Fiberglass Casting Tape - a Strong Alternative to Plaster Bandages

Joseph Humpston
Joseph Humpston ✭✭
edited January 2016 in Fabrication
Hey there Stan Winston School of Character arts. I just found another way to create a Life-casting mother-molds. I was doing some research on the web the other day, and I found this awesome stuff on the web called Scotch-cast Plus fiberglass casting tape. Ever broken an arm and had to spend a month in a cast? The material in question is what that was made out of. It comes infused with water-activated resin, making it about as easy to use as plaster bandages, but with a much more durable end result. With this stuff, you can do life-casts with a fiberglass jacket mother mold. BEND OVER AND KISS IT GOODBYE PLASTER BANDAGES!

Comments

  • Chris Ellerby
    Chris Ellerby Admin
    I've never used these, but they look great.  Plaster bandages have the advantage of being cheap, but I imagine these would be a bit more durable and cleaner to wor with.

    /Chris
  • Joseph Humpston
    Joseph Humpston ✭✭
    edited January 2016
    you can actually buy 4 yard rolls of it on Amazon for only $9.20 a roll. Also, with this stuff, you don't even need to use as much of it in making the mother-molds! Three years ago, I broke my arm and had a cast put on it. the doctor only used two layers of casting tape, and it was as stiff as a board.
  • David Boccabella
    David Boccabella Moderator
    Many thanks for that.
    I need to make a couple of 'shells' for leg supports in digigrade stilts and was looking at plaster bandages then  fibre glass etc.

    This looks like I can do it all in one :)
    Again Thanks


  • David Boccabella
    David Boccabella Moderator
    Ok.. Questions.

    1. Would you say it is as strong as normal fibre glass tape and resin

    2. Can it be laminated  to build up strength or to embed rods and supports.

    3. How long doe it take to set and is there a heat reaction present.

    4. How much water. Dripping?? or damp applied with a sponge.

    How about this application.

    Actor needs to wear stilts so a close cast of his foot is done (with a sock for comfort) and cling wrap over them both so that the tape's resin does not bind to the sock.

    Afterwards the completed foot cast has rods and supports added and also wrapped with tape to the main foot cast to give a solid frame.

    Many Thanks
    Dave

  • Joseph Humpston
    Joseph Humpston ✭✭
    @David Boccabella Application of Fiberglass casting tape is not much different from that of plaster bandages; you basically, soak it in water, wring it out slightly, and then, you apply it to whatever you want to cast. And it doesn't take long to cure, only five to ten minutes. It does produce an exothermic reaction, but it doesn't get too hot. Only two layers of it should be strong enough.
  • David Boccabella
    David Boccabella Moderator
    Many thanks for the info.
    Can it be layered/laminated if one part has set already?
  • Joseph Humpston
    Joseph Humpston ✭✭
    edited January 2016
    Theoretically, yes, but the main reason I made this discussion so that you knew that you could use it in place of plaster bandages to create the mother mold, but if you want to use it to make fiberglass armor plates, I won't stop you. I will however, if you want to use them to cast supports for digitigrade stilts, I have some advice to give you. Cast the support-plates on Vaseline-lathered plaster of Paris casts of human legs, and not human legs themselves. Because though they're infused with water-activated resin, I can't guarantee it's skin safe.
  • David Boccabella
    David Boccabella Moderator
    Hi Joseph
    Whenever I do a plaster bandage on someone I usually use  a plastic wrap. Though in this case I would also have a layer of material under the plastic wrap to give a little extra room.

    But many thanks for the info and advice :)
    Dave
  • Jeff Shimek
    Jeff Shimek ✭✭
    I'm definitely going to check this stuff out. Thanks
  • Ric Katenhusen
    Ric Katenhusen ✭
    Fiberglass casting tape and plaster bandages actually work very well together. And can create a stronger mold. We tried it once when making a leg cast. First we applied the fiberglass casting tape (https://www.orthotape.com/fiberglass_casting_tape.asp) to the leg. Make sure you do not apply to skin directly. After the fiberglass was set and dried we then put plaster bandages over it. (https://www.orthotape.com/plaster_bandages.asp) I have found that this works quite well as the plaster strongly adheres to the fiberglass. And the plaster bandages on top allow you to get a nice smooth paint-able finish.

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