After using roughly 40 tubes with some cornstarch and mostly soap (I wrap the silicone around old paint rollers to make concrete and paint texture rollers and also texture mats) I can tell you the soap method is the way to go. Use a larger container with more water and less dish soap, measure 24oz of water 3oz of dawn, you can use cheap dish soap but dawn is more concentrated so less is more and in the long run it's all the same, stir the mixture and when dispensing the silicone into the bowl make sure the tip isnt cut super big so you can sort of coil the silicone into the bowl allowing more surface contact with the soap on the initial squeeze out. The reason I say it's better is not just because it's less messy but I've found using cornstarch sort of dilutes the silicone giving it more of a porous surface when it cures where the soap method leaves behind 100% silicone and the surface of your molded material is much smoother and has that sort of non stick quality people look for in silicone. All of the cornstarch texture rollers and mats that I made got tossed due to constant sticking and liftoff with concrete, the ones i made with soap i still use to this day and several I've made for stone workers that they absolutely love and use on a regular basis. The most recent one I did was a 2'×3' travertine stamp that used 7 tubes of silicone at once all mixed in a mortar tub and it exceeded my expectations, $30 in silicone vs $100 in silicone mold making material.
I tried the Dawn method, 4 days ago and my molds are still drying 🤷 did I add too much Dawn soap? I didn't even make huge molds, I'm experimenting to create molds for plaster castings for some art projects.
For anyone stopping by this video in present times: I'm an SFX makeup artist who regularly uses (platsil) silicone for skin safe prosthetics. Latex (it's the sulphur in it, I do believe, I forget the actual chemical compound offhand haha), inhibits the curing of silicone. We only use nitrile gloves for this reason when working with silicone and also make sure to never try to run silicone prosthetics in a mold that has had any interaction with latex components. The warmth of your hands is also what begins curing the silicone as you knead allowing it to form that ball. We use dish soap as a release agent oftentimes as well (surprisingly good and doesnt cost much at all! Lol Better than spending on epoxy parfilm release if youre on a budget) so that it doesn't want to cure *onto* anything. The soap method is definitely the best way to go if you're...doing *this* lol, and of course using non-latex gloves. A hairdryer to help speed it's curing is also your best friend!
hope you see this sweetie...i'd like to make a mould for a candle my grandma used as her "lucky charm" on holidays at the family poker table. she has passed and it was the only thing i wanted from the estate besides a book on irish folklore...anyhooty, i want to mould this little elf riding a snail candle safely and cast beeswax candles for my entire family, for "good luck" any help would be loved and appreciated, thx, helga
its not the warmth, it is water that makes it cure. there is a cure inhibitor that makes the silicone cure as soon as it gets exposed to any moisture including ambient humidity,
I actually like that you didn't have a "perfect" video. It gives me (as I will be doing this for the first time) an idea of what happens in different scenarios. Plus, all the comments are very helpful with their thoughts / corrections. Great job! I enjoyed the video! Thanks for posting!
I like putting the object in a box and mixing nail polish remover with the silicone till it is pourable and then just pouring a mold. let it set over night and it is ready. for your pan you should be able to just peel the mold off without cutting it
Tip: Nearly all caulking guns have a cutter and a seal puncture wire built in. This gun shown here has it. Only really old cheap ones sometimes didn’t have them. The little hole in the side of the handle is for cutting the tip, you put the tip in and squeeze the handle to cut it off (the cutting part is inside the handle). You decide how far to put it in for a smaller or larger tip opening, and whether you want it angled or not, just tilt it if you want an angle. Then usually on the underside of the handle (sometimes on the side of the gun), there’s the wire to slide the tip in to puncture the seal. Stick the tip onto the wire inside the handle, and wiggle it around a little to widen the hole all the way if you want, then wipe it off right away, or you could let the caulk or glue build up to make it thicker if you really wanted to, just let the tip stay sharp enough to poke it. If the poking. wire is on the side of the gun, it can usually be rotated away from the side, and put back in the place after use. When I’m not using it all up, I put a longer stick, nail or screw into the tip and cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and tape it up. Keeps it from drying out for next time. I mention it because I once had a contractor over to assist with something, and he had been in business over 30 years, and he was digging around for a knife, and didn’t know about it until I pointed it out to him. He never knew why there was a hole in the handle, or that there even was a poking wire in the handle at all. Never noticed it. All tools to open the caulk or glue are on board:)
Dip the bottom of the pan in melted wax several times or until you have a smooth surface,then cast over that. No sticking. You also don’t need gloves if you oil your hands. Some people use mineral or cooking oil but I prefer coconut oil. When my larger molds are a little bit flimsy, I add another layer after the first one is dry.
Thanks for this!!! This helped a lot. I'm glad someone did a versus video. I just bought silicone and I have corn starch for my art stuff already but was wondering if I should go out and buy some soap for my molding.
Silicone caulking uses acetic acid (vinegar, is about 3% acetic acid, and water) as a solvent, that's why it smells like vinegar. It's not toxic but it's concentrated enough to potentially be very irritating to your skin and lungs. It also cures by the acid evaporating out of it or being replaced with moisture (from water); which is why it won't stick to something that it wet, the part touching the surface will start curing before getting into the surface of it. Also, if it's too cold, the acid won't be able to evaporate properly (unless there's starch in it to absorb the moisture out of the rubber part). Corn starch is easier to work with a cures faster because it soaks the acid out of the silicone inside and out, while insulating your hands from sticking and having some moisture content of it's own to offer. The trade off is that it will be stiffer, less stretchy and more brittle or prone to tearing (weaker) than more pure silicone. You can also make a dough with acrylic or other water based paint that will set it off curing, and add colour, but the more you put in the faster it cures and the weaker and stiffer the final result. You can slow down it's cure time AND make it handle-able by adding corn starch and/or paint pigment AND another solvent (like naptha), so you can work with it longer, but the more you add to it the weaker it is, and not all of those are necessarily suitable for making things that will be used with food or body products.
Hi! You sound like you know about making silicone molds. It's my first time and I want to make a mold of my daughter's moana pendant to make more for her birthday party, as well as a maui's hook which I will make out of homemade cold porcelain clay. Both will be about 1"x 2" and have fine detail, which I hope transfers. You say in your comment that cornstarch is easier to work with. Is that what you suggest for me to try vs. the dawn method? Thank you in advance! BTW, I bought 100% clear silicone. Am I correct in assuming I can make this a month in advance of the party?
Using cornstarch will make it more like dough, but cure faster, similar to the silicon dough sold in kits to make home molds. It should be easier to work with, and get good detail, mix it to the consistency you want and immediately press the object into it. That will work regardless of what the pendant is made of, but if it's glass, you might want to press in into the dough and immediately remove it, as silicone will bond to glass. If it's a plastic pendant though, silicone doesn't stick very well to plastic, so you could probably just coat the front of it with a good glob of silicone, making sure it's in all the details, and is thick enough to hold its shape, and just peel it back out in a couple days when the silicone has cured. silicone molds won't go bad, or break down in the foreseeable future, so making them ahead of time should be fine. I haven't used the dawn method but it seems quite a bit messier and hard to work with, and I'm suspicious of how the soap affects the final integrity of the silicone.
