the bristles cut to about half length (so it's stiffer) I press and push the fabric into the layer of brushed resin and if needed brush on a little more resin so that the fabric is all coated... This technique is a little more controllable and easier to pop air bubbles... Or use a combo of both techniques... Once problem you will find with the dip and lay method is that it's hard to control the amount of resin, more is not better in this case the fabric is what gives it strength... Too much resin and it gets brittle...

Remember you only get that 5 minutes or so after mixing the resin before it starts to kick and it's one messy, messy project wear gloves and cover everything in the surrounding area with paper... Also have a container of acetone handy so if and when you get it on yourself or something else you can wipe it up... All the pans, brushes and gloves or anything else that touches the resin should be disposable it;s not worth cleaning... That means new gloves and brushes every 5 minutes with each batch mixed... You can drop the brush in acetone and keep it alive for a bit longer but I find this much more of a hassle then just grabbing a new one...

What section of Wal-mart would I find this in?

Auto

If I use this with my silicone mold, sould I use a mold releaser, and if so, what should I use?

Since you are using cheap make shift silicone, yep I highly suggest it... And since you are into the cheap use Vaseline for the mold release, heat it a little with a hair dryer and then brush it on the mold...

And one last word of advice after you struggle with this stuff and if you every actually purchase the 'good' stuff you will understand why it cost more...

And as said above fiberglass in not the most healthy thing to play with without precautions being taken...

 

[nick daring]

Cast in plaster bandages. Cheap and easy.

Fiberglassing is a pretty intense procedure.

Nick

 

[robn1]

I'm sorry my previous post was so vague, I didn't mean to confuse you :$
By saying fiberglass, I of course meant glass cloth. There seems to be
some confusion with terminology here, I see it in car stereo mags all the
time. Fiberglass, glass etc., is the cloth. The cloth is coated with resin.
Car audio builders are always saying they "...coated the cloth with glass..."
when they should say they coated the glass with resin :lol

Everyone is right about the safety cautions, it's nasty stuff. If you use
polyester resin, epoxy is much more friendly. I've used it, it doesn't stink
nearly as bad. And it's available with longer working times. The 12 hour
cure variety gives you about 30 min. before it's too thick to spread. It's a
long time to wait to demold, but I like being able to take my time with the
layup.

Custom car audio installs, like in CAR AUDIO magazine, give some great
tips on doing this. Just watch out for the terminology

Rob

 

[stapleton13]

I also should have mentioned its toxic qualities. Working with fiberglass, and resin can be nasty. The smell is bad:sick, and bad for you. also getting it on your skin can also be no fun:cry. I just know that if done right you can create a nice casting that has strength, and is light for less $$$

 

[jason1976]

HM,. I just remembered that I tried to take in a panel on working with "fiberglass" at the last Marcon here in Ohio. I thought it would be easy, but after standing around as they went on, and on, and on about the steps it does seem very complicated.

See were I live I have plenty of hardware stores, and stores like Wal-mart, and Meijers, but very few "Hobby" shops, and the ones we do have have very bad resin, in very small amounts, for very big money.

I need to be able to get it easy, and in large amounts, and cheep is a very big plus for me.

I'm trying to get one of my things done by x-mass, and I don't have any time to order something, and have time to work with it once it gets here.

Fiberglass would be great, and I know you can get really good looking stuff from it, and the price it right, but it does sound vary risky.

Can you us paper masha with molds? (it would probably stick to them hm.)

 

[stapleton13]

HM,. I just remembered that I tried to take in a panel on working with "fiberglass" at the last Marcon here in Ohio. I thought it would be easy, but after standing around as they went on, and on, and on about the steps it does seem very complicated.

See were I live I have plenty of hardware stores, and stores like Wal-mart, and Meijers, but very few "Hobby" shops, and the ones we do have have very bad resin, in very small amounts, for very big money.

I need to be able to get it easy, and in large amounts, and cheep is a very big plus for me.

I'm trying to get one of my things done by x-mass, and I don't have any time to order something, and have time to work with it once it gets here.

