JediDefender.com Forums
Collecting => Customs => Customizing Tips and Tricks => Topic started by: RollaJedi on August 17, 2007, 11:08 AM
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Hey all!
Sorry I've been away so long but I've taken over the duties of Zookeeper/Admin at www.coreplanets.com (yeah, shameless plug, I know).
Anyways, I just had to let you all in on a new source material I've been using now that allows me to make great molds and it costs almost NOTHING hardly! What is it you ask!? None other than Hot Melt Glue! All you need to do is create a wall around your part you want to cast (your master). I do this with lego blocks on a lego base. Now, I use a substance I found at walmart called 'Goo Gone Extreme' (its about 3-4 bucks for a very large container) and I douse the inside of my walls and the flooring with this stuff. I also put this on my master as well. What this stuff does is prevents the glue from actually sticking and bonding to the legos and master. Hot melt glue is VERY potent in terms of sticking, mainly because hot melt glue is really liquid plastic and vinyl.
You'll need a glue gun for the next step, and these can range from 2 bucks to over 50 bucks for a really good one. I have an el cheapo $1.97 pink glue gun I grabbed at wm and it works just fine. I use high temp glue sticks (which I got a bag of these for 1.50 at wm too) and fill the 'box' you just made up. Now, for bigger boxes, I suggest getting a bigger gun that will take a bigger glue stick. Mainly because the short ones harden up faster and you have to constantly reload.
Now, you do just like you would in other molding situations and put the master about half way into the hot glue (REMEMBER TO DOUSE YOUR MASTER WITH THE GOO GONE!). Put some tiny balls or something around the master as well halfway in so you have a locking device. What I do is I have some of those mardi gras beaded necklaces that people throw in parades. You can get them ultra cheap too. I just tear off the beads and they are the perfect size.
Now wait till the glue has hardened back into the semi rubbery plastic form and douse the master, box, and top of the glue again with the goo gone. Oh, and pull the beads out too. You are done with them.
Now, shoot more glue on top of the master and glue mold. Wait till it hardens, then seperate the two halves. There, you have your mold! If things are not coming apart, you need to use more goo gone. Trust me, the hot glue will bond to your items without this stuff! Its a real b*tch to get off too!
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ummm Well that can eat at plastic, So that really isnt a great way. It'll work in a pinch, but I wouldnt do that for most casts.
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Wouldnt the goo gone remove the paint on the original?
Thats what i use it for, getting paint and glue off my hands.
Just a thought.
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the hot glue doe not melt the master? I got 2nd degrre burns once.
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glassman, so far I havent had any problem with it taking any paint off. If you are unsure, try it on a junk figure like i did to begin with. I have the corps figure I test on here and there isnt anything missing paint wise.
The hot glue wont melt the master at all. I do recommend not touching it though! :D
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actually, I'm trying something new as a release agent. I'm going to get some 'embossing ink'. Its clear and it works well on hot glue I've heard. People that make rubber stamps use this.
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ok, the lady I've been talking to that does all of her work with hot glue says that the best release agent to use with hot glue is actually glycerine, readily available in walmart's pharmacy. I'm going to try this i think.
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we need some pics of this
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I concur, PICS or GTFO! :P
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glycerine, readily available in walmart's pharmacy.
This doesnt sound cheap and easy anymore... By the time you do all this, arent you pretty much paying what the rtv/silicone costs?
I dont know cause i have not used this method, but i have used a hot glue gun for lots of other stuff. So if it works for you Rolla do your thing. I just think by the time you get the glue gun, sticks, glycerine, you could of spent $26 for RTV.
But i cant argue with the ease of your method, it has to be easier than the RTV process. But i think the RTV will yield way better results... ya dig?
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Mixing gasoline and vaseline is the best way to make a "release agent" at home. Thin vaseline down with just a LITTLE gas. It doesn't harm plastic and it is essentially what a release agent is. Just get the vaseline thin enough so you're not losing detail basically.
I've tinkered with hot glue in the past to do casts... The problems I encountered are these:
-Loses some detail
-Air Bubbles tough to deal with (if you get them)
-mold tends to break down quicker (more like dealing with Latex than RTV)
It can work for some things, I find though it works less positive for others though. Like I would say you could cast a cargo box or something that lacks great detail and it'd work, but a head it loses some of the detailing.
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Ah man next we are going to hear about mixing Gasoline with styrophone and BOOM! you got napalm!! LOL
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well, I guess I must have somehow lucked out on my first molds. My latest ones have been utter crap actually. I can see this isnt going to be beneficial to me at all and I probably will go back to the silicone molds. I just thought I'd try something new and perhaps quicker/cheaper. I will say though that I have had more luck with making a push mold with this stuff though. Of course, I rarely ever use push molds. Oh well. Ya cant blame me for tryin! :D
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Get this for a laugh. I actually tried using a caulking gun....... no comment.
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Silicone caulking would really work semi-well actually. It's just RTV silicone like 2-part liquid stuff, mostly... I've used some GE-Silicone-II in the past in a squeeze-tube actually. Depending on how carefully you use it, it does produce a decent mold... It's not the quality of regular silicone mold material mostly due to the gel-like consistency before it sets, but it is something one can use for relatively simple molds once you get the hang of it, for a fair price too. Easy to get at Lowes... Not a bad choice on stuff, you just can't pour it.
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I've used some GE-Silicone-II in the past in a squeeze-tube actually.
Before i got into RTV and other pourable silicones, GE's caulk is what i used. I've made mention of it before when folks were looking for cheap alternatives. My Kenny Baker was cast from a Ge Mold, as well as my first coins i made for Droids Boba, C3p0 and R2. So its a good substitue.
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hey, its me again! Crazy hot glue man! :D
Well, I was bound and determined to make something work with the hot glue. I dumped the idea of the glycerine too. I actually was in walmart looking around one night and my wife needed cooking spray. So, I got it and I got the idea to use this as a release. I sprayed the nasty smelling stuff (it was butter flavored) on my master and poured a thick mold of glue on there. Sure enough! Stuck came right off and my mold looked pretty darn good!
Of course, nothing is gonna beat the proven formula of the silicone rubber mold. Hands down, the best. But for something that you really dont care if it has a ton of uses to get out of and if the piece doesnt have a crap load of details, this is a very good substitute.
Now, to look for some cheap form of liquid plastic to cast with! :D
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Something else to consider...
Rather than make a mold with it, I have made a CAST with hot glue... I've done this to test molds for defects, but I've also done it to make a cast I plan to modify at some point. A one-shot I'm going to sculpt something onto, etc., that I don't want to use resin or whatever for... And it has worked well.
Injecing the hot glue into the mold is essentially injection molding. Now that worked without any hitches for me. ;)