painting mold with latex help

[Roydraven]

Hey I have a question I have cast a few things with latex now and while starting to paint the latex into the mold
with a paint brush it starts to ball up what am I doing wrong and could it be the kind of paint brush I'm using?

 

[Termokk]

The latex will always have a funky texture if you brush it on. It drys as you wipe and it rolls into little balls. The only way i know to prevent this is to use a chigger (i very high power spray gun capable of spraying latex) I need to get one of these too but they are expensive and hard to find.

 

[theBrave]

the best thing to do i think is to stipple (dabbing) 2 to 3 layers of latex first to get all the detail that painting can miss. this should help with it drying and balling up. once you have a few laers down then you can paint the latex on. this will take a little longer but its worth it. make sure each layer is dry before moving on to the next incase you forgot. hope that helps, oh and putting a little bit of hand soap in your brush will make it last longer and not clog with latex.

 

[Uratz]

Try slushing in small amounts. don't bother with the brush. Pour some small amounts into the mold and roll the mold around and let it absorb in thin layers.

 

[Digfoot]

I agree with Uratz. Slushing is the best way to go in my opinion. You can add very small amounts of distilled (It -needs- to be distilled!) water to the latex if it's too viscous to pour. Adding too much water can be bad, so it'd be better to add small portions and mixing it until you get just the right viscosity. Then I'd advise tapping the container for a while to get rid of air bubbles. Latex is best when it's thin enough to pour, yet thick enough for it not to drip down the sides and give the top of your mold a thin layer. I've added too much water to latex before and poured it into a mold- It was a hassle, and about every half hour I had to go back to my mask and set it to a different position to dry so the latex slowly creeps to an area where the coating is too thin.

Hope it helps!

EDIT:
I wanted to add, brushing latex can also destroy the brush. If you brush latex, I'd advise using a sponge brush instead. It'd be a bit sloppy if you're trying to be precise in some tight spots, but it retains moisture so the chances of latex ruining it are slim.

 

[ptgreek]

Painting latex into a mold should be no trouble at all ..I do It all the time ..In fact it is well advised to always paint a "beauty" coat in first to avoid surface bubbles. Be sure to apply a very thin coat of talc or baby powder to your mold first ..this assists in absorption and will also prevent the latex from sticking to is self. Take your gallon jug or 5 gallon bucket of latex and thoroughly shake it up. Pour latex into a plastic party cup. I will usually tint the latex at this time using proline universal tints..not only will it give you a jump start on the base color of your casting, it will assist you in knowing your cure rate as the tinted latex will dry darker. As for the brush..use cheap 1 to 2 inch chip brushes ...dab it it the cup wipe the excess on the rim ..then dab it into the mold ..if you are using a stone mold, the first coat will take the most latex ...just make sure to cover all the area. A secret to saving your brush during the rest of the layers is to keep the brush end down in the cup of latex ..as long as the bristles are submerged in the latex, air isnt hitting it causing it to dry on the brush. The brush will be toast when you are done ..but hey ..it was a cheap chip brush ..you can grab a box of them for like 8 bucks at harbor frieght

 

[Digfoot]

I've only used baby powder during the times I pull masks out of molds and I just realized I have a bad habit of keeping the brush outside of my paint whenever I'm brushing something. I just learned something! 8D

 

[Roydraven]

sweet thanks heaps for the advice George you should make a huntorial book up you'll make millions

Painting latex into a mold should be no trouble at all ..I do It all the time ..In fact it is well advised to always paint a "beauty" coat in first to avoid surface bubbles. Be sure to apply a very thin coat of talc or baby powder to your mold first ..this assists in absorption and will also prevent the latex from sticking to is self. Take your gallon jug or 5 gallon bucket of latex and thoroughly shake it up. Pour latex into a plastic party cup. I will usually tint the latex at this time using proline universal tints..not only will it give you a jump start on the base color of your casting, it will assist you in knowing your cure rate as the tinted latex will dry darker. As for the brush..use cheap 1 to 2 inch chip brushes ...dab it it the cup wipe the excess on the rim ..then dab it into the mold ..if you are using a stone mold, the first coat will take the most latex ...just make sure to cover all the area. A secret to saving your brush during the rest of the layers is to keep the brush end down in the cup of latex ..as long as the bristles are submerged in the latex, air isnt hitting it causing it to dry on the brush. The brush will be toast when you are done ..but hey ..it was a cheap chip brush ..you can grab a box of them for like 8 bucks at harbor frieght

 

[MEANGENE83]

Painting latex into a mold should be no trouble at all ..I do It all the time ..In fact it is well advised to always paint a "beauty" coat in first to avoid surface bubbles. Be sure to apply a very thin coat of talc or baby powder to your mold first ..this assists in absorption and will also prevent the latex from sticking to is self. Take your gallon jug or 5 gallon bucket of latex and thoroughly shake it up. Pour latex into a plastic party cup. I will usually tint the latex at this time using proline universal tints..not only will it give you a jump start on the base color of your casting, it will assist you in knowing your cure rate as the tinted latex will dry darker. As for the brush..use cheap 1 to 2 inch chip brushes ...dab it it the cup wipe the excess on the rim ..then dab it into the mold ..if you are using a stone mold, the first coat will take the most latex ...just make sure to cover all the area. A secret to saving your brush during the rest of the layers is to keep the brush end down in the cup of latex ..as long as the bristles are submerged in the latex, air isnt hitting it causing it to dry on the brush. The brush will be toast when you are done ..but hey ..it was a cheap chip brush ..you can grab a box of them for like 8 bucks at harbor frieght

I can not stress how CORRECT and on the money George is with this method. I recently talked to him over the phone and he fleshed the entire process out for me. I failed twice doing this method. (My own fault)

I am working on a third attempt using this method.

I will let you know how it worked out btw George.

 

[Usurper]

Brushing is indeed the way to go, especially if you want to pick up all those nice fine details. I have been brushing in a beauty coat since my 1st mask, i usually work fairly quick and rarely have any trouble with the brush clogging as the latex is fairly thin to begin,then pouring in a thickened layer of latex after.

 

[Effects Guy]

I am partial to stippling. It works well with damn near every type of latex be it balloon or slip or something in the middle. I like to use a cube of upholstery foam to do this. I have just never been happy with brushing. Spraying is great but the clean up is a pain in the butt. Slushing can work, as can dwelling if you have the right kind of mold for it.

 

[Darth Pinhead]

Recently picked up a bag of ten sponges at the dollar store for, wait for it...a $1. I am able to cut them up into cubes, as well, averaging 20 cubes per sponge, thus 200 cubes, so $0.005/cube. Used half a sponge for a pair of hands, so 5 cents. I wasn't having any luck with chip brushes; kept getting tiny bubbles while I get rarely any with the sponges. Also, the layers appear to be more even across the board. Now to just figure out why I'm moving so damn slowly, lol...

 

[ptgreek]

ha ..pick up the pace Brad ...im timing you