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Couple quetions about resin casting.

1.Is it possible to use greenstuff moulds for resin casting?

2. Were to buy cheap-ish resin in EU? Modellbau seems pretty good:
http://www.perfect-scale.de/Resin/

Thx in advance

I'm not a resin casting expert but in my experience using greenstuff is not ideal as a mold. It just doesn't get all the details as other puttys do. I'll post the putty brand I've been using when I get home. I've thoroughly enjoyed it.

I'v had some success with green stuff but molding rubber is much better. However for small bits greenstuff works fine.

I use CFS resin [url]http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/Easylam_Polyester_Resin.html/url]..decent detail but cheap (and stinky!)...it's the stuff Ramshackle Curtis uses.

cheers
'smasha

Green stuff MIGHT be ok for some very specific molds, but generally I'd say heck no.

Typically what you want is Room Temperature Vulcanizing (RTV) Silicone. The reason why is because it can do a good job getting the details, is flexible and easy to work with, but also durable enough for a single mold to produce a good number of castings before it starts to wear and lose detail.

Either a RTV silicone OR a condensation cure silicone rubber is preferable for casting in resin. The CC rubbers tend to be more flexible and need a more rigid enclosure (OR thicker walls) to prevent undue mould expansion during casting (whereas the RTVs tend towards a firmer consistency and don't. IME).

Greenstuff is fine for press casts. It's an expensive way to make a mould though.

I use a condensation cure silicone for resin casting (which is a 1:1 polyurethane resin) and a RTV for metal casting (it's a heat resistant one meant for bronze casting).

http://www.tomps.com/

is where I buy my resin casting supplies.

You probably could make some kind of mould from Green Stuff but proper silicon rubber is much better.

Tapplastics.com

Instant Mold is the quickest and cheapest to do small amounts of press casts with small parts. You can use greenstuff to make your part. Greenstuff won't stick to Instant Mold. Other then that, silicone and resin is the way to go. I use Polytek silicone and resin since its the only material available locally.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/307451.page

/thread

Tap plastics also has video tutorials on their products, covering much of the same material as tomps.
Aerethan, others are posting sites and materials not covered in that link where you plug yourself as a mouldmaker.

I think I mentioned once that I'll make molds for people. Not much of a plug. And the thread is still a wealth of information on resin casting and mold making. It's no skin off my back if people never ask me to make molds, I do it for fun, not to pay the rent.

That other article wrote:Fellow Dakkite Aerethan would also like to add....

I'd also like to plug myself for a mold maker.

I might be reading that wrong, but it seems a little like a plug

If you want good moulds i wouldn't suggest GS, maybe plastic polymer like http://www.warsmithminiatures.co.uk/white-stuff-44-p.asp. But RTV silicon is the best. Mbfg sell great stuff, although its a little pricey.

Best place for supplies in my experience so far is John Burns, good quality and OK price.

It all really depends on what you plan to cast?

Ventilation shafts in the mold are also a must.
You don't have to do it like its finecast or anything, but the more the merrier.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, also a not on the resin used to fill the mould.
Spring for the additive that lowers the viscosity of the resin. This thins it out so it mixes better, and bubbles travel through the unset resin much easier, instead of sluggishly moving along as you frantically tap the mold.

I wasn't aware that my "plug" was added to the main post. For what it's worth I've had a single mold job based off it. Like I said, I do it for fun, not for a profession. And honestly I'm more interested in helping people figure out how to do it themselves than just doing it for them.

In closing: wasn't aware of the plug in the first post, would be glad to help you out in doing it yourself. Cheers.

Perhaps don't link threads you don't know the content of and declare the thread over then, and instead add some tips you know!
Incidentally, what would you charge to make a mould, and what materials would you use?

lol. Well I know most of what the thread has, and between Blackhand, Theunicorn and myself there is a wealth of mold making and casting information there.

The cost of a mold depends mostly on the piece or pieces to be case. 2 part molds cost at least twice what a single piece mold does as it is easily three times as much work to make one properly.

It also depends on how big the mold is. If I need to buy a new batch of silicone just for that project, then it adds $30 to the price.

I use Smooth On products. For molds I use Oomoo 25. For resin I use Smooth Cast 300 or 305 depending on the piece being cast(2 part mold pieces I use 305 for the longer working time, for one part molds like rhino doors or bases I use 300 so that I can make more in a given amount of time).

