Silicone mold Vs mold putty

Questions about Making Your Own Lures

Silicone mold Vs mold putty

Postby Tarponchaser305 » Mon Oct 30, 2017 5:41 pm

I am new to this. Just starting out but wondering why mold putty would not be the most commonly used product for casting. I was steered towards Alumilite HS 2
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Re: Silicone mold Vs mold putty

Postby dahlberg » Tue Oct 31, 2017 4:34 am

When molding an object with intricate details or undercuts the putty is often too thick to get into the cracks and crevices so to speak. It's stiffness can also limit one's ability to remove a finished casting from the mold in some cases.
Because the silicones are both more fluid and eventually stretchy they are usually best for all but the most simple pieces.
That being said, as long as you bring up a very good subject, in cases where you may choose to use one of the expanding foams and have a relatively small "bleeder hole" for excess to escape, the "stretchier" silicone like hi-strength 3 may bulge. In that case the plat 55, which cures very firm but will still pick up detail. would be a better choice.
I use putty for lots of stuff, especially when first experimenting and I'm in a hurry to get several different variations pared down. Also use it for lead molds.
I'd say I use hi-strength 2 about 75% of the time for two piece molds using both hard and soft plastics. I use hs3 for stuff like plopper tails and shapes that risk breaking during demolding if the mold is too stiff.
Hope this answers your questions! What are you making?
best
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