Do Not Forget the Ancillary Products

General mold making and casting as well as life casting requires a variety of products and equipment before what you have planned can actually be created. There is a great variety of mold making and casting supplies and associated art supplies to choose. Selecting the best products for each project will not only make for an easier outcome, but generally a better quality one as well.

EnvironMolds, LLC has emerged as one of the world’s leading manufacturers and suppliers mold making, casting and life casting supplies, books, educational videos, tools and equipment. With a visit the company website www.artmolds.com, you will be introduced to a wide range of products including polyurethanes, silicones, resins, clays, waxes, plasters, gypsums, alginates for your mold making and casting needs. The decision as to which products will depend on the end result you are striving to achieve – for instance, clay modeling obviously requires clays like Plasticine clay, while resin casting necessitates the purchase resin such as polyurethanes resin.

Once you have settled on the ideal products to make your molds, casts and life casts, do not forget to take a look at the ancillary products needed such as fibers, fillers, plaster bandages and release agents. Although these are often overlooked as a secondary commodity in the field of mold making and casting, their significance and necessity does not diminish them in any way.

Take fibers and fillers for example. They are important materials that serve to not just strengthen your molds and casts but can also be used to alter the weight. For example marble powder serves to add weight while you should opt for pecan shell flour for lightening castings. Choose rolled cotton to bind dissimilar materials such as alginates to plaster of Paris bandages. Fibers and fillers are also immensely valuable for extending more expensive mold making and casting materials, resulting in a more cost effective finished art piece! What’s more, many fibers and fillers are multi use – add a bit of pecan shell flour as a filler to easily adjust the hardness of a latex mold.

Plaster bandages are another useful tool, especially for creating shell or mother molds which are laid over the mold making rubbers to provide the needed support for casting once the mold is removed from the model. They can be used for polyurethanes or clay modeling too or as less detailed mold in themselves.

And how can you forget release agents! They come in both spray and pump forms and are essential for preventing the mold making and casting materials from sticking to each other. Once sprayed or applied, a release agent works to allow easy separation in the de-molding process of different materials like polyurethanes, epoxies, polyester resins and silicone rubbers apart from metal and plastic molds. Even in those instances where a release agent is not expressly needed, the use of a release agent will significantly help to increase the life of the molds.

So in selecting the primary mold making and casting products, but do not forget the important ancillary ones either!

The author is a mold maker by profession. He has penned the article down to highlight the uses of latex rubber in mold making and casting.