Almost definitely, porcelain can have a porous surface and can also be very glass like, or even have a glass glaze on it. Silicone will stick very impossibly well to glass, other silicone, and anything else with a high silica content. Things like plaster and NON fired clays will separate from silicon because of their powdery surface texture (if particles of silica in the outside stick they'll just pull of the surface layer), but once fired or _especially glazed_ I'd say definitely coat them in something the silicon won't stick to. Since you're talking about "sealing" I would guess you mean a raw fired porcelain surface, and that you intend to do something that isn't a glass glaze (something like oil or wax, or release spray, etc...), If that's the case then the short answer is yes.
Scereyaha your awesome. I forgot it was acetic acid, and this now makes the dawn method make sense. Your removing the acid with the help of water and using dawn to keep the surface tension low. The more water, the more the solvent can be carried off, making fast cure times and a strong silicone to silicone chain. Great now I'll have to do some videos going deeper in to this... lol
Thank you for this video. I've been debating for some time now between the two, the water vs the cornstarch methods. You have helped me to make up my mind.
Thank you for mentioning the odor. I dont know how many videos I have seen where people NEVER mention this and do this in heir homes with pets and children. Thanks for sharing !
Thank you so much for a great tutorial. I have had a tube of this silicone stuff sitting around forever to do something similar. Not for soap but molds for other things. Thanks so much. Great detail.
Couldnt you have used a second bread pan, and just sandwhiched the silicon between them to make your mold, just making sure you had enough release agent on the bread pans? You can use the bread pan, to give the mold support to keep its shape?
If you lubricate the object you are molding with petroleum jelly or unscented Pam ect.; you can get around the silicone sticking to whatever you are molding. There is also a product called mold release that resin Crafters use that takes care of the stickiness.
Best mold release I've ever used is 4 parts liquid Ivory soap, and 1 part talcum powder. Mix thoroughly to a paste, and store in an airtight container. You can add a drop (but no more than two, ever!) of food coloring to help you see where you've put it, and if it ever seems like it's thickening up, add a drop or two of plain water. Best stuff ever.
The cornstarch method turns into a non sticky dough like consistency when enough is used and it's kneeded thoroughly. You should be able to then roll it out into a uniform thickness before draping it over the pan.
I noticed you used Dawn as a release agent for the straight silicone mold but not for the cornstarch mold. That's probably why the cornstarch mold was more difficult to release from the pan. Then again, the Dawn could have soaked into the cornstarch and affected the mold. I think your comparison may have created more questions than it answered. :)
AFAIK this instructable was the birth of the cornstarch method: www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/ I believe it's best to pre-measure your cornstarch in a throwaway container (like mixing epoxy) and knead until putty-like. within 5 minutes the silicone actually starts to cure because of the increased surface area by the corn starch and you have another 5-10 minutes to form it before it's too stiff to work. Less cornstarch by volume will give you a stickier "dough" and a longer working time, though... I've made custom ear-plugs like this and that acetic acid (that smell) is no joke!
Boco Clacko 🤔 🤔...(?)... So-what would/might happen if baking soda was substituted for cornstarch? Or-for that matter-baking powder? (Just wonderin’, is all...)
@@Sedgewise47 baking soda might work, but why bother? The author of that Instructable likely already tried it and found it inferior to corn starch. Copied and pasted: "As I understand it, 100% silicone caulk works by the moisture in the air initiating the polymerization of the silicone. So it cures from the outside in and as it does, it allows the water vapor to slowly seep inside and eventually cure the unexposed silicone. While it cures, it gives off Acetic acid (vinegar is diluted acetic acid) which is the strong smell you will notice if you use it. *"I experimented with quite a few additives to try and introduce some moisture into the uncured silicone. Several of them worked to some degree, but the hands down favorite was also the least expensive.* "It turns out that corn starch is highly absorbent and when sitting around in an open box it will absorb moisture from the air. It is an extremely fine powder that diffuses evenly in mixtures. By adding the right amount of corn starch, the sticky silicone is somewhat stiffened and very quickly starts to set up from the inside out. While it still sets up faster on the surface than in the middle, the whole thing will set up in five minutes to 2 hours no matter what the thickness. The actual curing time depends on the temperature, the humidity, the amount of corn starch added, and the speed at which it was mixed. "So that's it. Oogoo is corn starch and clear silicone caulk mixed together and then molded by hand or by forms to create just about anything you can imagine that needs to be adhesive initially and solid yet flexible when cured."
if i wanted to make a internal mould of a length of U channel ( aluminium) . Could i spray silicone release spray in the channel - fill it with JUST silicone...wait for it to dry - then remove ?
Does this make a mold that you can cast resin and have a shiny surface. If not which product can I use to make shiny mold that my resin pieces will be shiny.
Incorporate either coffee stirrers or tongue blades into the molds and that will make them sturdier. Put a layer of mixture down, gently push sticks into mix but don't go too far in then cover them with the rest of the mixtures!
You could have placed the second loaf tin over the first one after you covered it with the mould putty, giving the moulds a more even, smoother finish, and it would sit evenly inside the loaf tin when you cast the soaps.
It was my understanding that the cornstarch was to be incorporated into the silicone, which would make more of the final product by that method -- thus the thicker walls. I wonder which product would be best at molding fine details and which would be stretchiest, since I'm molding clay rather than soap.
The corn starch would add volume to the silicone. So, the mold done with dish soap has less volume than the corn starch one. Another thing to mention, if you choose to do it with dish soap, do not use gloves. However, use gloves with the corn starch
1/8 cup of Dawn. Mix really well. Water should be cold, but not ice cold. 3 tubes of caulk. You can purchase a case for next to nothing at Menard's.. I mix without gloves. Do it outside. Let sit for 24 hours before removing the mold. Makes a really nice mold.
Very interesting, as I watch you I am wondering if one could roll the ball out flat with a soap coated rolling pin..(or object) and laying it over the pan then trimming it? Right work.
when i make larger silicone molds i use spray foam insulation for the mother mold. it keeps the silicones shape but is flexible enough to remove if your casting has significant undercuts...
miester rhovanion so make the silicone mold first, then would you put the finished silicone mold in a box or something and then spray the foam on the outside of the mold, which is down inside the box? How would you be able to get the concrete statue out if u used concrete in the mold?
Thank you for this experiment, I have a question for you please if you can help me out, my tea pot handle gets very hot when I boil water, can I make mold around the handle to protect from the heat? Thank you again
I don't see any reason that it would not work. In fact I think a handle on just about anything is possible. I do not know the heat rating specifics in Silicone 1, but would research that first. Do share your own findings.
