Tiki Magnets (mold making with RTV, casting with resin)

Here is a set of tiki magnets I've been working on. The originals were done in clay then a mold of caulk was made. They were cast in plaster of paris, painted and a magnet was glued on the back.

I'm not an artist so try not to laugh too hard.

EDIT: Title changed to better describe thread contents.

[ Edited by: sporkboyofjustice on 2004-06-07 13:32 ]

i think the top two on the right are da bomb! you might try playing with other finishes, maybe wit some more moai-ey earth tones...?

On 2004-06-03 09:14, Johnny Dollar wrote:
i think the top two on the right are da bomb! you might try playing with other finishes, maybe wit some more moai-ey earth tones...?

Thanks, the top right one was inspired by the suffering bastard but he's not suffering so I guess he's just the bastard. I'll have to get some more paint and fiddle around with the colors, this was the first scheme that looked halfway good so I ran with it.

It's grey on black but with the finish it looks like silver on black. Most of the molds have been destroyed but I still have a couple of the originals so I'll be making some molds again soon.

Hey Sporkboy! Way to go! I used to make tiki nacklaces out of plaster, but they broke so fast it was a bummer! I finally found a great source to make them out of resins that I can color, texture, sand, paint, or whatever! I can throw them at the wall (God forbid I do that to a Tiki of course!) and they won't break! I can hook you up with the website that I order from if you are interested...I'm only suggesting resin because I'm sure you've dropped a few already, right? :) check out the results!

http://www.thetackytiki.com

And keep on keepin' on!

On 2004-06-03 10:50, suburbanpagan wrote:
Hey Sporkboy! Way to go! I used to make tiki nacklaces out of plaster, but they broke so fast it was a bummer! I finally found a great source to make them out of resins that I can color, texture, sand, paint, or whatever! I can throw them at the wall (God forbid I do that to a Tiki of course!) and they won't break! I can hook you up with the website that I order from if you are interested...I'm only suggesting resin because I'm sure you've dropped a few already, right? :) check out the results!

http://www.thetackytiki.com

And keep on keepin' on!

Thanks suburbanpagan, I did think of resin but I haven't busted out my resin kit to see how that would work. I never did get the hang of casting with that, maybe now is the right time to give it a go again.

I really like doing this kind of stuff on my own mainly because I'm cheap but it's also because I won't be selling them so I want to keep the cost down. Fortunately I work for myself for free so labor is not an issue.

The only two that I have broke were really thin and broke when I tried to apply the magnet. I've decided to go for thicker and more beefy designs for the rest of my magnets and I like the results as they just feel more substantial as a magnet.

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82133

Check out this stuff....it's great! One to One mixing ratio...very fast cure time......pigmentable......and you can make quite a few out of those two bottles. I was never good with the resin you get at the craft stores...but this stuff is great! Good luck with them no matter how you choose to make them! Aren't tikis awesome?

That resin looks pretty good, my casting book says I should be OK with a silicon mold and resin, does that sound right to you? Or more directly, what kind of mold material do you use? I've found the caulk that I've been using to be flexible but not very durable.

I remember of a technique where you mix in some plaster to give the mold strength but I haven't been able to get that to work lately. Any tips?

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82083

I haven't used this brand but it's the same kind of material that I use....I may start ordering it from them. It's a silicone rubber RTV..meaning it cures at room temperature.....great for detail and they put up with a lot of abuse!

dats how we get better! keep it up. nice!

Thanks suburbanpagan, a 4 hour cure time sure beats what I've been working with which is around 1-2 weeks. I'm wondering if the walls would be strong enough on a small item to keep it from deforming or if I should be using a mother mold.

I've also wondered about making a form using a vacuform machine. I have limited access to one so I'll give it a shot when I can, any hints on that? I know that would keep the distortion to a minimum but I don't think it will give me the detail that I want.

You're right about the vacuum mold machine.....not enough detail in those.......don't worry about the strength of that stuff...it's strong! Just secure your object to the bottom of a wax lined paper cup.....any soft drink cup from a fast food place will do....mix up the amount of silicone you want....and pour it over the object until you fell you have covered it with about 1/4 inch of stuff......that is plenty strong! When it cures, you just tear away the paper cup and pop out your original! It may require that you cut the mold a little with a knife to get to your tiki but that's fine! Word of warning-silicone does not like to set up next to plastics and oil based clays like sculpey....ain't science neat? :D

Indeed science is neat. Unfortunately I've been making all of my originals in oil based clay (I've been using kiddy clay but I have some plasticine). So that leaves me with some more problems. I could use another original material such as water based clay. I'd like to stick to clay because I like the forgiveness of it.

