Discussion of casting and molding suppliers

[Yodajammies]

SO!

I've been attempting to mold my iron man sculpt and I thought I'd share my experience / knowledge so you guys dont fall into the same mess I'm in.

First off:

DO NOT BUY HIS SILICONE. I figured since it was fairly cheap, that'd I'd buy his 1:1 ratio molding silicone. This stuff is cheap and rips easily. do not buy it. Not only that, but the thickener that he sells is practically worthless. Hardly thickens the mix at all. I've had to put on 7-10 layers as if I were using latex to mold this.

You would be highly advised to spend the few extra bucks and go with smooth-on products. In actuality, smooth-on is comparably priced.

On the other hand - The casting resin that John Greer sells is quite nice. At HALF the cost of smooth-on resins, I find that it is a great deal. The shore hardness is a tad low, making the plastic a little soft, but repeated stabs with a fairly sharp kitchen knife barely mar the surface, so unless you're highly abusive with your stuff, I think these resin is a great find.

As far as shipping goes, the price is reasonable and the speed is unparalleled.

So for greer - dont use his silicone for glove molds. It will rip and you will waste a lot of money. That and it will take a week to build the mold properly. DO use his casting resin. Super cheap and quite reliable.

 

[Pkmnjunky7]

Dang it. I really really want to mold my ironman helmet and the only way was if I could get the stuff cheaper. I might end up not molding my helmet at all if his silicone is crap. :-(

 

[Spartan 051]

so how much did that crappy silicone cost you?

 

[Nicktendo]

On the other hand - The casting resin that John Greer sells is quite nice. At HALF the cost of smooth-on resins, I find that it is a great deal.

I've posted this a few times but no one has really caught on. It isn't half the price, it's only about 5 bucks cheaper.

SMOOTH-CAST 300:http://www.smoothonsecure.com/store...d=156&osCsid=8bad12efe0200753e707f9095e4af91c

Gallon Unit = 15.4 lbs. [Part A + Part B in plastic 1-gallon pails]

(Means it makes 2 gallons)

(The file name for that pic is even "Jug-Gal-A---Jug-Gal-B.jpg")
$76.41 (+S/H)


JGREER:

AeroMarine Casting Resin, 2 Gallon Kit, Makes 2 gallons

$72.00 (+S/H)


That fine print will get ya sometimes... But it's good to know that JGreer's resin can compete with Smooth-On

 

[Yodajammies]

well, hold that thought nick.

Good find with the prices, but I've never used smoothon casting resins. All I have to go by are the videos I've seen of stress testing and whatnot.

In all possibility smooth-cast 300 may be better than greers stuff. If nothing else, it comes in a more professional packaging- for whatever that counts.


Yeah, DONT use his silicone. It's not good for this type of application. I just demolded my helm and the silicone was practically falling to pieces. It'll tear at the slightest stressing. I've somewhat salvaged it and turned the glove mold into a two part that I can hopefully pull atleast ONE helm from.

Don't mar that piece of art darth. Save up for the good stuff.

Jgreer - Novel find, but not so great in execution.

Hear yee 405th. Let this 200$ be a lesson to you.


ps. first "pull" pictures to come


In other news, I have no silicone and a $#!Tton of resin. if anyone with old molds wants some leg work done producing casts, ship me your molds and I'll churn out a couple gallons worth of casts for ya as long as I get to keep one copy.

 

[Yodajammies]

The silicone is 88$/gal before shipping.

This is for the 1:1 mix stuff.

The 10:1 mix which supposedly has better properties (doubtful) is a buck more.

 

[Spartan 051]

What would be worth doing is sending an email and finding out it

You would just explain your case then go form there

 

[LastSpartan]

Have you tried poly 74-30? That's what Sean's using. And their trial kit is about 30$ and it's enough for one helmet if used properly (That's what Sean said )

 

[Yodajammies]

74-30?

do you have any more information on that? and/or a url link?

 

[LastSpartan]

Of course

http://www.polytek.com/store/merchant.mvc?..._Code=Poly74-30

You have to call of the trial kit tho.

 

[Yodajammies]

ECOFLEX


Has anyone used this product from Smooth-on? Adam?

http://www.smoothonsecure.com/store/index....55fe46650ab990a

What I'm trying to do is cast a neck seal like you see on TMPs ironman suit.

It's got to be a flexible material that can stretch and deform enough to fit over my fat head, but stay snug on my neck.

I'd really like it to be one piece so there is no seam to be seen.

I've heard that latex can be difficult to cast with time wise and it's recommended that you use a plaster mold for it, and I really don't want to deal with that mess.

What do you guys think?

 

[Sean Bradley]

74-30?

do you have any more information on that? and/or a url link?

