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Post by notoes on Apr 26, 2018 10:45:51 GMT -5
Here's what I'm attempting to do: I have a custom action figure I am adding the hair to and for the life of me, I can't find my air dry clay so I need to use something else. Once the hair is on and styled correctly, I will be making a mold of it to make a (non-food grade) flat backed, 3D mold like the casting in the picture below. I will then take that casting to make food safe candy molds (also pictured).
 (this is just an example)
Now since this action figure character is not available in an actual figure, I am custom making it. And this particular hair style is kind of complex, don't know why I wanted to make it so hard on myself but I picked the hardest one to make first... And on top of that, I'm certainly not the best sculptor. I'm not the worst either but I'm barely mid-level so I've got that working against me.
Here's what I'm using: The figure head is a bald head cast in Amazing Resin, fully cured and hard as a rock like it should be. This is what I am attempting to add hair to.
What I've tried: I have moldable plastic - the kind you heat up to mold or remold as needed. I attempted to do the hair in this but found that I kept overthinking it and it came out badly. I warmed up the plastic and ripped it right back off the head to start over. Now my air dry clay is not the strongest kind but a good practice kind but again, I can't find the thing! What I DO have is a fresh box of Sculpey (original) but as the box will tell you, it needs to be baked at 275 for 15 minutes. So I'm wondering if I should attempt to do the hair in Sculpey and bake it. Thing is, I re-read my data safety sheets and such that I have on Amazing Resin and can't find anywhere that says if it's safe to bake it after it is cast.
So my question is this: should I cover the bald head with plastic wrap, sculpt the hair on and hope I can get it off carefully enough to not ruin it to bake it by itself or will it be safe to bake the sculpted hair on the resin head? Or would it be safer if I just keep trying with the moldable plastic?
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Post by mike on Apr 27, 2018 13:45:36 GMT -5
I'm assuming you are not using your home kitchen oven for baking polymer clay, plastics, etc in. With that said, yes you can get up to 225F for 20 minutes if necessary, then I'd recommend simply turning the oven off, allowing it to cool down and then removing after its has cooled. The Amazing Casting Resin will soften under higher temps but will not melt into a puddle or burn but it will get soft and rubbery until they cool back down.
Just to clarify ... the Hdt or Heat Deflection temp is the point at which the cast piece will start to soften and give way while a load is being applied.
Mike
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Post by notoes on Apr 28, 2018 9:59:22 GMT -5
Thanks for the info, I'll make sure to let it cool down in the oven so I don't lose any details. I did not know what the heat deflection temp meant, now I do and I'll know for the times when I need to do some small detailing and sanding is not a good option. These are some very fine details I'm doing - think a casting that is 1 1/2" long by 1 1/4" wide by 1/2" deep - and you'll see why I want to make it as easy on myself as possible without sacrificing safety.
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Post by notoes on Apr 30, 2018 9:08:58 GMT -5
You mentioned the resin will soften at a high temp, what would be the right way to do that (on purpose) on a resin piece without any clay?
I sometimes have resin castings that come out of the mold misshapen because I accidently miscalculated the curing time (casting wasn't fully hardened but was hard enough to take out of mold) and accidently bent it in a way it shouldn't have been or the mold was lopsided from when I molded the original and to fix that I'd have to remake the mold or bend the casting while it is soft. I have had to toss castings (and a few molds) because I have had out of shape castings due to mistakes like handling too soon or mold not being made right.
I get these problems sometimes because of the material I start with - like the casting in the picture in the first thread post, I have that action figure and pressed the head halfway into mold putty, let the putty cure then made a casting with that 1st mold, fixed any spots needed on the casting then made a second mold with the final original, then I cast resin in the second mold to get my good original casting that I use to make the food safe molds from. Sometimes I have a mistake during the curing period and have to make two or three castings from the second mold to get a good final original to use and some of those mistakes are easily fixable if I could just soften the resin a little bit. Otherwise I'd have to toss that piece and that's a waste of materials and I would like to cut back on that where I can.
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Post by mike on May 7, 2018 7:18:20 GMT -5
Yes, thin pieces are more easily reshaped than thicker ones. One of the easiest ways is to simply put it in a pot and bring it up to boiling, remove the piece and then shape with gloves or pliers or whatever will help you handle it safely and then simply hold it in that new shape until it cools.
Sorry for the slow response.
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(this is just an example)
