Silicone Suggestions for Medical Prosthetics

Nikki RiceNikki Rice ✭
in General
Looking for some material suggestions. I'm a stop-motion puppet fabricator by trade with a background in SFX make-up (way back when). I take on random projects from time to time and I have a good one coming up. 
A client wants my help making a silicone cover for their prosthetic foot to match their existing, real foot. I know all about silicone used in stop-motion puppets but don’t think any of that will stand up to actual outside world use. Do you know of any products that would work well in the outside world and be able to be realistically painted as a bare foot? I’ve done SFX silicone masks in the past and painted those. Just looking for suggestions on the strongest/most resilient silicone that can be painted in a realistic fleshy manner. Any thoughts you can share would be hugely helpful.

Comments

  • Mark SchwartzMark Schwartz ✭
    This sounds tough. In my limited experience the clients have gone through the process only to become more accepting of their bodies and abandoning the prosthetic in the end. 
  • Chris EllerbyChris Ellerby Admin
    Hi Nikki,

    Most of the silicone formulas I know that would look realistic would not hold up to regular use without showing wear/damage.  My suggestion would be to reach out to a company like Smooth-On and see what their suggestions are.   They may have a material (other than silicone) that holds up better for this use case.

    /Chris
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