Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Me, Oh my, Mold Fail

Well, I poured the second half of the mold the other day and it was smooth work. Sorry to say though, (and it pains me as much as it does you) but it looks like there wasn't enough mold-release applied to the first half of the mold. What you have here is an unfortunate instance of some hard core silicone on silicone action and it won't let go without a fight. Silicone doesn't tend to stick to much, but it will stick to itself like what. Without the necessary lube layer between mold halves, the silicone just fuses to itself. I've just experienced it first hand and it's nobody's friend. As a saving grace, in some instances you may be able to cut the mold apart to oust your pattern if this happens. With a sharp blade and a steady hand I did indeed try to free poor Avington the Alligator from his suffocating tomb of silicone. It was a futile task, for this RTV Silicone was fused tight. Plus, the high derometer of this Mold Max 60 doesn't leave a great deal of flexibility to aid in the task.

I had a sneeking feeling that the second half of the mold was going to be trouble maker. This was my first shot at molding Avington and it's insightful to assess your mistakes and failures in order to make your next attempt that much better. Lesson learned; on to seconds.



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