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Contents 1 How to Resin cast using a latex mold 1.1 Materials 1.2 Tools 1.3 Procedure 1.3.1 Preparing the Mold 1.3.2 Mixing the Resin 1.3.3 Pouring the Resin 1.3.4 Pulling the Resin 1.3.5 Painting

How to Resin cast using a latex mold

Materials

• Pour-On Shellac or other liquid resin
• Mold release
• Latex mold

Tools

• Paper cups
• Stirring rod - such as a popsicle stick

Procedure

There are many types of resin out on the market, but I find the easiest brand to use is Pour-On Shellac (which you can buy at Michael's.) Reasons I like it: It all comes in one box, it's relatively clear, and to make it all you have to do is combine a 1 to 1 mixture of both catalyst and resin. No messy formulas to memorize.

Preparing the Mold

In this case, I supported my mold by wadding up a plastic bag and stuffing it underneath, putting extra padding underneath the shallower areas. Another way to support the mold is by making a plaster hold for it. This is done by placing what was the orignal object back in the latex mold. Take a cup or bowl and mix up some plaster of paris. Pour the plaster into a cup, wait a few seconds and then press the latex mold into the plaster. Let the plaster dry for a few hours, then pull out the mold. The latex might be a little lighter in color, as it could of absorbed some water from the plaster. Then let the plaster cure.

Mixing the Resin

For a small item like the Wolf Pendant, I measured out the resin and catalyst in equal amounts by pouring then into 3 oz plastic cups. When the time came to mix the two chemicals together, I poured both cups into a larger-sized 5 oz. plastic cup and stirred them with a wide, flat stirring stick. The handle of a plastic utensil or a popsicle stick works nicely for this purpose. The directions inside the box said to stir the mixture for about two minutes until it was the consistency of cake batter.

Caution: liquid resin is very dangerous to inhale - make sure you mix these chemicals outside and, if possible, with OSHA-approved mask and gloves on. Try not to spill this stuff on aything, because once it dries, it's NOT coming off...not unless you use acetone, which is another nasty chemical you want to limit your exposure to.

Pouring the Resin

Anyway, the next step after mixing is to pour the mold. You can spray a mold release into the latex shell if you want to (but I've never found it necessary to do so.) Set up your mold so that it's completely level and so that it will remain so during the pouring process.

When pouring, let the resin flow into the mold nice and evenly. Holding your resin farther away will help the resin fill in the gaps. Hopefully, you correctly calculated the amount you thought you would need so that the mold fills up to the top. Try to get it to overflow a little if you can because as the resin sinks into the surface crevaces of the latex, the level of resin at the top of the mold will go down a bit.

After the resin has settled for a few moments, blow gently on its surface - this won't help in the hardening process but it will help break up the bubbles which will be furiously forming. Do not blow hard enough to cause ripples, and try not to inhale any of the fumes coming off of the resin during the blowing process. (Also be careful not to let any of your hair fall into the resin - that does not make for easy cleanup.)

Pulling the Resin

Let the resin dry for at least a day and then carefully peel the latex off of the molded object. If you're lucky, your mold will survive this second round of abuse and you will be able use it to make future castings.

Pour-On Shellac casting resin	Mixing the two parts together	Stirring the resin - do not breathe!	Latex mold ready to pour the resin
Pouring the resin into the mold	Taping the mold to release bubbles	Pulling the resin from the mold

Painting

After you've removed the object you're molding from the latex you may find the resin has overflowed a little. You can clip off the excess with a heavy scissors. (The resin should still be soft enough for you to do so.) Examine the cast object closely. If you find that the latex has failed to fill a certain area, you can build it up using hotglue. (You can also thicken the object by squeezing out a layer of hotglue over the back of it.) Wait another full day for the resin to harden fully before you paint it.

I'd recommend using Enamel paints for resin (acrylics are more likely to flake off.) For the wolf ornament, I used a special painting technique called antiquing, which is to paint an object in such a way that it looks weathered and ancient, with silver covering the raised areas of the object and black paint filling the lines and surface crevasses.

Antiquing with enamel is a bit tricky. (With acrylic paint, you can lay down the silver first and wipe on thinned black pigment with a cloth, but that won't work with most enamels: the cloth will just stick to the surface.) So the first thing you must do is brush on a layer of black (glossy or matte paint, whatever you prefer. I don't think it makes much of a difference.)

Wait a few hours for the black layer to dry. Then lightly drybrush silver enamel over the top of the object, taking care not to fill in the lines and crevasses. (OR, you can gild the surface of the object with silver leaf sheets or rub Rub 'n' Buff Wax Metallic Finish Paste over the surface of the object). Experiment with different paints and finishes until you come up with a look you like.

The last step in making my wolf ornament was to paint the plastic ring (which I earlier cut to fit into the mouth) and glue it into place. I can now either glue the ornament to another object or glue some sort of fastener to the back of it. (Make sure that, when you attach any sort of fastener or pinbacking to your object, that you use a nice strong glue, like E-6000. (Hotglue will most likely NOT be strong enough.)