PLA plastic; Any acid and any starch will make the long chain molecules for PLA plastic The acid in the silicone needed together with any starch is basic formula for PLA plastic. Though normally heated the needing still sets up the same reaction. That is why the sides are stronger and firms up faster.
Yes the silicone 1 stinks. But the smell goes away some time after curing. I have never smelled anything but soap after using my home made molds. Hope that helps and good luck.
I want to make molds of certain metal model cars I have and make slot cars out of them I was thinking of resin cast moulding Can you guide me to make a great mold that may work for say 5 moldings of object
Well from what makes sense in my head, you would need to pour a liquid to get smaller details. I don’t think you would be very happy with the results of a gel. Let me know what works.
The initial silicone is dissolved in acetic acid (some brands are dissolved in a hydrocarbon) which causes the smell. The dawn water dissolves the solvent out causing the silicone to cure faster. plain water will also work, but you'll need more water. Cornstarch contains some moisture which causes the silicone to cure from the inside out (instead of drying). cornstarch tends to tear easier, but dries faster and is thick to work with. you can think out the cornstarch mixture with naptha or white gas to make it thinner.
If I make a mold of a figure with plain silicone can I go over it with the silicone and cornstarch for more stability? And can I pour candle wax into it?
Well, considering that silicone has a high melting point, there would be no issue with wax. Considering that I use my molds for soap, I think wax would peal out even easier. Hey ellie mae, let us know your results.
Hey! I used silicone calk over a baked polymer clay sculpture. It turned out very well however the seam is an issue for me.. difficult to keep straight. It affected the result of the candle.. I need to problem solve!
Sacrilegious to use a Pampered Chef measuring bowl for this! Hahaha Kidding! Great video. Thanks so much. PS If you have trouble getting the silicone out of the tube, poke a hole in the back of the tube.
Most caulk guns have a hole in the handle to cut off the tip of the tube. They usually have a metal rod that swivels out. This is used to puncture the seal.
Yes I see Joxman2k also commented using the "plaster bandage shell method, it does well as a support mold or you could make a burlap and concrete support mold". I forgot about the plaster bandage for the mother mold and its the easiest of the all!..
Using the soap method, I have made several loaf molds for soap. Actually, I made liners for soap molds. It worked great for a short time. The PROBLEM IS THAT THIS SILICONE SHRINKS over time. Is there anyway to prevent the shrinking?
One thing that is very important but I didn't see mentioned is that there's actually 2 types of silicone caulk that are both 100% - silicone type 1 and type 2. Silicone type 2 either takes forever to cure or will never completely cure at all. Make sure you get type 1 silicone. On GE brand, you'll see a "Silicone 1*" or "Silicone 2* up near the tip.
Wow! that info is so lacking from what I've heard , I wished I would have known that before, so thanks for that because I've been having trouble and I did"nt know it was because I was using the cheaper type 2.
I so mad that I did not see your comment this morning...I tried to do the soap method with the type 2 this afternoon....what a freaking mess it sucks my things are stuck in gooo
You didn’t coat the cornstarch one with a release coating before applying the compound. Not a criticism, just trying to help and great to know. Excellent test.
Yeah. Mix soap well into the "cold" water, get your hands good and wet too. Mix in a big bucket. Squirt out a thin snake of type 1, 100% silicone into the bucket and let it sit for 2 minutes. Then start gathering it up, mushing and kneading slowly till it starts firming up. Keep folding it into itself (water is activating the silicone). I believe the soap is just so it's not as sticky. I believe the more soap you add, the worse of a product you'll end up with. (but it's a nessesary evil)
I think that the silicone and cornflower or corn starch is the best for making molds myself,, as I got problems using washing up liquid and silicone,. As you can make smaller moulds ,I've even used custard powder, it's still cornstarch and makes the moulds smell a bit better too ,!!!
Well! That is a good question. I assume it depends on the size of the mold and the thickness of the walls that you want to achieve but what comes in one of those tubes does not go very far.
Great video, could you have just embedded string around top while it's curing for strength? Going to try my first attempt, probably use corn starch, thanks for showing it sticking to your gloves. Every little thing helps us first timer thanks again
Roll it out like pastry before laying over the mold for more smoother shaping, adding a bit of cornstarch to the work surface and pin alao as in baking, less chance of missing patches
I just finished watching your video. I was thinking that if you coated the pan with cornstarch before you put the silicone/cornstarch mix on it, the finished mold would be easier to remove. In a couple of the videos I was watching today on YT, a tiny bit of oil was added to the silicone/cornstarch mold mix. Oil might also work as a release agent for the cornstarch mold. Some videos add a bit of acrylic paint to color the mold. I'm looking forward to making my first silicone molds. Of course I'll definitely have a window or two open, and a fan blowing! Thanks for this video! Have a good week! Best regards, Dianna
Hooray! I made my first mold. However, despite best efforts to reinforce the corners, I have a few extra thin corners and a hole. I also added oil. How can I patch these please?
Corn starch can be used with super glue to weld plastic simply add super glue then sprinkle on the starch (or baking soda) and it will set instantly. great for sticking back on broken plastic lugs and tabs.
You want to practice on something first as its prity much instant and in quantity produces a heat reaction. I generally use Baking Soda, be safe have fun and good luck!
next time you try this experiment try sprinkling a little corn starch on your pan to use as a realeade g agent or using a little Saran wrap. just an idea.
One thing I learned is make sure your water isn't cold! The silicone won't set if it is. It's December and my little mobile home doesn't have central heating or air conditioning. Just ac units which let in the cold winter air. So our water is cold lol. Took soooo long to become workable. I thought I got the wrong stuff but it turned out it was just me lol. The warmer the water, the faster the cure time which is why they say room temperature water.
I find that the cornstarch dries the silicone out too much. I only use water and dish detergent. I cut the entire end off and push the silicone out that way
The solvent in Silicone is Acetic acid, AKA vinegar. I wouldn't want to eat the stuff, but so long as the pH is mild, you shouldn't have any biological harm come to you. Wouldn't want to sniff it too much either. :)
No.. acetic acid attacks the skin directly and allows the silicon monomer easy access to the body where it can be very detrimental. The most noticeable is industrial dermatitis. I got this from repeated exposure and now the slightest touch I break out in hives that last for weeks☹️ you should always be careful around all chemical products.
There's no reaction between the dawn and the silicone, the silicone is cured by water, the dawn just makes it so you can handle it. Cornstarch does the same thing but since the moisture is in the cornstarch and it's thoroughly combined with the silicone it does the same as lots of water on the outside.
