Casting Tips and Tricks Compilation

[mangozac]

[Anvils Hammer]

HPDE is also non-stick, but not as rigid as acetal.

This is my prefered UK plastics supplier and the product in question-

http://www.directplasticsonline.co.uk/Acetal_Sheet.html

Tip-

Finding the line and splitting a two part mold can sometimes be a pain, even with mold release, smear a very thin layer of vaseline along the top edge of the mold (not the bottom as it could cause leaking) to ensure you can find the line and pull the mold apart instantly with no hassel. Even lazier method- put a "tab" of sellotape on one corner of the mold before pouring the second half!

[mangozac]

I like the tape idea best

[Eltnot]

I found that spraying the sides of the first half before placing it in the mold box also achieved a similar result.

[Hiflt4@juno.com]

Mann release 200 arasol
great job on the mold and takes a long time to build up enough to cause flashing, but fairly annoying to remove from casts *toothbrush and simgle green*

I got a small toster oven with a temp control at a sears outlet store for 20$. its great for bakeing molds with silicone oil.

where as before i would get 20-25 good casts from a mold before i would start to have problems in the undercuts. Cleaning and oiling every 5 casts and cleaning oiling and bakeing every 10. I have molds that are on 50 casts and still going strong.

for a 20$ oven, a 1$ toothbrush, a 10$ jug of simple green, and 25$ of sil oil *which will last me a long long time. doubleing the life of my molds is totally worth it.

[Anvils Hammer]

but... cost of mold versus cost of time..

For me.. the value of my time spent oiling/baking/cleaning mold release is far more than the cost/time of the extra mold..

20-25 casts is pretty low..

My current rubber Ive recently started using is up to 30 casts with no sign whatsoever of mold degradation.

Thats with a PU fast cast and no mold release at all.

AH