How Much Silicones does it take?

[Brien]

I am getting ready to make a mold of my helmet and I have a question. How much silicone does it take? I am going to an intermediate mold to work on the edges and smoothing problems I am having. I trying to see if it is more finacially viable to go silicone for the intermediate and use it later for filler on another mold or use alginate for the intermediate. Right now it looks about the same price wise, depending on how much it takes to do a helmet. I am figuring about 3-4lbs of alginates.

Any help you guys can give me would be...well very helpful.

brien

 

[robstyle]

depends on the helmet, how many pulls do you plan on doing, how long do you want it to last, are you going to use accelerator to speed up the silicone cure time...

 

[GeneralMayhem]

Use remeltable alginate for the intermediary mold. Then the investment in Alginate is not wasted.

~ GM

 

[Brien]

As far as size, it is in this thread http://www.therpf.com/index.php?showtopic=125854&st=20

Truly only planning one pull, only do more if others are interested in copies of the helmet. Not really using accelerator, I am new to silicone so I do not want to add any elements to confuse me.

If I can buy a kit small enough for a one time intermediate pull I should be good. i worry about the final mold at a later time.

As far as moulage, I have never used it. i will have to look into it.

 

[Davy Jones]

I just used some aljinate for life casting and your guess sounds about right. Maybe 4+ for that helmet.

 

[8 perf]

Unless there is some other kind of alginate out there that I am not aware of, be warned.
Alginate will dry out, shrink and crack if not kept moist. I can't really see how this would be a viable option for anything more than a one-off or a life cast application.

 

[GeneralMayhem]

Moulage is for making perfect life masks or casts. No expensive equipment is necessary. Just heat Moulage slowly in a double boiler to 115°F (46°C). Do not use an aluminum pan or utensils as it will cause a chemical reaction that will ruin the Moulage.

Apply warm with a brush and palette knife. Moulage captures minute details. The mold may be cut up, remelted, and reused 50 to 100 times. Store molds in airtight containers to prevent drying out. Instructions are included.


Available at Dick Blick.

 

[Brien]

So I am looking at my sculpt and I have yet another question. I was planning on slush casting the final product but I am unsure how to accomplish that without spilling resin out of the mold. Anyone have any techniques for slushing resin that will avoid this or am I working about it for nothing.