But if it cures with water and silicone is waterproof how does that work? Idk what silicone to get so I bought GE 100 silicone in the blue packaging for doors and windows or whatever one. Idk lol every time I watch videos they don't say what kind their using so I wasn't sure. It also is the non paintable kind which I don't get really if we mix paint in it but I guess it's cuz we do it before it's cured it's ok right? Or should I have bought the paintable one? Sorry people make videos but don't really explain the details on what kind of silicone to get
I know this is an older video but I'm wondering if anybody knows an answer to my question. I used GE 100% silicone. I kneeded it in the water with the Dawn dishwashing liquid for quite a while. I used quite a lot of the 4x dishwashing liquid. 3 days later in my mold still hasn't dried. Lol. I've used the silicone for quite a lot of crafts and whatnot and it works fantastic. When I mixed it with the dawn it just turned into this sticky globby nasty mess. I'm wondering if it's the wrong kind of silicone or what.
good comparison. I have tried both methods the soap didn't work for me at all. For cornstarch method add few drops glyicrin or baby oil & use a tool to cut the corn starch in its self first before using hands. work quickly, it cures quick less than hour. also you may consider adding additional layer to the first for added strength and thicker mold.
thanks for sharing... I have not yet tried this... maybe if you put your mold back into your pan the sides will stay up right better for pour your soap into...going to do this again thanks and it was great to see what problems you had so we know what to expect...
Nicely done! I would think that using corn starch makes more mold material. It does seem more rigid than using Dawn and therefore better for larger molds. I want to try this on a Giza pyramid shape. Thanks!
Use more water and cold is better. Then snake it into water. There is a chemical reaction between soap and silicone. More surface area equals quicker reaction. Once in water don't mess with it until it turns from clear to white. Then pick it up squeeze into ball. It will be like putty. Wet object with cold water and soap mixture then apply. You can easily ad more layers. Should take around 1 1/2 hrs for most molds to cure
Also, you have to knead it in the water. When you were taking it out of the water & kneading it, that's what caused it to become a sticky mess. You have to knead it in the water so all the silicone gets coated with soap to cause the chemical reaction. And knead until it's becomes firmer and has the right consistency.
I'm fairly sure those clear gloves where vinyl and not latex as latex gloves are typically yellow-ish/tan in color and very similar to nitrile in texture/smoothness. The mold with corn starch is more structurally rigid because an aggregate was added giving a higher solids count which in turn imparts rigidity to the finished material. The mold made in the soap bath, on the other hand, was pure silicone and thus would need to have significantly thicker walls to exhibit the same finished structural properties.
You're not being paranoid about the gloves, the silicone is horribly sticky and without gloves it's an absolute mess in all the cracks and crevasses of the fingers and hands! I enjoyed this video very much, Thanks for sharing with us!
OMG, excellent video! I've tried both methods. More success with the cornstarch. I do want to try again with the soap though and maybe let it set a bit longer before shaping it. This was great and inspiring!!! Loved it!
I use my bare hands as long as I have no cuts or abrasion. I wash my hands in the soapy water, mix my rubber under water if my hands start to stick I put hand back in the soapy water. For very fine detail I first paint my service.with three thin layers first. Then I catalyze the rubber in water., and by patting it down as layer the surface and be certain to fill in any under cuts with well mixed rubber.. if you have any more questions let me know.
After using roughly 40 tubes with some cornstarch and mostly soap (I wrap the silicone around old paint rollers to make concrete and paint texture rollers and also texture mats) I can tell you the soap method is the way to go. Use a larger container with more water and less dish soap, measure 24oz of water 3oz of dawn, you can use cheap dish soap but dawn is more concentrated so less is more and in the long run it's all the same, stir the mixture and when dispensing the silicone into the bowl make sure the tip isnt cut super big so you can sort of coil the silicone into the bowl allowing more surface contact with the soap on the initial squeeze out. The reason I say it's better is not just because it's less messy but I've found using cornstarch sort of dilutes the silicone giving it more of a porous surface when it cures where the soap method leaves behind 100% silicone and the surface of your molded material is much smoother and has that sort of non stick quality people look for in silicone. All of the cornstarch texture rollers and mats that I made got tossed due to constant sticking and liftoff with concrete, the ones i made with soap i still use to this day and several I've made for stone workers that they absolutely love and use on a regular basis. The most recent one I did was a 2'×3' travertine stamp that used 7 tubes of silicone at once all mixed in a mortar tub and it exceeded my expectations, $30 in silicone vs $100 in silicone mold making material.
I tried the Dawn method, 4 days ago and my molds are still drying 🤷 did I add too much Dawn soap?
I didn't even make huge molds, I'm experimenting to create molds for plaster castings for some art projects.
Thank you -- this is helpful.
Yeah 2 10 oz tunes of silicone are 20 bucks now😅
At the beginning, I didn't think I would watch till the end but it was so funny and I learned about nitrile gloves thanks!!
For anyone stopping by this video in present times: I'm an SFX makeup artist who regularly uses (platsil) silicone for skin safe prosthetics. Latex (it's the sulphur in it, I do believe, I forget the actual chemical compound offhand haha), inhibits the curing of silicone. We only use nitrile gloves for this reason when working with silicone and also make sure to never try to run silicone prosthetics in a mold that has had any interaction with latex components. The warmth of your hands is also what begins curing the silicone as you knead allowing it to form that ball. We use dish soap as a release agent oftentimes as well (surprisingly good and doesnt cost much at all! Lol Better than spending on epoxy parfilm release if youre on a budget) so that it doesn't want to cure *onto* anything. The soap method is definitely the best way to go if you're...doing *this* lol, and of course using non-latex gloves. A hairdryer to help speed it's curing is also your best friend!
hope you see this sweetie...i'd like to make a mould for a candle my grandma used as her "lucky charm" on holidays at the family poker table. she has passed and it was the only thing i wanted from the estate besides a book on irish folklore...anyhooty, i want to mould this little elf riding a snail candle safely and cast beeswax candles for my entire family, for "good luck"
any help would be loved and appreciated,
thx, helga
luvabean if you haven't found an answer email me at artisanjewelrysupply@gmail.com
its the moisture in the air that cures it.
So which one is better, soap or corn starch?
its not the warmth, it is water that makes it cure. there is a cure inhibitor that makes the silicone cure as soon as it gets exposed to any moisture including ambient humidity,
I actually like that you didn't have a "perfect" video. It gives me (as I will be doing this for the first time) an idea of what happens in different scenarios. Plus, all the comments are very helpful with their thoughts / corrections. Great job! I enjoyed the video! Thanks for posting!
How'd it go?
I like putting the object in a box and mixing nail polish remover with the silicone till it is pourable and then just pouring a mold. let it set over night and it is ready. for your pan you should be able to just peel the mold off without cutting it
Tip: Nearly all caulking guns have a cutter and a seal puncture wire built in. This gun shown here has it. Only really old cheap ones sometimes didn’t have them. The little hole in the side of the handle is for cutting the tip, you put the tip in and squeeze the handle to cut it off (the cutting part is inside the handle). You decide how far to put it in for a smaller or larger tip opening, and whether you want it angled or not, just tilt it if you want an angle.
Then usually on the underside of the handle (sometimes on the side of the gun), there’s the wire to slide the tip in to puncture the seal. Stick the tip onto the wire inside the handle, and wiggle it around a little to widen the hole all the way if you want, then wipe it off right away, or you could let the caulk or glue build up to make it thicker if you really wanted to, just let the tip stay sharp enough to poke it. If the poking. wire is on the side of the gun, it can usually be rotated away from the side, and put back in the place after use.