I could always make an alginate mold and then make a master cast out of hydrocal (I think I have some left) and use that to make a mold but then I'm making a copy of a copy. Might there be something I could coat the original with to make it happy with the RTV?

I knew that learning about molds would help me down the line but I never thought I'd be casting tikis:)

I have had success using silicone with Sculpey, but the Sculpey had been baked/cured. Seemed to work pretty well.

Patrick McNeal,
Lurker Extraordinaire

[ Edited by: Biotron2000 on 2004-06-04 13:38 ]

I've heard that sculpey shrinks when baked (unlike ballpark hotdogs), if this is true have you noticed any distortion with the medium. I have not had any experiance with this product.

I used FIMO and when I baked it I don't remember it shrinking. Turns real hard after it gets baked.

That mold maker from Micromark is the BOMB! it's great for small stuff and holds detail very well. Their resin is also very good.

This is all very good info. After Hukilau, Im' going to start molding my carvings and selling limited editions. So thanx for the info.

[ Edited by: Benzart on 2004-06-04 17:36 ]

I should say that I have used FIMO simply to make sculptures, but I haven't made any into molds, so I don't know if it is compatable with the mold material - maybe Suburban Pagan knows?
I also want to add that the micromark mold maker and resin is EASY to use. I'm not just talking simple here, I'm talking EASY! I measured the 50/50 by eye (because I was too lazy to try and figure out how to measure exact amounts) and it worked out great.
Ben - OOOH MAN! more ways to spend my $$$$
I've made molds of several of my smaller wood carvings without a problem - so go for it!

Polynesiac is right....that stuff is fantastic to work with! Spork, what you can do is put and acrylic sealant on your clay, like crystal clear spray or a thin coat of acrylic paint...the silicone has no problem setting up next to acrylic....I carved a tiki soap from florist foam and then painted a couple of coats of regular acrylic on it and it worked great! Hey Ben, I graduated to chisels and (hold your breath) a chainsaw for bigger stuff! Is the chainsaw taboo? I'll post some new guys in a day or two.

A coat of acrylic as a release agent eh, well I can certainly swing that. I'll have to get some RTV and Resin and see how it goes. I haven't had any luck finding it locally so I'll give your source a try.

BenzArt, I look forward to being able to afford a piece of your work. Having even limited runs of your work available would be amazing and I'm sure it would be very well recieved.

Flattery will get you everywhere. I may even copy a few before HukiLau. Is a chainsaw taboo?
I personally believe in using every tool available to remove the most amount of wood in the least amount of time. As long as the chainsaw is not your only tool, go for it.Don't let the chainsaw influence your work, just assist it.

Most excellent, Benzart! It really helps to remove that outer layer of palm and to do a little rough cutting.....then I go in with my axe and chisels! Working with a torch too, for added texture...will post soon!

Spork, you will not be disappointed! It's a great process!

hey sporkboy... message me with your adddress, and i'll send you a 2 oz package of granite colored granitex (sculptey) ~ i never got around to messing with it.. it bakes at 275 for 15 mins per 1/4" of thickness.

another product that looks interesting is "Paper Clay" or their other, lighter paper clay called "Delight" ~ those dont require heat to cure..

elicia

On 2004-06-08 16:34, dogbytes wrote:
hey sporkboy... message me with your adddress, and i'll send you a 2 oz package of granite colored granitex (sculptey) ~ i never got around to messing with it.. it bakes at 275 for 15 mins per 1/4" of thickness.

another product that looks interesting is "Paper Clay" or their other, lighter paper clay called "Delight" ~ those dont require heat to cure..

elicia

Elicia,

Thanks for the offer. Will you be going to the NW tiki crawl later this month? Maybe we can make a trade? I'll be the guy in the aloha shirt (he he he).

[ Edited by: sporkboyofjustice on 2004-06-09 13:25 ]

alas..i have no plans for travel.. but i will slurge the 70 cents or so to snail mail this to you..

I'm sorry that you can't make it to the crawl. It'll be my first tiki event so I'm excited to be meeting people. I've sent you my address, thanks again.