Making a Mold of Nara Modeling Clay

[Max Rebo]

Hi everyone,

I hadn't seen this mentioned before, but if it has, I would appreciate someone pointing me in the right direction.

I have made a sculpture with Nara modeling clay, and I am thinking of making a flexible mold of it. This clay tends to come in multi-color bars and is intended for children. A sculpting teacher suggested this sort of clay for a cheap way to start. I realize, now, that I am not sure whether this clay contains sulfur or not. (I have looked around online, and even contacted the manufacturer, but still cannot find an answer.) Has anyone made a flexible mold of a sculpture with this clay? If so, have you had success, and with what sort of molding material? I was thinking about using a platinum silicone like Dragon Skin 10 NV, but I am open to other possible suggestions. I guess the best way to handle this would be to make a small mold as a test, but I don't have any casting silicone on hand, and it is a bit spendy to purchase just to test it out. If it fails, I don't really want to have lots of cash invested in silicone I cannot use.

Note: Although I have lurked on and off for years, this is my first post to the rpf. Please let me know if I posted this in the wrong place, or made some other posting mistake.

 

[PoopaPapaPalps]

I don't even know if sulfur clays are still around anymore, but if it's a modelling clay for kids, I think you're okay to mold it. You really don't want kids eating sulfur.

 

[Max Rebo]

Thanks!

 

[13doctorwho]

If you're not sure you can spray it COMPLETELY with clear coat. If you cover it all with clear coat it will prevent the sulfur from touching the silicone (mold material).

 

[Zinger]

I'd caution against using Dragon Skin 10NV. It's not made for brush on mold applications. I think it would be hard to apply, since it's a bit thin. Also, it probably won't be stiff enough to make a reliable mold.

Rebound 25 is designed for brush on molds. It works very well. It's very thick and clings to vertical surfaces. An additive call Thi-Vex makes it as thick as cake frosting. You use that to build up the layers of your mold.

Here's part one of a video showing the whole process.

This is fairly advanced mold making. If you haven't worked with silicone before, watch the video several times and consider starting with something easier.

 

[Max Rebo]

Wow, thanks so much. I was hoping to make a glove mold, and for some reason I thought DragonSkin 10NV was a brush on silicone. I also was thinking about PlatSil Gel-10, but I hadn't heard of Rebound 25 before. It looks like Rebound 25 is cheaper than Platsil as well, which is nice. In any case, I really appreciate the advice!

 

[Zinger]

Wow, thanks so much. I was hoping to make a glove mold, and for some reason I thought DragonSkin 10NV was a brush on silicone.

Dragon Skin can be brushed on to skin to create makeup effects, prosthetics and other applications. But it would be too floppy to work as a glove mold.