Mold making, cheap and easy.

by Jenifer Wong Marketing Consultant

So you wan na make a silicone mold, but don't want to spend oodles of dollars on expensive silicone?

Well you are just in luck as I learned how to do such a thing when I got my fancy art degree.

Now this is a soft mold. So you probably don't want to be casting soft things in it (silicone, latex, etc.).

A general rule I follow (but as with any rule there are exceptions) is that you don't cast like into like, for example hard in to hard or soft into soft. So you don't make a plaster mold and then cast fiberglass into it. Unless you are making a one off mold and don't care that you'll have to break the mold to get the piece out. Conversely, casting silicone into a silicone mold is a bad idea. Why, you ask? Well silicone has this amazing property to stick to itself. So don't do it. Latex doesn't really stick to silicone, casting latex works better into something like porous so just use something like hydrostone or ultracal.

Here is what you will need:

- Dish soap

-100% Silicone Caulk (If it isn't clear it's not 100% silicone caulk so, you know, get clear.).

- Latex gloves (Make sure these are powderless. Powder + watery silicone = paste. You don't want that. Also, make sure that these are not silicone gloves. Silicone sticks to silicone very well. As far as Nitrile, I've never tried them.).

- Plastic cup (Use bigger ones than this. I spilled a lot of water. Tupperware works well too).

- Water.

-1 caulk gun.

Also something to make a mold of!

Now if you didn't make whatever you are making make sure you have EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT from whoever did. Make sure to give them credit too. For example, Garry Newton made this and I got his permission to make a mold of this for my mom. Don't just buy someone else's work and try to remake it and pass it off as your own. If you do this is called recasting and it is a terrible, terrible thing.

Anywho, I like to stick my items to something portable. This is a piece of sintra, but wood works too. That way I'm not confined to working in one area. Make sure you use something that doesn't succumb to moisture like cardboard does.

You will also need something to make a mother mold. I used hydrostone, but plaster and fiberglass work and they make a bunch of different materials specifically for making master molds. Master molds are used with soft molds so that when you are casting into the soft mold, the finished piece isn't deformed. A bad mother mold means that you get bad castings. Take your time with it. I didn't do a great job but do as I say, not as I do.

Now that you have everything, what do you do?

The first thing you want to do is put soap in the water. Use it liberally. It's better you put too much soap in than not enough. This is very important. The soap serves two purposes. The first is that it keeps the silicone from sticking to your glove. The second is that the soap acts as a catalyst and makes the silicone cure in about 15 minutes as opposed to 2 hours. I don't know why it does, but it just does. If you don't use soap, this process can take a whole lot longer.

Elastostar is a leading supplier of silicone rubber tubing, silicone rubber cord, Platinum Cured Silicone Hose