Latex Molding

[LDR]

A few years back i had a go at lifecasting, and did a reasonable job of making a plaster copy of my brothers head.
I have still have the plaster pull, which is a full head.

I am thinking of making a nice sculpt based on this, and would like to know the best way of making a clay pull of it, so i can do some cool zombie effects, and hopefully finally make a silicon skinned/foam core zombie head).

What is the best way of making a clay pull? I was thinking of using latex to make a one piece mold, as its cheap. I know it takes alot longer, (eg. waiting for each layer to dry), however theres no rush.
Once this latex mold is done, say 20 layers, i presume i make a hard mother from plaster bandage.

Next i presume i melt some clay, and slosh around inside, and keep doing this until i get a nice thickness. Once dry, remove mother, and pull off latex mold.

Can anyone tell me if this is the best/cheapest way to do a clay pull?

Will the latext pull off the plaster cast easily? Will undercuts like chins/ears be a problem?

What clay would be best for this process, and is it possible to melt clay on a normal cooker?

Will the latext damage the clay when pulled off?

I hope someone can help and give some tips/guides to this.

Also any links to suppliers in the UK would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

lewis

 

[Draven]

Hi,

Bear in mind that latex has significant shrinkage once demoulded and will not be suitable for making prosthetics.

Plus depending upon how far down his neck you went, also bear in mind that the mould around the neck would have to stretch over the full diameter of the head both for demoulding the master and demoulding any consequent casting.

For a clay casting you are better off using a solid mould - something like plaster.

Pro's used to do a plaster master, sculpt on top of the plaster master, then lubricate with wax spray and vaseline then make a mould from more plaster.

All that is theory to me though, as I've never done it myself.

There are a couple of books by Thurston James that detail such techniques (check Amazon.co.uk)

Suppliers in the UK include; Bentley Chemicals, Tirantis and Fred Aldous.

Hope that helps!

Draven

 

[fettster]

i really wouldnt recommend latex for this.

if you are serious about doing this, you will need to spend alittle more money.

the easiest way to make your mold is with plat silicone, i woud recommend plat gel 10 from moldlife www.moldlife.com you will onle need a trial kit which runs about £30.

you would need to do about 4-5 layers, be quick as cure time is about 7 minutes.

you will also need to thicken is up after the first layer with either polyfiller or platthix also available from moldlife.

once that is done,you go ahead and make a 2 piece plaster bandage mothermold.

id recommend the slip being left and right half of the head rather than front and back.

the silicone is really stretchy so you will be able to peel it off the head without having to cut it (you will not be able to do that with latex)

the best clay for this is chavant either soft or medium. the best way to melt it is with a crock pot but if you havent got one, heres another way.

get a cheap cheese grater and grate an entire block of clay, doing this will make it easier to melt, fill a saucepan with water and put a bowl in the saucepan and bring the water to a slow boil, put all your clay in the bowl befor the water boils.

stir the clay constantly till it melts evenly. then VERY CAREFULLY remove the bowl from the saucepan and pour the clay in the mold and start turning till it cools. its best to do this in layers rather than all at once so pour in a bit at a time, rotate, then repeat til you have about 1/2 inch thinkness.

once the clay has cooled, mix up a batch of plasted and fill the hollow clay. I normally then leave it till the next day to ensure everything has cooled thoroughly.

then carefull split the shell and peel away the silicone and get sculpting.

let me know if you need any more help and please be carefull with the melted clay,wear a thick jumper and thick gardening gloves, i cant stress how bad a clay burn is.

 

[LDR]

Hey Fettster, thats perfect! I have just been watching some vids on youtube, which show the gel10 one piece mold method.

You've explained it great, also i might even be able to do the melting clay part.

How much clay would you use? Would one block be enough? Also when you pull the gel10 mold off, is the clay quite hard to its not marked or pulled with the mold?

Thanks again!

lewis

 

[LDR]

Fettster, i cant seem to find platthix on mouldlife.co.uk

Is there anyway else you can get it in the UK?

lewis

 

[fettster]

hi mate, the clay will be quite hard, the soft chavant may get marked slightly but its easyier to sculpt with after, the medium will not mark but its harder to sculpt with, its a bit of a trade off. although the clay are labelled as soft and medium, they are all really quite hard.

give moldlife a ring and speak to russel if he is about, he will be able to sort out the plathix, or you may even be able to use tinthix however i have not tried that.

as i say, give moldlife a ring, they sell loads of stuff they dont advertise.

good luck and let me know if you get stuck

 

[LDR]

Thanks again Fettster. I'll give them a ring.

One more question, i presume chavant is oil based, rather than the traditional caly which is water based. I've used sculpty before and hated it!

Is there any water based clays you can melt? If not have you any tips for scuplting soft chavant? e.g how do you soften it or smooth it out, i presume you cant use water?

Thanks

lewis

 

[fettster]

Thanks again Fettster. I'll give them a ring.

One more question, i presume chavant is oil based, rather than the traditional caly which is water based. I've used sculpty before and hated it!

Is there any water based clays you can melt? If not have you any tips for scuplting soft chavant? e.g how do you soften it or smooth it out, i presume you cant use water?

Thanks

lewis

hi mate,

yes chavant is oil based, you cant melt water based clay as as soon as you heat it, you bake it. you can turn it into a pourable material by a process called floculation (i think) but you need chemicals and its really only suitable for making ceramics.

chavant is excellent clay but it does take a bit of getting used to. you cant use water to smooth is out, you have to use naptha.

easiest thing i have found that contains naptha is lighter fluid.

 

[LDR]

Thanks Fettster, think that about answers all my questions for now!