Moulding a Foam Latex Hand - Tips?

[LDR]

I have a foam latex monster glove that i want to make a mould of.

Its quite soft and squashy, so was wondering what would the best wy be to mold this.

I presume it would need internal support from a fake hand, and whatever is being used as the mould needs to be light enough not to 'push in' the foam, and deform the shape.

Also the hand is painted so i wouldnt want the orginal paint being removed.

Any suggestions or ideas on how best to do this?

Thanks in advance.

lewis

 

[dropshipbob]

Given your list of criteria, I'd say your best bet is alginate. It's pretty cheap and most hobby stores should carry it. It's water based so it won't hurt the original finish or the material it's made from.

As for deforming the item that's being cast, that will happen unless you give it some internal strength...maybe you could wear it while molding it? Alginate has a very quick cure time.

 

[LDR]

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking of alginate.

Presumably i'd have to do it in halves?

Isnt alginate quite floppy?

How would you do the two sides, without the alginate falling in?

 

[dropshipbob]

It is a bit floppy, yes. But as long as you keep the mold in a container, it should be fine.

You wouldn't have to do it in halves...but that depends on what you want to make the copy with, plaster, resin, fiberglass?

Alginate isn't good for making copies with anything other than plaster. Since it's water based, it will react very badly with resins and fiberglass...it just won't work.
If you plan on using plaster, find yourself a container that is a bit longer than the glove, preferably with a few inches of extra space all around. Mix up your alginate, stick your glove in the container (I suggest filling the glove with plastic bags or some such to help keep it's shape) and pour in your alginate. You'll need help with this as the alginate sets up pretty quick.

Once you feel the alginate "firm up", slowly work the glove loose and gently pull it from the alginate.

Mix up some plaster, pour it in slowly and let the hole thing sit over night. Alginate molds slowly shrink, but that won't matter as the plaster will solidify quicker that the alginate shrinks. You'll only get maybe one or two pulls depending on how quick you work. You might not get a 100% perfect copy, but it will be easy to clean up any blemishes or fill in holes on your plaster copy.

From there you can make a silicone or RTV mold and make yourself a copy.
But be aware of recasting, if you're doing this for your own use, that's cool, just don't try to sell copies to others.