ALIEN Warrior head refurbishing project.....

Remember that Urethane resin kills Silicone moulds very quickly, use a release agent of some kind and your moulds will last more than 10 pulls...
 
Wow. Just wow.

(Funny how much that pic with the mold reminds me of a certain reproductive system illustration.)
 
Too Much Garlic said:
THAT's the kill-shot, right there. Awesome cast. Just awesome.
Click to expand...

Thank you much TMG! :)
I was happy with the mold. Almost zero seam or flashing to trim off straight out of the rubber. Lucky day!
I was also glad that the upper teeth "puck" worked s planned. Just waiting on my load of resin to get here so I can pour a nice thick-walled and flawless resin cast.
 
have you tried using a polyester gel coat and resin if you want to fiberglass the heads. much more forgiving on the moulds.
 
SwampDonkey said:
Too Much Garlic said:
THAT's the kill-shot, right there. Awesome cast. Just awesome.
Click to expand...
Thank you much TMG! :)
I was happy with the mold. Almost zero seam or flashing to trim off straight out of the rubber. Lucky day!
I was also glad that the upper teeth "puck" worked s planned. Just waiting on my load of resin to get here so I can pour a nice thick-walled and flawless resin cast.
Click to expand...
What? THAT wasn't a flawless cast?

Good to know you have high standards when it comes to casting. :thumbsup
 
Amish Trooper said:
At first I wasn't interested in this but more and more it is growing on me.
Click to expand...

Ditto! I'm pleased the permission question is sorted out and the quality of resculpting and moulding is undeniably good.

SwampDonkey, did you try backing up your epoxy gel with an epoxy resin/glass layup at all? Gets very good, lightweight results in the model aeroplane world. Or as Fettster said, go with polyester for both. Stick with like-to-like and you should be ok.
 
Too Much Garlic said:
What? THAT wasn't a flawless cast?

Good to know you have high standards when it comes to casting. :thumbsup
Click to expand...

Oh there was a thin spot at the bottom that bulged whenthe urethane foam was poured in along with a couple more areas where it erupted out of the slushed resin skin.

fettster said:
have you tried using a polyester gel coat and resin if you want to fiberglass the heads. much more forgiving on the moulds.
Click to expand...

No I havent tried polyester gel coat yet. What do you mean by "forgiving" on the moulds? Its always been my understanding that urethane was a prime casting material for silicone. Always thought silicone and urethane went together like beer and pizza :confused
 
urethane will dry out the silicone and make it brittle. dont get me wrong, it will do the job well but it will eat your mould. polyester will not do this so your moulds will last longer.
 
fettster said:
urethane will dry out the silicone and make it brittle. dont get me wrong, it will do the job well but it will eat your mould. polyester will not do this so your moulds will last longer.
Click to expand...

Right, ive treated molds with silicone oil in the past. Will this slow the process? Ive never cast more than 5 parts using urethane from silicone.
Thanks for the info by the way.
 
Just use a spray-on mould release. I've cast multiple parts out of silicone moulds without mould release and had no (chemical) deterioration. I have moulds that are over 15 years old and still good - some staining yes, and mechanical flexing/pulling of detailed silicone moulds certainly can rip out chunks of rubber. But then it's not as if I've used every formulation of urethane out there, and I've certainly had moulds that *did* go bad very quickly.

Silicone's expensive and this is a big mould, so I'd go with mould release, or just using polyester, provided you can get a gel coat that sticks to it.
 
megaprime said:
:eek. Truly amazing work SD! :thumbsup
Click to expand...

Much appreciated:)

Nwerke said:
Ditto! I'm pleased the permission question is sorted out and the quality of resculpting and moulding is undeniably good.

SwampDonkey, did you try backing up your epoxy gel with an epoxy resin/glass layup at all? Gets very good, lightweight results in the model aeroplane world. Or as Fettster said, go with polyester for both. Stick with like-to-like and you should be ok.
Click to expand...

Thanks, and I did try that that with one section with fair results. The main issue I had was the epoxy running off of the silicone without foriming a layer.

Nwerke said:
Just use a spray-on mould release. I've cast multiple parts out of silicone moulds without mould release and had no (chemical) deterioration. I have moulds that are over 15 years old and still good - some staining yes, and mechanical flexing/pulling of detailed silicone moulds certainly can rip out chunks of rubber. But then it's not as if I've used every formulation of urethane out there, and I've certainly had moulds that *did* go bad very quickly.

Silicone's expensive and this is a big mould, so I'd go with mould release, or just using polyester, provided you can get a gel coat that sticks to it.
Click to expand...

Thanks but which mold release? There are many mold release formulations out there and I really need an experience guy (like yourself) to point at it and say "get that one" lol
SO can you give me a product name or a link please?
 
See if you can find this over the pond.

http://www.bjbenterprises.com/pdf/TC-1630.pdf

Brush in epoxy coat. Mix cabosil with your fiberglass resin to make a paste. Harden the paste like you would the resin and brush into all the undercuts rounding the interior. While it's still wet, start laying in your fiberglass.

Your Gel Coat should not be all the way dry, as soon as it starts to get rubbery, put in the Cabo-Glass and lay your fiberglass, it's a fast process that will have the ultimate bond.

Also powder your molds with cornstarch, brush it into the mold liberally and blow it out with an airgun leaving a thin layer on the mold. This will prevent all the small air bubbles.

Dex
 
I can honestly say, BJB 1630 casting resin is amazing. I use it to cast proton packs and it brushes into the mold perfectly and sticks to the silicone like paint.
 
As far as Mold release goes, I just use Johnson's baby powder. Squirt it all in the mold and brush it on with a soft paint brush, then blow out the excess. My moulds have hel up quite well and as dexter mentioned, it will help eliminate the smaller air bubbles.

And by the way, I LOVE the Raptor that you are sculpting... the detail and pose are fantastic :) :) any chance of some more pics of it?
 
Time for a paint job! Screen accurate of course:) It may be the first ever that was made to look just like it did in the film. And yes its going to one of our members, wouldnt have it any other way!

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