Now you've made me plug in this thread as well, at least I suppose it wasn't unsolicited.

The prices I charge are mostly the cost of materials and a little extra for the time it takes. Things like a shoulder pad mold would cost about $30 for a 5 pad mold. A rhino door mold would be about $30, a base mold would be $25ish depending on what size base and how many of them in the mold.

Currently I'm busy with a painting commission for the next 4 weeks, so any requests would be started after mid April.

Hits_the_spot wrote:If you want good moulds i wouldn't suggest GS, maybe plastic polymer like http://www.warsmithminiatures.co.uk/white-stuff-44-p.asp. But RTV silicon is the best. Mbfg sell great stuff, although its a little pricey.

Best place for supplies in my experience so far is John Burns, good quality and OK price.

It all really depends on what you plan to cast?

I have made several gs moulds and I know you can't get a good quality out of them but as I have gs moulds I'm wondering is it possible to "convert" these gs moulds into resin ones? Adding vents and stuff isn't a problem but will the resin stick to the mould and ruin it?

Other project of mine is to make knights (empire styled, horses from fireforge games) for a bretonnian army.

I was looking into TOMPS value range and I was wondering if that was any good?
http://www.tomps.com/shop/-c-1_7_50.html?osCsid=2palic85l426deibddck0orcg7

I can guarantee that curing resin inside of a GS mold will not end well. Perhaps with some Mold Release, but even then I doubt much will come of it. Silicone rubber is unique in that polyurethane resin won't stick to it at all even without a release agent.

GS molds are best done as press molds using GW as the casting medium. This allows you to pull the cast before it has time to adhere to the mold, and also allows you to conform the cast to different surfaces, like SM shoulder pads.

Sadly I have no information on what products are available in Europe, nor do I know if they are any good.

You want this stuff, if possible. I don't know who sells it in Europe.

I will advise that Instant Mold doesn't have the same detail as a silicone mold. That said, it is infinitely reusable and is fine for doing lower detail work like some bases and such.

I've always used Smooth-On's Mold Max 30 for producing my molds.

Isn't Mold Max a 10:1 mix though? The nice thing about Oomoo is that it's 1:1 so there's no real measuring needed beyond pouring the same amounts to mix.

Aerethan wrote:Isn't Mold Max a 10:1 mix though? The nice thing about Oomoo is that it's 1:1 so there's no real measuring needed beyond pouring the same amounts to mix.

It is, and its a pain because you need to be fairly exact and actually weigh the stuff out. I've tried OOMOO and I find that my Mold Max molds on average last longer. So its a bit of a trade off, Mold Max is harder to wrok with then OOMOO but the molds last longer.

To the OP whatever you end up useing resin is going to destroy any mold you can make at home fairly quickly and a mold release ageant is mandatory, I highly recommend the one sold by smooth-on. What exactly are you trying to cast? Because their are alternatives other then just resin.

Aren't most resins two part mixes that generate heat to set the resin?
My Amazing (brand) resin mix is, anyway.

I would think that using a mould that melts down in hot water would be terrible as far as the InstaMold goes.

Archim3des wrote:Aren't most resins two part mixes that generate heat to set the resin?
My Amazing (brand) resin mix is, anyway.

I would think that using a mould that melts down in hot water would be terrible as far as the InstaMold goes.

Instamold is acutally ment to be used with green stuff or most other two part epoxy puttys my container of it actually says it on the label. On a somewhat related note Instamold is actually just repackaged make your own mouthpeice stuff and can be found much cheaper in sporting good stores. Now, Instamold is great stuff and has its uses. Its great for making a few quick copies, but if you need to make more then 5 of something your better off making a proper mold.

Big Mek Gobsmasha wrote:I'v had some success with green stuff but molding rubber is much better. However for small bits greenstuff works fine.

I use CFS resin [url]http://www.cfsnet.co.uk/acatalog/Easylam_Polyester_Resin.html/url]..decent detail but cheap (and stinky!)...it's the stuff Ramshackle Curtis uses.

cheers
'smasha

It is indeed from cfs too!

I've done over 35 casts of my 20mm bases mold and it is good as new without ever using any mold release. Then again that mold is easy as hell to replace if it does go bad.

Sadly I haven't had time to do any casting in some time now. I am gonna need to soon for my cobblestone based Empire army when the new book comes out.