Latex skin over Soma Foma

David BoccabellaDavid Boccabella Moderator
in Lab work
Hi All.
I'm looking at doing some animatrinic work with hair punching.

Some time ago I experimented with Foam Latex. The finished product look great however it required a lot of set up for a hobbyist.

II also tried using Platium Silicone, great finish but very heavy.

I have seen Soma Foma which is an expanding Silicone, and there are some mentions on the net of giving your mold a latex brushover to form the skin since the Soma Foma is porous.

Has anyone tried anything like this and can offer suggestions?

Many thanks
Dave

Comments

  • Micah J.Micah J. ✭✭✭
    edited June 2019
    I don't know if I would use Soma Foma in a mold where latex is present since Soma Foma is a platinum silicone. If compressed, it is slightly self-skinning though, so you could knock out having to add any kind of skin to the mold before hand.  If you want to be sure to get a good surface, I would do a thin coat of platinum silicone on the mold surface, allow that to mostly cure and then add the Soma Foma. 
    We have also had good results at my shop spraying latex into molds and then injecting the molds with soft urethane foams like Flex Foam-It 3. They can have flow issues sometimes and create voids so, we powder the surface of the latex before closing the molds. It's cheaper but, won't last as long and does not stand up to puncture like silicone. 
  • Chris EllerbyChris Ellerby Admin
    I'd do a thin silicone skin, since that would not be adding much weight and it would bond with the silicone foam.

    /Chris
  • David BoccabellaDavid Boccabella Moderator
    Many thanks for both of your comments.
    Chris - I could use a long pot life silicone to paint and then put in the Soma. I did use full silicone before but the weight was just too much.

    Many thanks for both of your advice :)

  • David BoccabellaDavid Boccabella Moderator
    Micah
    Thanks for that. That also also answers the question re punching as I will want to hair punch the finished item.

  • David BoccabellaDavid Boccabella Moderator
    Hi Chris.
    So I could use a brush to paint the inside of the mold with Dragon Skin  and then use the Soma Foma for the expanding foam?

  • Chris EllerbyChris Ellerby Admin
    David,

    I've never tried it myself, but in theory the two (both being platinum silicones) should bond.  My advice when trying something new is to do a small scale test first before risking the expense of going full scale.  You could paint the inside of a smaller mold, or even a cup, with your thin platinum silicone skin and then pour in the soma foam and test their bond.

    /Chris
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