question about the latex cast + material for bio

[mcmatic]

allright guys,
ive done my fair bit of research.

- Ill sculpting my pred-head in clay
- gypsum (beauty layers!!) + burlap soaked in gypsum all around (with the seperation line ofc!) to get the mold.

here comes in the first q.
Do i pour the mold FULL of latex, let is sit over a night, and then pour it out again (leaving the cured latex mask behind in the mold)
OR
Do i brush in the mold from the inside (not that comfortable moving around with a brush inside the mold...)

( i AM from Belgium, so due to language things i might have misread a few things...)

then for the bio,
- sculp bio from clay
- add the silicone thing layers, then a few thick ones
- add gypsum layers (mother mold)

then here... what type of material is used to pour inside the silicon mold? Is it liquid plastic? Or something else?

Kind regards and thanks alot in advance!

and i cant wait to start on it!

Mike

 

[XtcofPain]

Hi I've never made a predator mask yet but i've made a couple of latex masks. What i normally do is brush on a very thin coat of latex into all the crevices first and let that get tacky. Then i fill the mold with some thicker latex or some of the thin stuff mixed with some powder and let it sit for a couple of hours or overnight for a thick coat.. Then i pour out the excess, let it dry and then pour foam on the the inside of the latex mask with a Vacuum form of my face so that it fits the shape of my face. When its dry i remove the vac form and then presto it fits me. This is just how i do it though and other people may have a different method. Hope this may be of some help.

As for the bio mold you could pour 2 part polyurethane plastic but its hard using that to get an even layer as it tends to just sink into the recesses. You can slush mold it with the 2 part plastic or You could fiberglass the inside of the silicone mold and back it with matting.

Good luck

Johnny

 

[Elkman]

I've never left latex in a mold overnight. It seems like it'd leave a very thick mask, or take forever to cure. I've typically left my latex in the mold for 30 to 40 minutes, then poured out the excess. Often, I've had to tilt the mold around to make sure that I get enough latex on everything, since I don't have enough latex to fill it to the top. XtcofPain also has a good point about brushing a thin coat of latex onto the mold before doing the cast, just to make sure you get all the detailing in.

As far as casting a bio goes, I've done things like that by pouring liquid plastic, such as Smooth-On's Smooth-Cast 320, into the mold. I've typically done this by moving the mold around and pouring plastic into the flat sections. I've done slush casting with it, but it seems pretty finicky. There's only a short period of time between when it's a liquid that just flows all over the place and when it's gelled up to the degree that you can't move it around any more.

It sounds like you're on the right track with what you're planning to do. You've done your homework.

 

[XtcofPain]

Yeah i agree with elkman. i only left it overnight to have a good thick mask for a display piece but never for wearing. nd as for the slush molding it can be very finicky as elkman says and its nearly impossible to get a uniform inner surface. I never tried drying it in sections though which sounds interesting.

 

[xdmray]

how i slush cast latex-
1. brush on a thin layer to get it into all the details.
2. put the two halves together.
3. brush latex in the seam
4. put a fan in the mold for 10 min to partially dry the seam.
5. pour into the mold. (if you have enough fill it up) let sit for 15 min.
------ if not enough to fill mold- just slush it around.
6. put mold over bucket to drip excess latex out for 15 min.
7. set it on desk, put the fan to it again for 10 min.
8. repeat steps 5 ,6 and 7 two more times.
-- i like to cast my masks thick so i do three slushes.
--each time i use the fan, i set the mold on a different side.

for silicone bio molds you pour polyurethane resin or fiberglass resin for the casts.

good luck mate.

 

[mcmatic]

THANKS a million mates!!

all i needed to know!

Kind regards,

Mike

 

[mcmatic]

damn and is it just me or is that latex really expensive?... considering you need alot of it..

about 30 dollars for 33oz or 1 litre...

or is that a fai price?

 

[MasterAnubis]

damn and is it just me or is that latex really expensive?... considering you need alot of it..

about 30 dollars for 33oz or 1 litre...

or is that a fai price?

30 bucks a quart??? Holy cow!
That’s a 120 for a gallon!

Well, it might be a fair price where your at. I would say get with Dakath, he's in your neck of the woods, but that's not a good lead right now.

Latex gets cheaper per unit if you buy in larger quantities but if your starting out I would say you may want 2-4 litres to try and practice.

 

[XtcofPain]

damn and is it just me or is that latex really expensive?... considering you need alot of it..

about 30 dollars for 33oz or 1 litre...

or is that a fai price?

man thats a rip off. I get a gallon of it here for like 15 euro. I'd def shop around and get a better price than that