With the big molds I've been making recently, I've been inventing ways to save silicone.
one that I can tell you works its using just enough to fill the level where the original model ends . For example, the tip of a nose if you're making a mold of a face. After saw few hours ,the silicone will be semi cured and it's possible the nose will be sticking out. No problem. Scoop the silicone from areas of the mold where its not needed. Drag it over the nose or whatever until you've made a little mountain. You might need to come back and do our again if the same silicone is still runny.
Now for the smart bit.I use for fibre glass 4as its cheap. Wear a respirator and keep it away from people. Pour your resin (plaster, gypsum, or urethane should work too ) onto the silicone once it's fully cured until all the silicone is covered. You're left with a sturdy shell that supports the silicone mold and keeps it in shape when casting. I estimate that for what I'm making, I'm saving half on silicone.
...and here's my new idea on fully recycling old molds!
Take some old mold you wont use again. Cut it up into little pieces. Put those pieces in your box, before you pour fresh silicone in. I've just left a mold to cure like this. As you can see, it looks like it'll be uneven whenit's done. That's OK, I'll finish off with a hard resin shell. Should save some money if it works.
one that I can tell you works its using just enough to fill the level where the original model ends . For example, the tip of a nose if you're making a mold of a face. After saw few hours ,the silicone will be semi cured and it's possible the nose will be sticking out. No problem. Scoop the silicone from areas of the mold where its not needed. Drag it over the nose or whatever until you've made a little mountain. You might need to come back and do our again if the same silicone is still runny.
Now for the smart bit.I use for fibre glass 4as its cheap. Wear a respirator and keep it away from people. Pour your resin (plaster, gypsum, or urethane should work too ) onto the silicone once it's fully cured until all the silicone is covered. You're left with a sturdy shell that supports the silicone mold and keeps it in shape when casting. I estimate that for what I'm making, I'm saving half on silicone.
...and here's my new idea on fully recycling old molds!
Take some old mold you wont use again. Cut it up into little pieces. Put those pieces in your box, before you pour fresh silicone in. I've just left a mold to cure like this. As you can see, it looks like it'll be uneven whenit's done. That's OK, I'll finish off with a hard resin shell. Should save some money if it works.
If I may...Just thought I might expand on this idea. Use fresh silicone to just barely cover the surface of the piece you are making a mold of. Then once cured, add the chopped up silicone on top of this with a tiny bit of silicone to tie it all together. Sometimes the chunks can create air pockets around your piece if you arent careful. Then you arent using up all your good silicone to strength the mold.
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