Which lifecasting product?

Anthony Sterl
Anthony Sterl ✭
in General
Can anyone suggest a product for life casting?  I am looking to cast my head and at least my hands. 

I have been looking at Body Double® SILK from Smooth-on.
http://www.smooth-on.com/Life-Casting-Body-/c3_1413/index.html

Any other suggestions?
Thanks in advance

Comments

  • Chris Ellerby
    Chris Ellerby Admin
    Body Double is a great product for that.  

    You can also use PlatSil Gel-10.

    I also recommend using a thickener so your 2nd (and up) coats are more like peanut butter.  This helps you fill in voids and smooth out forms so your mold jacket will slide on and off easier.

    And if you only want to get 1 or 2 quick parts out of the mold you can save a lot of money and go with alginate.  Though I rarely ever use alginate as you can never bank on getting a second part out of the mold, it shrinks as it dries, and I like to keep molds around for future projects.

    /Chris
  • Anthony Sterl
    Anthony Sterl ✭
    Good point. 

    Does alginate dry enough to be a problem or only a little bit?  If it doesn't shrink that much it might not be a problem if I'm just using it to make a master head cast.

    Although being as rubber doesn't really shrink and lasts allot longer, I think the rubber is better.  In your experience, is a 1.7lb (body double silk) or 2lb (PlatSil Gel-10) enough for a head?  The head casting has a higher priority than the other body parts.

    Thanks
  • Chris Ellerby
    Chris Ellerby Admin
    About 1lb of Gel-10 is average for a face cast (not the whole head or neck) and a pint kit is usually good for that.

    In the life casting video below, Mitch uses a little under half a gallon to make a full head cast.

    A gallon of water is 8.34 pounds, so half a gallon is roughly 4lbs.  So I would go for around 4lbs of silicone.  Always better to have a bit extra handy in case you find you need a bit more coverage.  And every life cast is different based on the subject's anatomy and how far down the neck/shoulders you choose to cover.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZH9MjD5pg8

    The video above is from a company called "Brick in the Yard Mold Supply," which has a lot of great tutorials on YouTube.  They are also a good source for Gel-10 if you are not in a location like LA where materials like that are more readily available.

    If you want even more detail, this tutorial on life casting covers everything in depth.

    /Chris
  • Anthony Sterl
    Anthony Sterl ✭
    I was actually looking to get the life casting lesson.
  • Chris Ellerby
    Chris Ellerby Admin
    It's great as it covers both silicone and alginate.  Lot of useful tips as well.  I got a lot out of it myself.

    /Chris
  • Anthony Sterl
    Anthony Sterl ✭
    Here is what I think I'm gonna use.
    1 x Body Double SILK - Trial Size
    		$38.98

    1 x Body Double Fast Set - Trial Size
    		$45.86

    the silk kit is 1.7lbs and the fast set kit is 2lbs.  That brings me to 3.7lbs.  I only intend to go down about 4" past the neck, not down the chest.
  • Chris Ellerby
    Chris Ellerby Admin
    Cool, that sounds like it should work for you!

    /Chris

Categories