first time silicone mould making

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first time silicone mould making

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megharber	megharber posted 12 Years Ago HOT Topic Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2, Visits: 7	Hi, I've got a project that I want to do but don't know where to start. I want to make a silicone mould of a sparrow. I've bough the silicone/resin starter kit but feel quite lost about what the correct way of mixing it up is etc. Also, I'm praying that I have bought the right product. I am slightly wary about the organic nature of the object (the fact that its porous) and the cure time with that. Any help and advice would be brilliant. Tags casting mould making organic resin silcone
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Pembroke	Pembroke posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 5, Visits: 87	Interesting project. Can I assume that the sparrow is dead and preserved in some way? Your best bet would be to try to obtain a feather of a similar type to the sparrow's then experiment on that. First off I'd try just to mould the feather. Set it on a flat shiny surface and construct a dam around it. I used flat wood but I'm sure thick card would work, or use the plastic boxes provided (but they might be a bit big). If that doesn't work try some sort of art shop spray sealant or a spray varnish to form a fine hard surface on the feather then try again. I've only ever used the moulding kit on non-porous items and it works really well. As was answered to one of my queries the silicone moulding process doesn't produce noticeable heat so you won't get any damage that way. You need a set of digital kitchen scales to make sure the amounts you are mixing are correct. I was mixing in 100 gram amounts so working out a percentage amount for the catalyst is easy. One tip would be get more paper cups and gloves either from Easycomposites or a catering supplier as the ones in the kit don't go far and having loads of cups makes pouring the casting solutions out of their bottles a lot easier. I decanted some resin into one cup then used that to pour into another cup on the scales. I also filled the mould with water to measure how much resin I would need (don't forget as the resin is two parts you only need half the full amount to make up the total (If you see what I mean?) then made sure it was thoroughly dry before using it to cast. As for moulding the whole bird you will need a mould in two halves. I'm sure the instructions tell you how to do that either on the website, or in the data sheets. You will probably have to think about some sort of wire armature inside the body of the cast and down the middle of the legs or there is little chance that it will be able to stand up on it's legs. Also the feet would need to be moulded and cast separately, or even made solely of wire. If you aim to cast the bird in any state other than just standing still you will need to think about casting it in pieces and the gluing it back together. A sparrow 'kit' if you like. Good Luck. Let us know how you get on.
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megharber	megharber posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 2, Visits: 7	Thanks Pembroke, You couldnt have been more helpful! unfortunately i hadnt seen this before i just went for it and essentially created a silicone coffin for the poor sparrow (which WAS dead). My attempts at sealants ultimately failed and i also didnt think to do the legs in a separate piece. I will set about first getting another specimen then trying out everything u suggested. i think in the end the biggest problem was the porous nature of the bird which in turn melded itself to the rubber making removing it from the cast impossible. Most annoyingly is that i have now wasted a significant part of my "kit". I clearly underestimated this project. I'll let u know how my second attempt comes along. It may be that I dont have the right materials, it may be that i made a massive mistake first time round. p.s i must note, i am an art student and dont play with dead animals just for fun.
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Matthieu Libeert	Matthieu Libeert posted 12 Years Ago HOT Post Details
Group: Forum Members Posts: 955, Visits: 3.4K	I have read your post a while ago and kept thinking of it, I think I found an idea you could test; Take the sparrow and dip it epoxy or polyester, let the resin drip of and cure, you should have a hard shell around your sparrow to make a silicone mould of... Just brainstorming not sure if it will work but is worth a try I guess Matthieu Libeert Founder MAT2 Composites X Sports website: www.mat2composites.com
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