using clay as mold

[djtrickdog]

i am good with clay, i took clay arts classes and sculpting, so when i made my stormtrooper faceplate it took about an hour if that to complete it. my question is, since im going to be only making one stormtrooper costume, can i use dried clay on the mold surface? its fully dry, and pretty sollid and the walls are pretty thick. oh and the back to keep it from falling is compacted with compact newspaper, its so compact, i cant even get the damn thing out if i wanted it to

but im askin has anyone tried dried clay as their mold?
how many pulls so you think it would last?

[High Seas]

but im askin has anyone tried dried clay as their mold?

No, but have used plaster of paris and bondo on some parts I pulled- maybe quite a bit "stiffer." What if you laid a thin layer of bondo over the mask first? Also some resin or something to "lock" the paper in place and make it really rigid. I did only 2-3 on the bondo but looked ok when done with it.

Maybe that helps????
Jim

Have you seen the Baking Clay? I've used that to but not for a pull - used in a silicone pour app. It sculpts like clay then you bake in oven. Might be too expensive for bigger pieces.

[djtrickdog]

No, but have used plaster of paris and bondo on some parts I pulled- maybe quite a bit "stiffer." What if you laid a thin layer of bondo over the mask first? Also some resin or something to "lock" the paper in place and make it really rigid. I did only 2-3 on the bondo but looked ok when done with it.

Maybe that helps????
Jim

Have you seen the Baking Clay? I've used that to but not for a pull - used in a silicone pour app. It sculpts like clay then you bake in oven. Might be too expensive for bigger pieces.

ohhh trust me, the newspaper aint commin out lol thats what i made my mask on and when it dried, the kinda formed, plus, i wrapped the bundle of paper before i started in masking tape (since i get unlimited supply of that crap for free from my stepdads work). but the bondo idea, i might try that how should i even it out? just some latex gloves?

edit:yah ive seen baking clay, its alot more expensive than potting clay. my faceplate which is about 2x thicker than it needs to be, cost about 6 bucks in clay to make. cheap !

[silverfoxx03]

chevant is best

[djtrickdog]

chevant is best

whats that?

[clonesix]

Yes, you can use clay for the mold. I do it regularly. I use regular water based ceramic clay. Once you sculpt what you want, you can vacuform right over it, but you will get best results by letting it dry to a "leather-like" consistency before vac'ng over it. then use that pull as a mold, and pour stone into it for a more permanent mold.

Then the stone sets, pop it out of the pull and it will carve like soap. You will be able to clean up any irregularities ffrom the clay pretty easily. Once it is completely set, you have a pretty tough tool.

[drcrash]

whats that?

Chavant is a premium brand of non-drying modeling clay.

It comes in sulfur free and sulfured versions, and several hardnesses. The sulfur-free stuff won't inhibit the cure of silicone, if you make a silicone mold off of it. The sulfured stuff will.

Klean Clay is also sulfur-free, and cheaper.

Another option is WED clay. (One source is Laguna Clay.) That's like water-based clay, but with glycerin and maybe some other additive, so that it dries slower and is less prone to cracking. It's often used for large sculpts because it's cheaper than modeling clay.