Fiberglass would be great, and I know you can get really good looking stuff from it, and the price it right, but it does sound vary risky.

Can you us paper masha with molds? (it would probably stick to them hm.)

Paper mache should work as well. Fiberglass will stick to more types of molds than paper mache. I guess the question you need to ask is how much detail do you need to reproduce, and what kind of strength is necessary. Paper mache can actually be better for some projects. I have built several props in my haunted house using paper mache.

 

[PTK]

i live in southern california, and there is a place here called silpak, i think they have a few other locations in the country

but their 1:1 urethane resins usually run about 67 bucks for a 2 gallon kit, even if you had to pay shipping, it is still probably cheaper than por-a-kast or alumalite, etc.....check them out, i've used their "silwhite" (paper white casting resin....does kind of smell bad for a very long time) and their "siltool" (sets to a light tan-ish color, doesn't smell bad, easily machined, sanded, painted.....inexpensive)
http://www.silpak.com/

 

[exoray]

See were I live I have plenty of hardware stores, and stores like Wal-mart, and Meijers, but very few "Hobby" shops, and the ones we do have have very bad resin, in very small amounts, for very big money.

Blick Art & Craft
Sawmill Plaza
6486 Sawmill Rd
Columbus OH 43235
Phone: (614) 792-1900
Fax: (614) 717-6747

They carry a line (in stock and on the shelf in most stores) of casting resin and silicone mold that is very reasonably priced and is actually very good quality... The price is actually better then you can get at many online sites for equal quality stuff...

You want the Synair brand Por-A-Kast II (urethane) casting resin and look around for a silicone based molding product I believe they carry Artmolds MoldRite 25 in stock the stores... The Synair mold making stuff is urethane rubber... Don't get the urethane molding material although cheaper it is much harder to work with and requires lots of mold release, unless you don't mind playing with mold release and shorter mold life...

Or look over this list and make a few calls to see if any of them have Alumilite brand resins and silicone in stock...

http://www.alumilite.com/index.php?page=dealer_list&country=us&state=OH

 

[jessemoody]

I have been using Smooth-On products. They are local here in illinois and are also sold in blick art stores.

I have been using the brush on mold material and it seems to work well.

That and the por-a-kast and por-a-mold products.

 

[jason1976]

Paper mache should work as well. Fiberglass will stick to more types of molds than paper mache. I guess the question you need to ask is how much detail do you need to reproduce, and what kind of strength is necessary. Paper mache can actually be better for some projects. I have built several props in my haunted house using paper mache.

Well, paper mache might work for the mask I'm doing. My Girlfriend and I are big Doctor who fan's, and i would like to make us some replicas of the masks worn by the clockwork droids from "the girl in the fireplace". (see pic bellow) I want them to look really good, but I don't want to spend a fortune on them, since we may costume with them, and I wouldn't want to risk something pricey getting broken. I was going to add the crackle finish when I finished them anyway's so it's not like it needs to pic that up in the casting, I just need it to get the face it's self, and the razed parts. (the gold parts.)

Blick Art & Craft
Sawmill Plaza
6486 Sawmill Rd
Columbus OH 43235
Phone: (614) 792-1900
Fax: (614) 717-6747

They carry a line (in stock and on the shelf in most stores) of casting resin and silicone mold that is very reasonably priced and is actually very good quality... The price is actually better then you can get at many online sites for equal quality stuff...

You want the Synair brand Por-A-Kast II (urethane) casting resin and look around for a silicone based molding product I believe they carry Artmolds MoldRite 25 in stock the stores... The Synair mold making stuff is urethane rubber... Don't get the urethane molding material although cheaper it is much harder to work with and requires lots of mold release, unless you don't mind playing with mold release and shorter mold life...

Or look over this list and make a few calls to see if any of them have Alumilite brand resins and silicone in stock...

http://www.alumilite.com/index.php?page=dealer_list&country=us&state=OH[/quote]

That's awesome. thanks And thanks to everyone else too.