Rouseau Works' Mold Making Videos

[Deleted]

Glad you put this together man. Great stuff and keep it coming!

[curufin]

Cool stuff. I may have to try that out. Thanks for the share!

[dmzook]

Duuuuude! That was awesome. I'd been waiting for those kind of tips. Anything mold making is gonna be super helpful to me. And I'm looking forward to the homemade substrate.

By the way, what's your educational/career background? I caught the film school reference you posted once. I really appreciate you bringing new materials and techniques into play.

Thanks- Z

[michka]

I finally got all the mold making videos watched. Now I want to get some silicone, corn starch and a thing and start making molds. Really good work. Thank you.

[DnDPaladin]

i wonder how you make two part molds of minis that have like small swords and the likes.
if i mold anything its gonna be my minis in order to get more for next to nothing.

[curufin]

Could all 100% silicones not be created equal?  (At the moment) I think so.

A month or two ago I made 4 two-part molds using the silicone/cornstarch/paint method.  I used GE brand 100% silicone (dubbed Silicone I on the label), Argo brand cornstarch, and Basic brand green acrylic paint.  The silicone was vile smelling and I had to make the molds in the garage as I couldn't stand the smell.  I mixed the silicone and cornstarch into a consistency similar to bread dough or soft playdough.  I then added a big blob of green paint, and kneaded it into the dough.  Almost immediately I could feel the dough starting to firm up.  I barely had time to get the model pushed into it before it became too rigid to press anything into it.  Within 2 hours it was fully cured and I starting working on the second part of the molds.  This time I used about half the paint as before, which netted me a little more open time to press in the objects.  Paint is the catalyst that cures the silicone.  Those molds fully cured in about 5 hours.

I recently did another batch of molds, this time with GE brand 100% silicone (dubbed Silicone II on the label) which didn't smell at all.  I did everything exactly the same as before EXCEPT I used Basic brand yellow acrylic paint instead of green.  I use the color yellow less than green in my crafts some it seemed like a better way to allocate usefulness of colors.  After 5 days of curing, the silicone is still very very soft and uncured.  After 7 days I de-molded the still uncured silicone and decided to start all over.  My thought process at this point was that: Yellow must have different qualities than other acrylic colors, qualities unable to cure silicone.

Round 3:  Same as above, using GE brand 100% silicone (dubbed Silicone II on the label), this time with green paint, and again uncured molds after 3 days.  

Is it possible that all 100% silicones are not created equal?  I'm inclined to think, yes.  I will be starting over (yet again), going back to the foul smelling Silicone I to see if I can get that to work again.  I will report any findings on this matter. 

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

[bluecloud2k2]

And that concludes our chemistry lesson for the day.

[curufin]

Oct 23, 2015 14:55:05 GMT @rouseau said:

From GE's FAQ:

GE Silicone II* caulk is what's called a "neutral cure" silicone, which means no acids are released during the curing process (as there are in GE Silicone I*). This enables GE Silicone II* to adhere to a broader range of substrates such as plastics, concrete, and metals. Also, the odor of a neutral cure silicone such as GE Silicone II* is much less offensive than an acid or acetoxy cure silicone such as GE Silicone I*.

So, no. They aren't created equal.
What the starch is doing for the acetoxy cure silicone is it's pulling more moisture further in. As a byproduct of the curing, it produces an acid, acetic acid. Oxy in, acet out. That's your smell. It's the same stuff as in vinegar. No smell probably always means no good in this case.

Thanks for the info.

Well, dont I feel like an idiot. I guess that only 50% of 100% silicones are made with 80% of the 100% silicone...that other 20% just wont let those molds cure.

Most of the tubes just say 100% silicone with no other active ingredients listed.  Is there a way to tell which ones will work and what ones wont?  I'd also hate to see people waste their money and time. 


EDIT:
Maybe some brand do list ingredients...Red Devil brand says their 100% silicone is Methyitriacetoxysilane, Ethyltriaceoxysilane, and Petroleum Distillate.  

[curufin]

Just made 6 more molds using Silicone I before dinner and they have already cured. I might even do the second halves yet tonight. Thanks again for the info.... science....who knew...

[bluecloud2k2]

Oct 23, 2015 17:34:18 GMT @rouseau said:

Hey. You want to pay $6.24 USD plus tax for something that might not work, I wish you the best. You just might wish you had paid attention in class one of these days. Gotta get those dice, though, right?

I was attempting to be funny... evidently I failed.

[ogrestamp]

Oct 24, 2015 6:40:26 GMT bluecloud2k2 said:

Oct 23, 2015 17:34:18 GMT @rouseau said:

Hey. You want to pay $6.24 USD plus tax for something that might not work, I wish you the best. You just might wish you had paid attention in class one of these days. Gotta get those dice, though, right?

I was attempting to be funny... evidently I failed.

You didn't let it cure long enough.

[bluecloud2k2]

Nov 9, 2015 6:49:52 GMT ogrestamp said:

Oct 24, 2015 6:40:26 GMT bluecloud2k2 said:

I was attempting to be funny... evidently I failed.

You didn't let it cure long enough.

*insert snare drum here*