Hey
My name is Harold and I'm a sculptor. I have a tumblr that I haven't updated in a while but it's got some of my work on it if you want to take a peek:
I have several sculptures that I've done in chavant hard nsp. Somehow, and I have no idea how, the clay has gotten contaminated. I'm trying to mold it with Mold Star 15 and no matter what it becomes tacky wherever the mold material touches the clay. I've done test after test, sealed it with coat after coat of crystal clear and it's still no good.
The best I can get is a slightly tacky on cure. Then, after I take out the sculpt it cures all the way. I was hoping I could get away with that but it turns out that the cast from the mold needs so much clean up that it's not funny. With most of them I can suck it up and clean up the casting and just make a new mold from that but I have one sculpt that that has a LOT of detail.
I called Smooth-on and asked if there was a less sensitive mold material. He suggested a tin cured material, Mold Max 14NV. I read the technical bulletin and it says that sulfur may inhibit curing. I don't know that sulfur is my problem. Frankly I can't for the life of me figure out what's gotten into the clay that's causing the problem... I'm think I've used this same clay with rebound 25 years ago. Not that that makes any sense. That's a platinum cure silicone too... I'm trying to avoid wasting a ton of money on trial sized kits in order to test them all.
Has anyone been in this situation and how did you get out of it? Is there another mold material I can use besides a silicone? Has anyone tried Artmolds.com latex materials? Maybe a brush on sealer? I think the reason the crystal clear isn't working is that it's not really getting into the nooks and crannies. But it's what the smooth-on tech said was best. I'm surprised he didn't suggest his own SuperSeal...
So frustrated right now and wasting money I don't have