Latex and Mold questions

[oneuglymf]

Hi all. I found some liquid latex and a nifty texture meant for cakes which I thouch with the proper paint would look quite reptilian. I would like to try my hand at making something out of latex, so rather than spend a load of dosh, I figured I'd start small and just see if I can make a little square of pred skin.

In reading the instructions, it mentions having a resin or some ofther type of chemical barrier for easy removal on porous materials. The texture or mold as I'll be using it, is made of plastic, and meant to me used on fondant, so it is not porous.

My question is this, would I still need resin or something if I wanted to apply this and pull it successfully? I just don't want to waste what I purchased. Any advice or tips would be grand. I didn't find any threads with this specific question in it. Here's what I got from Michaels Craft Store.

 

[VaderDave]

I like that stuff. Could have some real possibilites.

Ok, in my experience, I havent had much stick to plastic like that but in the case of the latex I would recommend that you err on the side of caution. A light dusting of a spray on mold release before you apply the latex should do ya fine.

 

[MasterAnubis]

I have liked the Mold Builder. I've gone through about half a gallon of it for various things. Michaels here doesn't carry it at all, I got it at another art store.

I too doubt that there will be any issue at all with plastic. The plastic is not porous. Things that may absorb is will be the issue. I've used it directly on two different types of clay, in a plaster mold, on other latex, used it to glue cloth into my torso and even died some black. I like how thick it is and it doesn't seem to shrink too much. I have thinned it with water and noticed it shrinks a lot more when that’s done.

I would recommend doing a test patch before committing to a large area. That will get you familiar with it and determine how many coats you'll end up needing for what you want. This stuff is pretty thick compared to other 'liquid' latexes. I used an acid brush that had just a little dish soap in the bristles. This helped avoided the bristles sticking together and allowed me to reuse it couple of timest if I cleaned it promptly. I have also smoothed out the brush strokes using my finger in some coats.

 

[oneuglymf]

I couldn't find the Mann's product shown above, but managed to get some of this

I did two coats of release, and let fully dry, now the latex is in there, and I gobbed her on thick. We'll see how she comes out after the drying. I'll post more progress pics as I get them. Thanks for the advice folks.

 

[MasterAnubis]

Keep in mind that it's curing from the top down. It's gona be a while.

 

[oneuglymf]

Time, I have. Its recommending using a hair dryer, but I'm sure air drying won't hurt it. Hair dryers use a lot of electricity and air drying is free.

 

[MasterAnubis]

On a couple of my projects I had mine layed down in my shop a couple feet from a small heater/fan set on low. But, your right. If you have patients you dont need to use the energy. I don't have a hair dryer and that sounds like a hassle anyway.

 

[ptgreek]

Most release contain agents that will expedite the breakdown of the latex. Simpler and more cost effective solution. Brush a very thin coat of baby powder into the mold befor brushing in the latex. as for faster curing, a heat gun is what I use... Of course your mold is plastic so it would be a bad idea. Thin coats evenly applied between curing will build you a nice durable skin... Powder the topside befor removing it from the plastic... That way your fresh latex won't stick to itself

 

[th3 pr3dat0r]

spray it with lube? like wd40? maybe just rub in some vaseline.

 

[ptgreek]

Wd40 will kill your latex... And honestly vasaline rakes away from the integrity of the sculpt... Seriously.. Baby powder... I run latex everyday... Just try it

 

[hez1]

Anything oil based will destroy latex in short order. Don't you guys read the warnings on the condoms packets? The baby powder is a great idea.