Cold Foam for prosthetic work? Suggestions from the experts?

[Darth Mule]

Just wanted to throw this out for input from the board. I'm looking to try a new approach to an Ahsoka headpiece I'm building http://www.therpf.com/showthread.php?t=79631
I'm thinking of trying some flexible foam, likely skinned in latex, as the latex itself just requires too much reinforcement. Cold foams are preferred as there's no way I'll find an oven to fit this mold into.

Price is a factor as well, but I do want to compare price to quality.

Whatcha got RPFers?

 

[doody]

for prothetics, I'd go with foam latex any day. lighter, elastic, glues well, breathes if you run it soft. polyfoam bends but to my knowledge, none that I've seen stretch. foam latex also does well with fabric reinforcments. But the down side is all the equipment up front, and the experience you need to get good runs. other alternatives like soft silicone, and super soft urethane, are heavy. gooey like rubbers.

 

[Darth Mule]

Isn't foam latex always baked?

I should have mentioned. I'm specifically looking for places to purchase as well. Its great to say "hey, you should try this stuff." But if you don't have any good resources for it, your advice is only so effective. I need referrals.

 

[Superkrates]

I'd recommend Smooth-on 5lb Flexible Urethane Foam with no latex skin (3lb if using a latex skin). It's a 1:1 mix ratio, paintable and is friendly to those individuals with latex allergies.

http://www.smooth-on.com/Rigid-and-Flexible/c10_1121/index.html

 

[Robot Monster]

I have used cold form is in the past and gotten it to work. I did suffer as it's not as soft but it's better than not having it at all. Remember mold release or it's going to lock that mold up like glue. I did use a latex skin. Might be time for me to try it again it's been years.

 

[fettster]

It will work for a head piece, not really for a facial prosthetic tho.

Skinning the mould with latex is a good idea as it will act it will seal the foam and allow you to get it out the mould as the foam sticks like a bugger, the latex would also be a better surface to paint on too.

I'd recommend polyteks foam every day of the week. Google them for a supplier. Good luck

 

[piehead]

Yup I'm with Rich on this Polytek foam everytime. mouldlife now do a great self skinning foam called pro foam self skin soft. although other foams say they self skin ive not seen one as good as this. we use the m3 soft foam a lot for filling body parts and things like that. urethane foams are realy not suitable for prosthetics although there is a syatem called foam hagen by krayolan ( the make up manufacturers ) that comes close to foam latex but is still not great. building a foam oven isnt difficult either all you need is a hotplate , a wooden box and a fan for circulating the heat. there is plenty of intructionals online if you search , as for foam latex systems the best 2 are g.m. foam or monstermakers foam. both realy good products.

 

[Darth Mule]

Thanks guys. I'll look into it.

There may be a time down the road where I want to explore foam latex on this, but right now it isn't an option for both the oven construction and pricewise. Basically just need something to give body to the headpiece. I would like it to be flexible enough to bend while the head moves though.

 

[WebChief]

Chris, I don't think the Flex Foam-It would be something you'd want to use unless you went with the latex outer skin over it. Also, I'm not sure if it'd adhere to the latex. I currently use the Flex Foam-It inside my silicone Ahsoka headpiece and if you add it to the inside while it's still a bit tacky it will adhere to silicone.

Also, you'll need to devise an internal head mold of some kind if you use that to fill your headpiece mold because Flex Foam-IT expands up to 15 times it's orginal size! You'd need to make something to hold it all in so that it doesn't just fill the entire head. You'll see what I mean if you check out this tutorial on their website.

http://www.smooth-on.com/gallery.php?galleryid=071&cPath=1129

That helped me when I was making my piece. Good luck!

 

[mrbungle]

i use foam flex it 25 for armor. depending on how many layers you do it came be pretty rigid for a foam or pretty flexible. it expands 2x. i have never used it for prosthetics though.

 

[Darth Mule]

Chris, I don't think the Flex Foam-It would be something you'd want to use unless you went with the latex outer skin over it. Also, I'm not sure if it'd adhere to the latex. I currently use the Flex Foam-It inside my silicone Ahsoka headpiece and if you add it to the inside while it's still a bit tacky it will adhere to silicone.

Also, you'll need to devise an internal head mold of some kind if you use that to fill your headpiece mold because Flex Foam-IT expands up to 15 times it's orginal size! You'd need to make something to hold it all in so that it doesn't just fill the entire head. You'll see what I mean if you check out this tutorial on their website.

http://www.smooth-on.com/gallery.php?galleryid=071&cPath=1129

That helped me when I was making my piece. Good luck!

I'm currently working on a plug. Adding to the back and sides of the head form that was originally in the mold.

 

[ShellumusPrime]

Not to interrupt but it's been two days and WebChief Might have answered my question about using flexfoam inside of silicone skin, and if it would adheare. I was thinking about using dragonskin as my "skin" and backing it up with flexfoam, then lay my core and sandwich in with other half, done the same as first half. All this for a bodysuit. Does it sound feasible?

 

[BornKilr]

Its actually been 2 days and 4 YEARS! Check the date of the last post.

 

[ShellumusPrime]

I know, still new to this, didn't know if commenting persons would get the message. I have been searching for days for help on this topic. Can you point me in the right direction? Sorry, such a noob.