When I’m not using it all up, I put a longer stick, nail or screw into the tip and cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and tape it up. Keeps it from drying out for next time.
I mention it because I once had a contractor over to assist with something, and he had been in business over 30 years, and he was digging around for a knife, and didn’t know about it until I pointed it out to him. He never knew why there was a hole in the handle, or that there even was a poking wire in the handle at all. Never noticed it. All tools to open the caulk or glue are on board:)
Miss Kim - great tip ... Now I have to go to the garage and look at my caulk gun. And - they finally made a cap (cheap) to cap off a tube.
Dip the bottom of the pan in melted wax several times or until you have a smooth surface,then cast over that. No sticking.
You also don’t need gloves if you oil your hands. Some people use mineral or cooking oil but I prefer coconut oil.
When my larger molds are a little bit flimsy, I add another layer after the first one is dry.
Thanks for this!!! This helped a lot. I'm glad someone did a versus video. I just bought silicone and I have corn starch for my art stuff already but was wondering if I should go out and buy some soap for my molding.
Great video! I like the fact that you didn’t sugar coat anything. You experimented, learned lessons, and tried again. That’s life!😊
Awe what a great comment. You get me. Made my day. Thanks. 🙏
Silicone caulking uses acetic acid (vinegar, is about 3% acetic acid, and water) as a solvent, that's why it smells like vinegar. It's not toxic but it's concentrated enough to potentially be very irritating to your skin and lungs.
It also cures by the acid evaporating out of it or being replaced with moisture (from water); which is why it won't stick to something that it wet, the part touching the surface will start curing before getting into the surface of it. Also, if it's too cold, the acid won't be able to evaporate properly (unless there's starch in it to absorb the moisture out of the rubber part).
Corn starch is easier to work with a cures faster because it soaks the acid out of the silicone inside and out, while insulating your hands from sticking and having some moisture content of it's own to offer. The trade off is that it will be stiffer, less stretchy and more brittle or prone to tearing (weaker) than more pure silicone.
You can also make a dough with acrylic or other water based paint that will set it off curing, and add colour, but the more you put in the faster it cures and the weaker and stiffer the final result.
You can slow down it's cure time AND make it handle-able by adding corn starch and/or paint pigment AND another solvent (like naptha), so you can work with it longer, but the more you add to it the weaker it is, and not all of those are necessarily suitable for making things that will be used with food or body products.
Hi! You sound like you know about making silicone molds. It's my first time and I want to make a mold of my daughter's moana pendant to make more for her birthday party, as well as a maui's hook which I will make out of homemade cold porcelain clay. Both will be about 1"x 2" and have fine detail, which I hope transfers. You say in your comment that cornstarch is easier to work with. Is that what you suggest for me to try vs. the dawn method? Thank you in advance! BTW, I bought 100% clear silicone. Am I correct in assuming I can make this a month in advance of the party?
Using cornstarch will make it more like dough, but cure faster, similar to the silicon dough sold in kits to make home molds. It should be easier to work with, and get good detail, mix it to the consistency you want and immediately press the object into it. That will work regardless of what the pendant is made of, but if it's glass, you might want to press in into the dough and immediately remove it, as silicone will bond to glass. If it's a plastic pendant though, silicone doesn't stick very well to plastic, so you could probably just coat the front of it with a good glob of silicone, making sure it's in all the details, and is thick enough to hold its shape, and just peel it back out in a couple days when the silicone has cured. silicone molds won't go bad, or break down in the foreseeable future, so making them ahead of time should be fine. I haven't used the dawn method but it seems quite a bit messier and hard to work with, and I'm suspicious of how the soap affects the final integrity of the silicone.
Scereyaha what if I want to mold a cold porcelain figure? should I seal the figure first?? thanks
Almost definitely, porcelain can have a porous surface and can also be very glass like, or even have a glass glaze on it. Silicone will stick very impossibly well to glass, other silicone, and anything else with a high silica content.
Things like plaster and NON fired clays will separate from silicon because of their powdery surface texture (if particles of silica in the outside stick they'll just pull of the surface layer), but once fired or _especially glazed_ I'd say definitely coat them in something the silicon won't stick to.
Since you're talking about "sealing" I would guess you mean a raw fired porcelain surface, and that you intend to do something that isn't a glass glaze (something like oil or wax, or release spray, etc...), If that's the case then the short answer is yes.
Scereyaha your awesome. I forgot it was acetic acid, and this now makes the dawn method make sense. Your removing the acid with the help of water and using dawn to keep the surface tension low. The more water, the more the solvent can be carried off, making fast cure times and a strong silicone to silicone chain.
Great now I'll have to do some videos going deeper in to this... lol
Thanks for the video, I'm curious if there's a difference in smell of the finished molds?
Welcome Brian. Both molds are silicone and have no smell after it cures.
Did either of the silicone tests shrink afterward? I am very curious about that.
Thank you for this video. I've been debating for some time now between the two, the water vs the cornstarch methods. You have helped me to make up my mind.
Awesome! thank you. I'm researching this for making a mold for myself and I found this video extremely educative (and cost effective also)
Wonderful!
You can place it back in the pan for support when ever you're ready to mold your soap.
Yep, and I like making two big batches at a time too.
...yes, or lean one side on the wall and add something to support the other side
Thank you for mentioning the odor. I dont know how many videos I have seen where people NEVER mention this and do this in heir homes with pets and children. Thanks for sharing !
Deby it does smell a little, but it is only acetic acid (vinegar) not a problem. A bag of fish & chips smells more.
Will the corn starch mold resist all the bending and flexing when unmolding your creation or will it crack easier?
Yes it should, if you are not drastic with it.
that hole in the handle cuts off the tip, and the rod is made to use as a poker to break the inner seal. neat eh?
Thank you so much for a great tutorial. I have had a tube of this silicone stuff sitting around forever to do something similar. Not for soap but molds for other things. Thanks so much. Great detail.
Lori, I am working on a new mold invention. Stay tuned.
You have to kneed the corn starch and silicone until it's no longer sticky. It'll have a smoother texture for whatever your molding. Happy crafting!
Couldnt you have used a second bread pan, and just sandwhiched the silicon between them to make your mold, just making sure you had enough release agent on the bread pans?
You can use the bread pan, to give the mold support to keep its shape?
If you lubricate the object you are molding with petroleum jelly or unscented Pam ect.; you can get around the silicone sticking to whatever you are molding. There is also a product called mold release that resin Crafters use that takes care of the stickiness.
Best mold release I've ever used is 4 parts liquid Ivory soap, and 1 part talcum powder. Mix thoroughly to a paste, and store in an airtight container. You can add a drop (but no more than two, ever!) of food coloring to help you see where you've put it, and if it ever seems like it's thickening up, add a drop or two of plain water. Best stuff ever.
Thanks for making that calculated error so we all know what not to do. Nice correction.
