I need help in regard to mold making...
The other day, I tried my hand at pouring a mold... I thought it was successful, as it seemed to "harden up" over night as the instructions said it would. I used a plastic cup to pour the ingredients into and I had to cut the cup as the mold didn't just slip out, but that was no big thing... I got the mold out of the cup and used an Exacto knife to cut a slit down the side to remove the master-piece and so I could use it as a mold... When I was cutting it, the sides and the top were very "sticky" feeling, but I thought maybe that was because the sides weren't exposed to air and I thought the top, being the top, might just be that way, but obviously it wasn't supposed to be that way... I went ahead and poured the liquid plastic anyway... It hardened up just as it is supposed to, but here's where things get messed up... The side where the slit was cut melded back together and I had to rip the mold apart to get the piece out... When I got the piece out, it was covered in rubber, and I'm having a very hard time cleaning that off, so I might just scrap that head... I recall asking someone about using the mold release, but they said they didn't use it, so I thought I'd skip that too... Overall, it's a useless mess right now...
I guess I need to know these things:
When I poured the mold making compound, should I have used release so the rubber won't stick to the cup?
When the mold making compound is poured and it's sat the recommended 16+ hours, then what do I need to do? I know I'll need to remove it from the cup or whatever I use as a container, but what then? What do I need to do to the rubber mold so it does not remain sticky?
How do I "cure" the mold so it is usable? I seen on the HAZ-MAT sheet that there were also a few tips, but I didn't really see anything that I could relate to what happened here... It did say something about "curing" a mold, to heat it to 150 degrees, but I wouldn't even know where to start with that? How is that done?
The other day, I tried my hand at pouring a mold... I thought it was successful, as it seemed to "harden up" over night as the instructions said it would. I used a plastic cup to pour the ingredients into and I had to cut the cup as the mold didn't just slip out, but that was no big thing... I got the mold out of the cup and used an Exacto knife to cut a slit down the side to remove the master-piece and so I could use it as a mold... When I was cutting it, the sides and the top were very "sticky" feeling, but I thought maybe that was because the sides weren't exposed to air and I thought the top, being the top, might just be that way, but obviously it wasn't supposed to be that way... I went ahead and poured the liquid plastic anyway... It hardened up just as it is supposed to, but here's where things get messed up... The side where the slit was cut melded back together and I had to rip the mold apart to get the piece out... When I got the piece out, it was covered in rubber, and I'm having a very hard time cleaning that off, so I might just scrap that head... I recall asking someone about using the mold release, but they said they didn't use it, so I thought I'd skip that too... Overall, it's a useless mess right now...
I guess I need to know these things:
When I poured the mold making compound, should I have used release so the rubber won't stick to the cup?
When the mold making compound is poured and it's sat the recommended 16+ hours, then what do I need to do? I know I'll need to remove it from the cup or whatever I use as a container, but what then? What do I need to do to the rubber mold so it does not remain sticky?
How do I "cure" the mold so it is usable? I seen on the HAZ-MAT sheet that there were also a few tips, but I didn't really see anything that I could relate to what happened here... It did say something about "curing" a mold, to heat it to 150 degrees, but I wouldn't even know where to start with that? How is that done?
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