Molding material?

Question

I want to make molds and casts of things, however I do not want to spend money on silicon rubber and other types of casting puddies. Are there any materials I have laying around my house that I can pour to make molds? I don't want to use Jell-O because it needs to be semi durable.

Thanks

Answer 1

Eh, I wouldn't try the melting plastic thingy idea. If you have plastic sheet you can soften it and pull if over something to create a mould but this needs practise (also to do it safely) and unless you have a vacuum forming setup it will not take details well.

There are several material you may have that could be usefull for making moulds. But it will depend a little on what you want to make casts of. Do you have more info?

- plaster of Paris: very traditional moldmaking and casting material. Gives a hard mould which is a little tricky to use. Fairly cheap. This could perhaps be suitable for "casting" paper mache.
- chaulk (silicone kit): suitable for small parts for making small moulds. Fairly smelly. Use vaseline as a mould release when you make the mould (and a fair bit of it - bicycle spray works).
- plasticine: "kids clay". Use vaseline as mould release. Good for somewhat larger moulds too. You can temporarely harden it by puttin it in the fridge.
- soap: think of the spynovel making copies of keys trick.
- candle wax? Just an idea, haven't tried that yet but it could work.

As to semi durable casting materials: plaster for one. For small parts you can also consider epoxy glue.

Answer 2

This is just a guess, but you could melt a plastic toy and then wrap it around the thing that you want to make a mold of.
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Answer 3

Resin could be just about impossible to apply for what you're describing because of the fact it takes a minimum of 24 hours to delicate-treatment. The resin, rather of clinging to the perimeters of your pot, might sink to the backside. you will possibly have do varied coats (and unload out the excess resin each and every time). i might seem into doing Plexiglas, because of the fact the guy above me pronounced, or some thing comparable. stable success!