The cornstarch method turns into a non sticky dough like consistency when enough is used and it's kneeded thoroughly. You should be able to then roll it out into a uniform thickness before draping it over the pan.
I do believe you are right! Makes me want a do-over, I am considering a two tube version for a larger, longer batch.
I noticed you used Dawn as a release agent for the straight silicone mold but not for the cornstarch mold. That's probably why the cornstarch mold was more difficult to release from the pan. Then again, the Dawn could have soaked into the cornstarch and affected the mold. I think your comparison may have created more questions than it answered. :)
AFAIK this instructable was the birth of the cornstarch method: www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/
I believe it's best to pre-measure your cornstarch in a throwaway container (like mixing epoxy) and knead until putty-like. within 5 minutes the silicone actually starts to cure because of the increased surface area by the corn starch and you have another 5-10 minutes to form it before it's too stiff to work. Less cornstarch by volume will give you a stickier "dough" and a longer working time, though... I've made custom ear-plugs like this and that acetic acid (that smell) is no joke!
Boco Clacko
🤔 🤔...(?)...
So-what would/might happen if baking soda was substituted for cornstarch?
Or-for that matter-baking powder?
(Just wonderin’, is all...)
@@Sedgewise47 baking soda might work, but why bother? The author of that Instructable likely already tried it and found it inferior to corn starch. Copied and pasted:
"As I understand it, 100% silicone caulk works by the moisture in the air initiating the polymerization of the silicone. So it cures from the outside in and as it does, it allows the water vapor to slowly seep inside and eventually cure the unexposed silicone. While it cures, it gives off Acetic acid (vinegar is diluted acetic acid) which is the strong smell you will notice if you use it.
*"I experimented with quite a few additives to try and introduce some moisture into the uncured silicone. Several of them worked to some degree, but the hands down favorite was also the least expensive.*
"It turns out that corn starch is highly absorbent and when sitting around in an open box it will absorb moisture from the air. It is an extremely fine powder that diffuses evenly in mixtures. By adding the right amount of corn starch, the sticky silicone is somewhat stiffened and very quickly starts to set up from the inside out. While it still sets up faster on the surface than in the middle, the whole thing will set up in five minutes to 2 hours no matter what the thickness. The actual curing time depends on the temperature, the humidity, the amount of corn starch added, and the speed at which it was mixed.
"So that's it. Oogoo is corn starch and clear silicone caulk mixed together and then molded by hand or by forms to create just about anything you can imagine that needs to be adhesive initially and solid yet flexible when cured."
if i wanted to make a internal mould of a length of U channel ( aluminium) . Could i spray silicone release spray in the channel - fill it with JUST silicone...wait for it to dry - then remove ?
I bet you can. You might run some small experiments with different release agents. Let us know your results. Thanks.
Does this make a mold that you can cast resin and have a shiny surface. If not which product can I use to make shiny mold that my resin pieces will be shiny.
End of video is funny. Have you tried putting someting in the wet silicone ans seeing how it molds that way. Like a piece if jewelry or a figure?
If a balloon is stretched over a bread pan mold, would that eliminate the wrinkle effect that supermarket plastic bags create?
Incorporate either coffee stirrers or tongue blades into the molds and that will make them sturdier. Put a layer of mixture down, gently push sticks into mix but don't go too far in then cover them with the rest of the mixtures!
Brilliant idea, I was thinking of pieces of coat-hangers but the sticks are better!
You could have placed the second loaf tin over the first one after you covered it with the mould putty, giving the moulds a more even, smoother finish, and it would sit evenly inside the loaf tin when you cast the soaps.
It was my understanding that the cornstarch was to be incorporated into the silicone, which would make more of the final product by that method -- thus the thicker walls. I wonder which product would be best at molding fine details and which would be stretchiest, since I'm molding clay rather than soap.
Hmm? Maybe both combined?
The corn starch would add volume to the silicone. So, the mold done with dish soap has less volume than the corn starch one. Another thing to mention, if you choose to do it with dish soap, do not use gloves. However, use gloves with the corn starch
Shoulda put it in the other pan then pushed it Down with the pan on top
is what i was saying to self..... and would have been alittle thicker, solid.
great idea!
you can snip the caulk tip by inserting it into the handle of the caulk gun and squeeze the handle.
1/8 cup of Dawn. Mix really well. Water should be cold, but not ice cold. 3 tubes of caulk. You can purchase a case for next to nothing at Menard's.. I mix without gloves. Do it outside. Let sit for 24 hours before removing the mold. Makes a really nice mold.
Is there something special about the Dawn brand or can any dishwashing soap or other soap suitable? Thanks
Very interesting, as I watch you I am wondering if one could roll the ball out flat with a soap coated rolling pin..(or object) and laying it over the pan then trimming it? Right work.
Roger That was thinking the same thing 👍
when i make larger silicone molds i use spray foam insulation for the mother mold. it keeps the silicones shape but is flexible enough to remove if your casting has significant undercuts...
miester rhovanion so make the silicone mold first, then would you put the finished silicone mold in a box or something and then spray the foam on the outside of the mold, which is down inside the box? How would you be able to get the concrete statue out if u used concrete in the mold?
Demo video link??
Thank you for this experiment, I have a question for you please if you can help me out, my tea pot handle gets very hot when I boil water, can I make mold around the handle to protect from the heat? Thank you again
I don't see any reason that it would not work. In fact I think a handle on just about anything is possible.
I do not know the heat rating specifics in Silicone 1, but would research that first. Do share your own findings.
Mity Mouse thank you for the reply, I did and it, did not work. The handle still got very hot. Not recommended for heat.
Michael, sorry it did not work for you. Hmm. I suppose it's time for a new pot, or oven mitts. Let me know what works.
There is a built in tool on most caulk guns to cut the end of the tube and another one to poke the hole. Mine was like $4 at Walmart.
I want to make cement skulls for Halloween so if I make a silicone mold do I do outside of a mask using this technique or inside of mold?
PLA plastic; Any acid and any starch will make the long chain molecules for PLA plastic The acid in the silicone needed together with any starch is basic formula for PLA plastic. Though normally heated the needing still sets up the same reaction. That is why the sides are stronger and firms up faster.
Thank you. Loved knowing the chemical knowledge
Does the smell go away? Because I would like to try it out,I will be using it for soap embeds, but I don't want the soap to smell funky
Yes the silicone 1 stinks. But the smell goes away some time after curing. I have never smelled anything but soap after using my home made molds. Hope that helps and good luck.
I want to make molds of certain metal model cars I have and make slot cars out of them
I was thinking of resin cast moulding
Can you guide me to make a great mold that may work for say 5 moldings of object
Well from what makes sense in my head, you would need to pour a liquid to get smaller details. I don’t think you would be very happy with the results of a gel. Let me know what works.
