Cleaning Chavant from Ultracal molds
in Lab work
Hi everybody,
I am a mask maker and often make ultracal molds on Chavant NSP Med. Sculptures. I crystal clear them, several fine coats, the night before I make the mold. I have recently started using a bit of dulling spray for tooth before I do the detail/splash coat. Sometimes I can pull the clay cleanly from the mold after it has set, but most often I have to dig quite a bit out of the recesses with wood tools. I then slip cast neoprene rubber into the mold but the first pull is usually corrupted by impurities on the mold surface, which I then clean with acetone and then castille soap with a trimmed chip brush.
My question: What process do you people use to prepare/release your sculpture before molding, and how do you clean the ultracal surface afterwards to remove impurities.
My method gets the job done, but I am always looking to improve my process for speed and quality.
Thank you.
Mark A Schneider
Faust & Company Masks
www.faustandcompany.com
I am a mask maker and often make ultracal molds on Chavant NSP Med. Sculptures. I crystal clear them, several fine coats, the night before I make the mold. I have recently started using a bit of dulling spray for tooth before I do the detail/splash coat. Sometimes I can pull the clay cleanly from the mold after it has set, but most often I have to dig quite a bit out of the recesses with wood tools. I then slip cast neoprene rubber into the mold but the first pull is usually corrupted by impurities on the mold surface, which I then clean with acetone and then castille soap with a trimmed chip brush.
My question: What process do you people use to prepare/release your sculpture before molding, and how do you clean the ultracal surface afterwards to remove impurities.
My method gets the job done, but I am always looking to improve my process for speed and quality.
Thank you.
Mark A Schneider
Faust & Company Masks
www.faustandcompany.com
1
Comments
My process is pretty much the same as your own. Couple thin coats of crystal clear, allow that to dry and fully cure (I try and wait a full day if I can)
I've not tried the dulling spray, how are you liking that?
And for cleaning out the mold I'll use a trimmed down chip brush, old toothbrushes, and sometimes wooden tools (often a tung depressor that has been trimmed to form a bit of a point)
If it's really stubborn I'll get out the solvents.
If it's a hot day and my mold is small enough, I'll try and chill it in the freezer to make the clay a bit more rigid. Depending on the sculpt this can help pop it out in one piece. But if there's water in the stone or the sculpt has a lot of overhangs that would make pulling firmer clay out difficult/dangerous I avoid it.
I've never tried casting with neoprene. How do you like it and what types of projects to you use it for?
Cheers,
/Chris