[tina]

Hi.... I've made a cats head out of air-dry clay to use as a mold on which I want to add a few coats of muslin and pva mix glue to..... I then intend to peel this off in two pieces.... So basically I want the shell not the clay piece.
Would anyone know what barrier I can use between the clay and the gluey muslin to stop it from sticking so much.... I already tried an acrylic spray coating, two coats of acrylic paint and a coating of baby oil, all of which wasn't successful (although I have to admit impatience in that I don't think the muslin was completly dry before I peeled it off.......) I just wondered if anyone would know of something that would form a good non stick barrier for easier removal.... TY

 

[John Smith_inFL]

how big is the model ?
when I need a really smooth release with PVA glue, I try to dip the model in melted Gulf Wax that you get at the supermarket or online. I have no idea of how commercial "mold release" or spray silicone would work. come back and share your project when you get it done.

 

[tina]

how big is the model ?
when I need a really smooth release with PVA glue, I try to dip the model in melted Gulf Wax that you get at the supermarket or online. I have no idea of how commercial "mold release" or spray silicone would work. come back and share your project when you get it done.

Thank you....Wax sounds like a good idea, I hadn't though of that.... The cats head is only about the size of an apple....Today I tried attaching a layer of cotton wool coated in a watered down mix of pva glue, so when thats dry I'll coat it with the muslin and see how that goes...... If it goes badly i'll try the wax, if it's successful (eventually) I will put up a pic

 

[iandandavies]

what is it you are trying to do? Are you trying to make some sort of a mould?

 

[tina]

what is it you are trying to do? Are you trying to make some sort of a mould?

yes, it needs to be light weight.

 

[iandandavies]

I think best to use silicone for mould, its standard practice. If you dont want to pay for the proper stuff you can use silicone bathroom sealant. But it has to be prepared to remove the acetic acid first. I will post a video of the process later. Why does thea mould need to be thin?

 

[iandandavies]

Search 'using silicone sealant to make molds'
Heres an example

 

[tina]

I think best to use silicone for mould, its standard practice. If you dont want to pay for the proper stuff you can use silicone bathroom sealant. But it has to be prepared to remove the acetic acid first. I will post a video of the process later. Why does thea mould need to be thin?

Thank you for your information..... The video of the silicone mold is the reverse of what i'm doing.... Having not been to art school I don't know terminology..... I suppost I would call it a cast.. (something like the photo) so the clay cat's head is the mold and I want an outer shell. It doesn't need to be thin, just light as it will be a dolls head and the doll needs to stand up... I top heavy doll will topple....
However the video of the silicone molds has given me ideas for candle making. I want to make thin fairly short candles and can't find any such mold so making a silicone mold may well be the answer to that problem....

 

[John Smith_inFL]

Tina - in your "next" projects, make some extra samples so you can experiment with the concerns you may have.

 

[tina]

Tina - in your "next" projects, make some extra samples so you can experiment with the concerns you may have.

I will

 

[iandandavies]

you could try using resin instead of the pva and use thin smear of vasaline as the release agent

 

[tina]

you could try using resin instead of the pva and use thin smear of vasaline as the release agent

How would resin work differently? I don't know anything about resin glue or how to use it I do think the vaseline may work well though, I tried baby oil but I think that was too thin..

 

[iandandavies]

Resin is a liquid you mix with a hardener and it then sets after 20mins or so dependibg on temp and type of resin.it takes detail really well and is used extensively for making models.
You could apply Vaseline thinly then paint a layer of resin in the mould then press on your muslin. Then paint on another layer of resin. It can then be pulled out after a short time when the resin sets. Do some internet and youtube searches for more information

 

[tina]

Resin is a liquid you mix with a hardener and it then sets after 20mins or so dependibg on temp and type of resin.it takes detail really well and is used extensively for making models.
You could apply Vaseline thinly then paint a layer of resin in the mould then press on your muslin. Then paint on another layer of resin. It can then be pulled out after a short time when the resin sets. Do some internet and youtube searches for more information

Thank you for the info.... I'll look into that

 

[John Smith_inFL]

Tina, if you can, please post some photos of your mold that you will be covering.

 

[tina]

Tina, if you can, please post some photos of your mold that you will be covering.

At the moment it still has a layer of cotton wool and thin pva, which was probably a mistake, it takes ages to dry but today I'm going to spray paint it (to seal it and to see where I apply the first coat of muslin and glue mix). After the paint had dried im going to try the vaseline coating first before I start to buy other products..... This is my first attempt at a cats face (as it is an experiment) so no sniggering My intention is to put glass eyes in the cast eventually, the holes are there from when I tried to postition them.... Giving it an overall crazy look!