The initial silicone is dissolved in acetic acid (some brands are dissolved in a hydrocarbon) which causes the smell. The dawn water dissolves the solvent out causing the silicone to cure faster. plain water will also work, but you'll need more water. Cornstarch contains some moisture which causes the silicone to cure from the inside out (instead of drying). cornstarch tends to tear easier, but dries faster and is thick to work with. you can think out the cornstarch mixture with naptha or white gas to make it thinner.
If I make a mold of a figure with plain silicone can I go over it with the silicone and cornstarch for more stability? And can I pour candle wax into it?
Well, considering that silicone has a high melting point, there would be no issue with wax. Considering that I use my molds for soap, I think wax would peal out even easier. Hey ellie mae, let us know your results.
Hey! I used silicone calk over a baked polymer clay sculpture. It turned out very well however the seam is an issue for me.. difficult to keep straight. It affected the result of the candle.. I need to problem solve!
Thank you!! 🙏
Sacrilegious to use a Pampered Chef measuring bowl for this! Hahaha Kidding! Great video. Thanks so much.
PS If you have trouble getting the silicone out of the tube, poke a hole in the back of the tube.
Fortunately it’s inert. And glass is impenetrable.
Most caulk guns have a hole in the handle to cut off the tip of the tube. They usually have a metal rod that swivels out. This is used to puncture the seal.
It's been awhile since you posted this; Did the corn starch affect how the soap or whatever you molded released from the silicone ?
Excellent question Lori. The Dawn mold seemed to release the easiest.
I will be making my Jewellery moulds tomorrow cant wait.
Yes I see Joxman2k also commented using the "plaster bandage shell method, it does well as a support mold or you could make a burlap and concrete support mold". I forgot about the plaster bandage for the mother mold and its the easiest of the all!..
I have a stupid question, can you use another type of starch other than corn starch?
Not stupid! Actually you can us other things. I saw a guy use powdered sugar.
@@Mity_Moose thanks..I plan on making a mold but not for soap.
Do you have to grease the tin before you add the silicone ? Or does it come off without ?
It came off. But watch my older video where I make a wooden mold.
Using the soap method, I have made several loaf molds for soap. Actually, I made liners for soap molds. It worked great for a short time. The PROBLEM IS THAT THIS SILICONE SHRINKS over time. Is there anyway to prevent the shrinking?
I was not aware of the shrinking. I don't think you can control that. hmm!
One thing that is very important but I didn't see mentioned is that there's actually 2 types of silicone caulk that are both 100% - silicone type 1 and type 2. Silicone type 2 either takes forever to cure or will never completely cure at all. Make sure you get type 1 silicone. On GE brand, you'll see a "Silicone 1*" or "Silicone 2* up near the tip.
Sometimes learning the hard way is unavoidable. Thanks for the tip.
Wow! that info is so lacking from what I've heard , I wished I would have known that before, so thanks for that because I've been having trouble and I did"nt know it was because I was using the cheaper type 2.
effsixteenblock50 , wow! Thanks a lot for the tip😉
I so mad that I did not see your comment this morning...I tried to do the soap method with the type 2 this afternoon....what a freaking mess it sucks my things are stuck in gooo
You didn’t coat the cornstarch one with a release coating before applying the compound. Not a criticism, just trying to help and great to know. Excellent test.
Yes like talk power or manybe the dish soap or coarn startch
I've seen in other videos to keep the silicone under water while kneading, which seems to give a better result. Thanks for the video.
Great point!
Yeah.
Mix soap well into the "cold" water, get your hands good and wet too.
Mix in a big bucket.
Squirt out a thin snake of type 1, 100% silicone into the bucket and let it sit for 2 minutes.
Then start gathering it up, mushing and kneading slowly till it starts firming up.
Keep folding it into itself (water is activating the silicone). I believe the soap is just so it's not as sticky. I believe the more soap you add, the worse of a product you'll end up with. (but it's a nessesary evil)
I think that the silicone and cornflower or corn starch is the best for making molds myself,, as I got problems using washing up liquid and silicone,. As you can make smaller moulds ,I've even used custard powder, it's still cornstarch and makes the moulds smell a bit better too ,!!!
From what I understand, that was WAY more soap than is needed.
how long will the corn starch lest? how meny soap mold can you get?
Well! That is a good question. I assume it depends on the size of the mold and the thickness of the walls that you want to achieve but what comes in one of those tubes does not go very far.
Great video, could you have just embedded string around top while it's curing for strength? Going to try my first attempt, probably use corn starch, thanks for showing it sticking to your gloves. Every little thing helps us first timer thanks again
Yeah! That sounds good.
Roll it out like pastry before laying over the mold for more smoother shaping, adding a bit of cornstarch to the work surface and pin alao as in baking, less chance of missing patches
I just finished watching your video. I was thinking that if you coated the pan with cornstarch before you put the silicone/cornstarch mix on it, the finished mold would be easier to remove.
In a couple of the videos I was watching today on YT, a tiny bit of oil was added to the silicone/cornstarch mold mix. Oil might also work as a release agent for the cornstarch mold. Some videos add a bit of acrylic paint to color the mold.
I'm looking forward to making my first silicone molds. Of course I'll definitely have a window or two open, and a fan blowing!
Thanks for this video! Have a good week!
Best regards,
Dianna
Dianna Diatz or spray it with Pam cooking spray
he's not cooking lol. The surface of the mold wouldn't be perfect if he did that.
Hooray! I made my first mold. However, despite best efforts to reinforce the corners, I have a few extra thin corners and a hole. I also added oil. How can I patch these please?
just apply some silicone to the outside straight on.
Very cute video. Very informative too! Thanks!
Oh Heck Yeah!!! LMAO. Awesome video and thanks for sharing!! Subscriber from NW FL.
Corn starch can be used with super glue to weld plastic simply add super glue then sprinkle on the starch (or baking soda) and it will set instantly.
great for sticking back on broken plastic lugs and tabs.
Mick, fantastic. I have never succeeded at gluing anything with super glue. But you give me purpose to try again. Thanks bunches.
You want to practice on something first as its prity much instant and in quantity produces a heat reaction.
I generally use Baking Soda, be safe have fun and good luck!
next time you try this experiment try sprinkling a little corn starch on your pan to use as a realeade g agent or using a little Saran wrap. just an idea.
Did you add the release agent to the corn starch one?
The idea was to not use any. Good question.
Is this food grade silicone? Do hardware stores carry food grade silicone?
One thing I learned is make sure your water isn't cold! The silicone won't set if it is. It's December and my little mobile home doesn't have central heating or air conditioning. Just ac units which let in the cold winter air. So our water is cold lol. Took soooo long to become workable. I thought I got the wrong stuff but it turned out it was just me lol. The warmer the water, the faster the cure time which is why they say room temperature water.
we learn as we go
I find that the cornstarch dries the silicone out too much. I only use water and dish detergent. I cut the entire end off and push the silicone out that way
The solvent in Silicone is Acetic acid, AKA vinegar. I wouldn't want to eat the stuff, but so long as the pH is mild, you shouldn't have any biological harm come to you. Wouldn't want to sniff it too much either. :)
No.. acetic acid attacks the skin directly and allows the silicon monomer easy access to the body where it can be very detrimental. The most noticeable is industrial dermatitis. I got this from repeated exposure and now the slightest touch I break out in hives that last for weeks☹️ you should always be careful around all chemical products.
