Slacker!

So...I started the project and didn't take any pictures. Dang, I'm such a slacker!

Still, A few things have become apparent. First, the white silicone is fundamentally different from the clear. It's more runny and less sticky. I'm not sure how that will affect the final product, but it's worth noting. Also, painting the release onto the tile makes it an absolute breeze to remove the silicone. I just peeled up an edge to see how it looked and it came up without any problems at all. Woot. I'm putting on lots of layers of the white and I'm debating whether or not I want to intersperse the white layers with clear for structure and texture. Using the white is much nicer as far as seeing the voids and making sure everything is covered properly, but with the change in consistency I'm not sure how the final mold will turn out. I'm tempted to finish one using all white and see how it is.

Now that's what I call a sticky situation

So...I learned an important lesson today. A lesson I wish I'd learned a very long like ago. Like 2-3 weeks ago. Like before I did all this work on the candle mold. Based on this and the title, you may be guessing what I've learned. What I learned is that cured silicone is like a bar of soap wrapped in bacon coated in Teflon. Nothing sticks to it. Uncured silicone however, is much more like...Velcro covered in maple syrup. It's sticky as hell and it's not going to take it anymore.

I found out that the mold I spent so much time and effort on, the mold I lovingly crafted over the past few weeks, is thoroughly and irrevocably stuck to the model. Le sigh. I'm a dolt, in case that part hadn't been made clear. I neglected to put any kind of mold release on the model or on the tile in the first place. My reasoning behind this, was the apparently overwhelming idea that "Nothing sticks to silicone." This is true, but only when the other substance is applied after the silicone is cured. If either substance being applied is uncured silicone, you're in for a sticky time. This is a lesson I will not soon forget.

This is what happened. The easy part was removing the cured plaster casts from the cured silicone (cured long before the plaster was applied). No problems, even without any kind of release. Then I had to cut the now-cured silicone free from the tile (no mean feat). That should've been my first clue that something was wrong. I didn't get it. Then I had to try to extricate the mold from the cured silicone. Ugh. Not at all what I was hoping for.

With the lessons I have learned, I feel like I am ready to tackle the real project. I will need to scrape the tile clean and start totally fresh, so I'll get to work on that. This time, there will be pictures.

Plaster Casts

So I've gotten to the next step in the project with the trial run. I have finished the silicone mold, and am now working on the plaster mother mold. This part is kind of fun, and it's a neat way to do it. I did mess up a bit in a few key ways. First, I forgot to add the clay separation around the edge of the mold. Whoops! That just about messed me up. Second, when I did put the clay on there, I didn't make the wall flat or wide enough. It needs to be very flat and very wide. You'll want at least 2.5-3 full inches of clay on all sides so you can get a serious overlap. I think covering the clay with foil is a good idea, too. It keeps your clay from getting all plastery, and it will also help on the other side. I'm actually thinking about just doing the foil instead of the petroleum jelly for this one. We'll see.

So anyway, things seem to be going well. It has been an incredible amount of work to get this thing done, and it's taking a really long time. Next time, I think I can speed up the process with a few minor changes. Since I'll be following that one in photos and on this blog, I'll save the explanations for when I have pictures to show the reasons more effectively.

Candle in the Wind

Actually, the candle is in the garage. There's really no wind at all. It is progressing, though. Here's what I've learned so far.

First, the first layer needs to be very thin, the capture detail. Subsequent layers can be quite a bit thicker. As long as the first layer is thin and dry, any layers afterward will just be sticking to it. Second, use of foam brushes instead of bristle brushes is okay. Finding cheap foam brushes is easier than finding cheap bristle brushes a lot of the time. Also, the clear silicone makes it very tough to see voids and everything. I'm thinking very seriously about going with the white next time, just to see if that makes it easier.

Second, a square of tile makes a great platform for this. I got a 12"x12" piece of tile off the closeout rack at Lowe's for $0.72 and no work involved in cutting it to size. I have also confirmed that it will be reusable, as the hot glue and silicone will peel/scrap off. It doesn't have to be a perfectly smooth tile, either. Mine has a very slight texture to it and it's still fine. The silicone sticks to itself tenaciously and to everything else basically not at all. The hot glue will stick to the tile well enough to hold something down, but not so well that it can't be scraped off. That's also cool. A 12"x12" piece of tile is big enough for most anything I'd be doing at this point. The mold needs a good-sized skirt on it, but I'm not making anything big enough that it wouldn't have room.

