Have you used Elastack/Gelflex/Vinamold

[BlindSquirrel]

I was reading about this stuff...

Elastack

I think it's the same as Gelflex or Vinamold. You heat it up and pour a mold. Best of all it can be reheated and re-used over and over. It seems like it would be a economical way to make an intermediate mold so you can clean up a piece before spending money on silicone.

Of course, that's the hype. Can anyone add any first-hand knowledge to this?

 

[BlindSquirrel]

Bump! Anyone??

 

[robn1]

I've heard of this stuff but I've never used it. The heat would be a concern, your original master part would have to be able to withstand the heat of the mold material. And anything you cast with, like resin, heats up as it cures. This might melt the mold.

It sure would be economical, if it works.

 

[Mike Rush]

Can't help with Elastack but I did use Vinamold years ago.

As you know, you have to heat it up to melt it. This makes it quite dangerous if you're not careful. It also smells - I forget whether the fumes are toxic or not. And if you heat it up too much it will 'burn', ie turn brown and useless. But like most things, if you follow the directions you should be okay.

The crucial factor is what you are trying to mould; it has to be impervious to high temperature! I was moulding a plaster original so that was fine, although I found a release agent helped. I don't think I would want to try it on anything plastic though. Don't forget that you need your mould walls to be sturdy and heatproof too. Once you pour this stuff you don't want it spilling out everywhere.

Once cooled it made a decent enough mould - it feels a bit like thick jelly (jello?). Not quite as detailed as silicone though. It's also true that you can recycle it, although I found that after two or three times around it was starting to show its age a bit.

I'm not knocking it as it does have its uses. But in the end I didn't stick with it as I found I could achieve better results with alginate.