There's no reaction between the dawn and the silicone, the silicone is cured by water, the dawn just makes it so you can handle it. Cornstarch does the same thing but since the moisture is in the cornstarch and it's thoroughly combined with the silicone it does the same as lots of water on the outside.
I tried this just with the water, no cornstarch, no soap, 4 days later just a sticky mess, tossed it in the garbage. Will try this method.
But if it cures with water and silicone is waterproof how does that work? Idk what silicone to get so I bought GE 100 silicone in the blue packaging for doors and windows or whatever one. Idk lol every time I watch videos they don't say what kind their using so I wasn't sure. It also is the non paintable kind which I don't get really if we mix paint in it but I guess it's cuz we do it before it's cured it's ok right? Or should I have bought the paintable one? Sorry people make videos but don't really explain the details on what kind of silicone to get
You should try cutting and shaping a wire coat hanger to fit your pan and then embed it in your mold for stability.
do you know how many tubes of silicone I've tossed out because nothing came out when I snipped the tip off? I never thought to poke it.
Bless your heart.
Robin Anderson 😎😘
i guess 4
If you tried to return them for a fresher one, they could have pointed out you error. More often than not there is a second seal you have to break.
Robin Anderson I’ve thrown several away also. Didn’t know you had to puncture it either. Now I don’t feel so stupid😜
I know this is an older video but I'm wondering if anybody knows an answer to my question. I used GE 100% silicone. I kneeded it in the water with the Dawn dishwashing liquid for quite a while. I used quite a lot of the 4x dishwashing liquid. 3 days later in my mold still hasn't dried. Lol.
I've used the silicone for quite a lot of crafts and whatnot and it works fantastic. When I mixed it with the dawn it just turned into this sticky globby nasty mess.
I'm wondering if it's the wrong kind of silicone or what.
Check to make sure you use (silicone 1). I may not have been clear about that.
@@Mity_Moose aha! I'm using the wrong kind. thank you so much for answering!
You didn't oil up the outside of the second bread pan.
Great comparison video. Thank you. I wonder if the cornstarch mold would remove easier if a release is used first.
not sure any release that can survive Lye, or not react with it. Hmm? Thanks for the compliment.
What are paper rickettes that are made with the silicone gun and what are they used for? TYFS
good comparison. I have tried both methods the soap didn't work for me at all. For cornstarch method add few drops glyicrin or baby oil & use a tool to cut the corn starch in its self first before using hands. work quickly, it cures quick less than hour. also you may consider adding additional layer to the first for added strength and thicker mold.
make a video. I wanna see.
thanks for sharing... I have not yet tried this... maybe if you put your mold back into your pan the sides will stay up right better for pour your soap into...going to do this again thanks and it was great to see what problems you had so we know what to expect...
Do you have to use Dawn dish soap?? Thanks
I suppose any will work. Good question.
I found out gloves don't matter. I had it stick to nitrile gloves. It depends on how long you let it soak in the water.
True. But I have skin issues. Better to be safe,,, for me. Thanks Keith.
for support take and put it in the pan you took it off of, I always find a support container and make the mold in that...
Just curious....can’t you use the pans to pour your soap in????
Yep. I did that one time. Almost never came out.
Mity Mouse I don’t know anything about soap-making. Thank you for clarifying.
What happens if you combine both methods together
Ummm?
Nicely done! I would think that using corn starch makes more mold material. It does seem more rigid than using Dawn and therefore better for larger molds. I want to try this on a Giza pyramid shape. Thanks!
Yeah! I am actually thinking of making a two tube mold which will give me a long block, 4lbs maybe.
Hey make a mold and share on YT, fun.
That's not a problem. we fasten it with a latch. anyway, when you put the ingredients in it, they all pack up. ....thank you for the experiment.
Use more water and cold is better. Then snake it into water. There is a chemical reaction between soap and silicone. More surface area equals quicker reaction. Once in water don't mess with it until it turns from clear to white. Then pick it up squeeze into ball. It will be like putty. Wet object with cold water and soap mixture then apply. You can easily ad more layers. Should take around 1 1/2 hrs for most molds to cure
Sounds like cold water is the answer.
Also, you have to knead it in the water. When you were taking it out of the water & kneading it, that's what caused it to become a sticky mess. You have to knead it in the water so all the silicone gets coated with soap to cause the chemical reaction. And knead until it's becomes firmer and has the right consistency.
Also, you could take the second tin mould, put it on top of the other mould with the silicone, to get more defined even walls
It’s actually the water that the silicone reacts with. The soap is to keep it from sticking to everything while working with it.
I'm fairly sure those clear gloves where vinyl and not latex as latex gloves are typically yellow-ish/tan in color and very similar to nitrile in texture/smoothness.
The mold with corn starch is more structurally rigid because an aggregate was added giving a higher solids count which in turn imparts rigidity to the finished material. The mold made in the soap bath, on the other hand, was pure silicone and thus would need to have significantly thicker walls to exhibit the same finished structural properties.
You are correct about vinyl. I am considering a certain filler to expand the mold and get away with one tube. Not given up yet.
Combining an expanding agent into the silicone and baking soda may help but for a cost to value result likely less than just silicone and baking soda.
Where can i get food safe and body safe silicone ? My daughter wants to make a silicone mold of her face so she can poor resin on it and paint it
No idea. Maybe another viewer can help with an informative post for you.
This was wonderful - love! You are a genius!!
...I learned a lot - Thank you for sharing! xoxo
You're not being paranoid about the gloves, the silicone is horribly sticky and without gloves it's an absolute mess in all the cracks and crevasses of the fingers and hands! I enjoyed this video very much, Thanks for sharing with us!
Brittney, that is really good to know.
OMG, excellent video! I've tried both methods. More success with the cornstarch. I do want to try again with the soap though and maybe let it set a bit longer before shaping it. This was great and inspiring!!! Loved it!
Please do try again, and share results. Thank you.
Will do!!
If you make a plaster of Paris mother mold before you demold the silicone you will have a stable form you can work with.
I use my bare hands as long as I have no cuts or abrasion. I wash my hands in the soapy water, mix my rubber under water if my hands start to stick I put hand back in the soapy water. For very fine detail I first paint my service.with three thin layers first. Then I catalyze the rubber in water., and by patting it down as layer the surface and be certain to fill in any under cuts with well mixed rubber.. if you have any more questions let me know.
Thanks for sharing!!
Does the vinegar smell go away I make resin charms I do it in my house cause I use uv resin and I don't want it to reek of vinegar
Yep. All part of the cure time...
Would this work for resin as well?
I have never worked with resin. Maybe a viewer can chime in...?
Why don't you make the mould inside the pans then that will support it ?