Third, I was right about the smell of the silicone. It smells like very strong vinegar and a quick read of one of the tubes confirms that acetic acid is released in the curing process. That's very good news. What it means is that my nose works properly, and also that with proper ventilation, this stuff isn't going to kill me. It's just super-strong vinegar, not some hideous death-chemical like hydrofluoric acid (that stuff haunts my dreams).

So there you have it. Still no pics yet, though. No pics until I get a successful test on the trial run and know that this is going to work out.

Source Documents

Just so you don't think that I come up with all this stuff on my own, here's the site where I've gotten most of my info on mold-making and casting. I've also included the videos pertaining to the method I'm going to be using for this project.

Smooth-On

Here's their youtube site: Smooth-On Youtube

This is an idea I've had for a while: Statuary Candles

This is actually closer to what I'll be doing. Without spending a buttload of money on the pourable silicone mold-making stuff, you sort of have to use the stuff you brush on. Part 1 and Part 2

Since I'm cheap, I'll be using the hardware store silicone instead of the fancy mold-making silicone. This means a few things. First, I have to do a lot more thin layers than they do. Their stuff is awesome and thick layers will dry very quickly. The hardware store stuff needs plenty of air to cure. If you put too thick of a layer on, the underside won't dry and you'll end up with a cured silicone jacket riding on a nasty gel layer. Second, it really needs to be done outside. I don't know for sure that the fumes from the silicone are harmful, but it really stinks. Smooth-On has spent a ton of money on R&D to make their stuff nonhazardous and still effective. I'll also be using plaster bandages instead of the plasti-paste. This is also because I'm cheap. A roll of plaster bandages is like $6 or you can go even cheaper by buying some burlap and some Plaster of Paris and making your own. If you think the stuff they use in these videos is awesome (and you'd be right) you can get cool starter kits from them with everything you need to make your own, but it'll set you back $50 or more.

Failure to Craft

So I had this great idea for Christmas gifts for all our friends, right? I thought so too. I was going to make everyone 20-sided die candles. They'd be small and cute and geeky and would give me a chance to work on my mold-making, which is definitely a good thing. So I went to work.

I sunk the die halfway into some clay, then began to brush silicone onto it. The regular silicone caulk you get from the hardware store makes a great flexible mold and it's really cheap. Smells like hell, but it works. So I made probably a dozen or more layers of silicone on this thing. Had the silicone extend down onto the clay to make sort of a skirt. Then I poured some plaster onto it to make the firm mold backing. This process isn't too tough (just time-consuming) and you get the benefits of the flexible mold and the firmness of a plaster mold in one. Very good stuff. Still can't get too crazy with undercuts or anything, but the silicone is far more forgiving than the plaster. I repeated the same process on the other side to get myself a full die mold.

This is what I learned: When doing these coats of silicone, less is more. I thought I was adding thin layers, but I was wrong. They need to be really thin. Like you add maybe a drop the size of a skittle for an area about 10 square inches or something. This will help it to dry properly, but it will also keep it smoother. That's another thing. If you're doing this, get a ton of those little disposable paintbrushes that are like $1 for a dozen of them. Buy a dozen of those packs. If you can figure out how to clean the silicone off the brush without destroying the brush you may not need so many, but still. Get a bunch. Make tiny layers and keep them smooth. Smooth layers will adhere well and will also release from the plaster mold more easily. Mine were really rough with all sorts of undercuts and such and they just didn't work. Once I took the silicone out of the plaster, it was a battle to get it back in again. Also, you really want to make some mold keys. Mold keys make sure the molds halves fit together perfectly. You can use anything, really. I like the idea of hex nuts, though. I'll be using those next time.

So I learned a lot about what not to do, and now I'm thinking I know what I'd prefer to do with that knowledge. Since it's also no longer a surprise, I can take some pictures of the process so you guys can see how it's done.

Bow before Zod!

Well really, it should be "Kneel before Zod" but that totally misses the "bow" pun, doesn't it? I have started working on bows. I know, it's been a long time since I posted that I was going to. I got the wood, traced the pattern onto it and then let it sit for weeks. Then I started cutting out the shapes with the bandsaw and really messed it up hard. So I got a second piece of wood, traced the shapes onto it, tightened the bandsaw blade and cut it out, this time meeting with marginal success. I smoothed everything down with a rasp and thumb plane (my little green work pony) and got it more or less how I wanted it. I glued the riser to the bow, so now I just need to mark that out and cut to the lines. You'll notice no pictures. Partly, this is because I figured I'd be messing up a lot and wanted to get pictures of a bow that I could be proud of. Good thing, too.

So anyhow, it seems to be going well so far. I'll let you all know what I think about it as I get farther along.