From rocks to resin - a journey in learning to cast.

[mangozac]

Well talking to the guy from Barnes, he indicated up to a week!

It will be suitable for demoulding by tonight, but I always try to leave about 24 hours. So first thing in the morning you'll be ready to do a cast

Have you got some talc and mould release?

[mangozac]

Oh I just thought to add that you will be fine to demould by tonight, since I know you'll probably be eager to see how it's turned out (I know I would be!). But then give the silicone that extra bit of time overnight to cure properly before casting.

[Barn]

One of the advantages of 2 kids in nappies is having tons of talc/baby powder in the house

I actually tried to buy mould release, and the guy seemed like he didnt want to sell me any Conversation went like this:

Me: I also believe i need some mould release.
Barnes Dude: What are you casting again?
Me: Bases for miniatures etc
BD: Oh right, well if you are recasting resin Ultrasil wont need any mould release (this comment alone had me wondering who recasts and what they do in that area!)
Me: ummm im making my own and using things like foam and sand.
BD: Oh you still wont need mould release ... (uncomfortable pause )... if you really need to you could just use some Vaseline.
Me ok... what about after i make the mould and am casting?
BD: Oh you wont need any to cast 4PU in Ultrasil.

At that point i gave up pushing trying to spend my money

And thanks for the tip on Demoulding tonight. Although im dead keen, i would be happy to leave it all as it is right now for a week if i thought it would make it better

[mangozac]

Yeah while you technically don't need mould release, it's kind of necessary if you want to maximise the life of the mould.

You don't need it to get started though. The talc will be for helping minimise bubbles sticking to the surfaces of the part - just give it a light dusting, empty out the excess and pour in the resin

Demould tonight, test cast in the morning. Then pics!

[blind pig]

[Barn]

[Barn]

So here are some more pics!
Mould in its boxing...


...and 'unwrapped' ready to go!


There was only 1 tiny air bubble that I could see that would have an affect on things. I have resin in the mould right now, so wont be long to see how it went!

[Barn]

And here they are!

[mangozac]

Woohoo! Do I see some bits of silicone stuck in the rear left one? No matter...

So what are your thoughts? They look good from here but it's hard to tell - we should have told you to grab some grey pigment to put in your 4PU! Are there many bubble issues?

I assume the wacky shape of the mould is to minimise silicone usage? Great idea! Seems like you could have gotten away with a bit less silicone though, but that's the learning curve

Oh and 1 tiny air bubble in the mould is nothing at all to stress about! It's not uncommon for me to end up with a slightly flawed mould much of the time, but it's generally not a problem.

[blind pig]

[Munkey Joe]

I thought the same about the mold BUT I cannot say S#*T about the results......

Very nice by the looks of it and congrats on your first pull!!! I swear I will post some pics up sometime soon. But alas Im going to be busy again with the Moscow thing!!

I vow though to have SOMETHING cast this week!!!

[Barn]

Yeah that one that one with he silicone on it, it appears as though the silicone had slightly entered the foam I used to make the original. That first batch seemed to have cleaned that up though.

There's no bubble issues at all that I can see. Even the tiny bubble in the mould didn't cause an issue in the cast piece Im kinda amazed at the detail, I cant wait to get onto casting some 'real' stuff (although i think i will do some different bases for the next couple moulds i make as well )

I made the boxing and strip of clay to hold it, and had a little left over. I thought I would chuck it down to mean I would need less silicone. I mixed up 1/3 of the stuff i had, but i think 1/4 or even less would have been ok. I also mixed up about double the amount of resin I needed, but I let it set at an angle in
the cup, it will make a nice small piece of terrain

[Barn]

Also, thanks a ton for all the feedback so far, im happy to say im a full resincrack addict now

[Barn]

Porbably a silly question, but is there something other than talc that is as good as the j-wax? I'll be heading to a shopping center this arvo, but wont have enough time to make it to Barnes.

[mangozac]

Not that I'm aware of. If you wanted to be really adventurous you could try liquifying some Vaseline and painting that into the moulds. There are also slightly cheaper release agents, but both Blind Pig and I endorse the J-Wax as it seems to be the least noxious of the bunch.

Oh and don't think you're off the hook yet - this thread isn't complete until we see those bases cast up!