is it possible? ---- hydrocal mold back to clay form

[kirkstikesback]

hi i am wondering if it is possible----
to have a 2 part hydrocal mold which i used to make latex pulls from and go back to the original sculpt in clay?
see the thing is i dont want to make latex pulls anymore i want to make resins castings but in order to do that i would need to go back to having the head in clay form so that i could remold with silicone etc.

the thing is i dont want to sculpt the head from scratch since the head is there
any thoughts....thanks

 

[acesh007]

I am just wondering why you cant make a silicone mold off of the hydrocal master?

 

[kirkstikesback]

hey thanks for chiming in,
well actually its the 2 part mold that is made of ultracal and what i need is to go back to when i had the sculpt in clay form, so i was wondering of how to go about doing that without actually starting again with a clump of clay etc.
i mean the face /head is all there i just need the "positive out of the negative" so to speak

I am just wondering why you cant make a silicone mold off of the hydrocal master?

 

[Colossus601]

MONSTER CLAY......affordable,low melting temp and captures details well. Look for vids on youtube on how to use.You have to accept though that there will need to be some clean-up sculpting necessary but I think Monster is what you are looking for.
p.s. seal that mold like crazy to get a clean separation.....Success to you!

 

[8 perf]

I'm guessing this is a mask of some sort? Why not cast the latex pull one more time, fill it with expanding foam so it keeps the shape. Once you remove that from the hydrocal mold, you essentially have a bust. Give it a shot of clear coat as a safety measure, and pour your new silicone mold around it. Silicone shouldn't stick to latex, but it may.

 

[Mr Mold Maker]

Silicone and latex don't like each other. Even a very very heavy coat of sealer and inhibit X may not be enough. I'd definitely do a test before wasting a bunch of material trying.

I'd probably make a Master, much like 8 Perf suggested, but mold it in Alginate with a plaster bandage jacket Instead of silicone. As soon as you demould get clay in so the alginate doesn't shrink too much on you, and then pop it in the freezer. The clay will cool faster than the alginate will shrink, but there will still be some clean up to do.

 

[detenten]

I'd try casting Monster Clay in there, too, as suggested. I haven't tried casting with it yet, but I hear it can melt down enough to be a pourable liquid that will harden up again.

My primary concern would be that your silicone won't cure since even your clay casting will be contaminated with latex, which is notorious for completely ruining silicone curing!

Seal your Monster Clay casting, invest in the InhibitX and cross your fingers!

 

[CreatureBuilder]

Good Evening,
I just joined the forum. I was reading the thread and thought I might chime in because I have tried this before. Monster clay is pretty cool stuff. I melt it in a crock pot and pour it into molds. Investing in a food thermometer with the long stick may not be a bad idea. It works great and releases just fine with rubber molds. Like wax, it holds an amazing amount of smooth detail. Handles and sculpts very differently than clay. Where I ran into problems was with ridged molds. I made a quick Ultra Cal mold of a skull hand. Because both materials are both ridged when the Monster Clay sets I had a heck of a time releasing the hand without breaking it. The other issue with Monster Clay is that while the exterior cools down quick the core can remain liquid when used in large volume for a head casting. You may want to attempt to cast it in parts instead of a solid head. One package will not fill a head mold cavity anyway. I hope this assists you with your project.

 

[kirkstikesback]

thanks to all who have taken the time to write in with their thoughts on this
I will have to give this more thought and see how to go about this taking the advice into mind,
if not maybe just start from scratch again.