'ere you go:

http://www.polytek.com/store/merchant.mvc?..._Code=Poly74-30

You have to call the order in to request the trial kit, they don't advertise it... it's for first time customers only. You'll want to get some mold release, and maybe some poly-fill for thickening your rubber.

A four pound kit is about 1/2 Gallon. I think you could do a thin helmet mold with that much if you're very careful to not waste any rubber.

74-30 is very durable. Polytek has always worked wonders for me.. but I have to say that I just did some casting last night with Smooth-On urethanes, and I may be converted.. I was very pleased with the results. I'll have to try out their silicones again sometime.

 

[Yodajammies]

I've also heard that smooth-ons urethane rubbers can be used for casting applications as well.

Something with a shore hardness around 30-40 to use as a neck seal.

I was researching therpf forums and I saw "mjolnirarmor" was asking about the batman costume about this time last year, for applications in his undersuit.

If platinum based silicones will play nicely with urethane rubbers, I think I may have found my mats for creating this neckseal and torso section for my costuming.

It would be nice to hear what someone with experience casting in flexible rubber has to say about the topic.

Also- I've been doing some work with that resin I got from Jgreer:

It has a shorehardness of 75D, where smooth-cast weighs in around 70. I don't know how much of a difference that really makes, but from Spase's videos of him abusing his helmets by dropping them, sitting on them, etc, it's pretty clear that this resin that greer sells is quite inferior.

I accidentally dropped my ironman helmet onto a carpeted surface and it cracked in several places. The plastic was over 1/3 inch thick in the places it failed too. This resin is TOO brittle for practical casting purposes.

 

[Walter Spase]

I have abused a pull made from Smoothcast for sure... and it takes a beating and keeps coming back.. Tough stuff for sure. If the proportions aren't right though... you will get soft plastic... which is no good.

 

[Yodajammies]

A little flex is needed to produce a resilient piece, so my question to you, Spase, is - how would you describe the properties of smooth-cast 300.

The resin that greer supplies is heavy, very rigid, and brittle. It makes me treat the helmet as though it were ceramic rather than plastic.

Does smooth-cast have any flex to it at all? Or when it fails due to stress does it just shatter like peanut brittle?

Also, how thick are the walls on that helmet you have in your you tube video where you kick it around the kitchen?

 

[Walter Spase]

A little flex is needed to produce a resilient piece, so my question to you, Spase, is - how would you describe the properties of smooth-cast 300.

The resin that greer supplies is heavy, very rigid, and brittle. It makes me treat the helmet as though it were ceramic rather than plastic.

Does smooth-cast have any flex to it at all? Or when it fails due to stress does it just shatter like peanut brittle?

Also, how thick are the walls on that helmet you have in your you tube video where you kick it around the kitchen?

The Youtube video has a thickness of 1/8-1/4 inch variation...

Smoothcast does have flex to it, but for the most part its rigid. As for light... its not the lightest stuff in the world... but I would say it was heavy.

The Plastics I use (Smoothcast) are resilient. They take beatings, and don't show much for wear, and as far as shattering... never had a piece shatter. You might get something that cracks under stress, but never had anything shatter...

The worse I have ever had happen is caused a piece to become brittle, because I used a heat gun to try and change its shape after the plastic had cured. This changed the material, and it became somewhat brittle. But I applied a pretty high heat to an already cured piece. It still didn't shatter... but it did snap, even though it was rock hard.

 

[Yodajammies]

You know, if you had the time (and $ I suppose), I'd really like to see a video of you destroying something made from smooth cast, just to get a sense of it's properties under stress.

Show thickness, 3d shot of the object, then hit it with a hammer, or throw it on the ground and show the results.

Perhaps with a miscast helm?

 

[Nicktendo]

I just wanted to point out that the reason Poly 74-30 is cheaper is because it's a pourable urethane rubber, not a brushable silicone rubber like Rebound 25.

If you look at Smooth-On's Urethane Rubbers, they're even cheaper than the ones at Polytek, I believe.

 

[Sean Bradley]

I just wanted to point out that the reason Poly 74-30 is cheaper is because it's a pourable urethane rubber, not a brushable silicone rubber like Rebound 25.

If you look at Smooth-On's Urethane Rubbers, they're even cheaper than the ones at Polytek, I believe.

If thats they case, then pardon my intrusion.

Pourable urethanes can be thickened to your likeness with poly-fill, which I indicated above. Being able to adjust the viscosity of the rubber has it's advantages too.

Just wanted people to know about the 1/2 price trial kit for new customers.

 

[Yodajammies]

but it's 54$ for a 4lb kit.

if 4lb is 1/2 gallon, that'd be 108$ for a full gallon. Smooth-on comes out to ~85$ a gallon doesn't it?