The Multiple Silicone Rubber Advantage

Silicone rubber compounds enjoy great popularity in the world of mold making and casting. Despite being one of the most expensive art materials, most artists prefer to turn to silicone rubber for making various types of artworks.

What is it that makes silicone rubber so popular? Let’s find out:

• Silicone rubber is a versatile product that can be used for making all types of molds.
• The same silicone mold rubber can be also be used to make casts as long as it meets the purpose of application.
• Silicone rubber is tough, tear-resistant and long lasting. It can be used on abrasive surfaces as well.
• Silicone rubber is very easy to use. The two-part rubber is combined together in the prescribed ratio by weight and can then be used to reproduce almost anything in a simple process.
• It can be applied on almost any surface to make molds without the risk of harming the model.
• Silicone molds can easily capture the minutes of details and undercuts including fingerprints as well.
• Demolding is very easy as silicone rubber does not stick to anything. No release agent is required in most cases.
• Silicone rubber is commonly used for general mold making like soaps, statues, figurines, candles, model furniture, ornaments, refrigerator magnets and other fine art or gift items. It serves equally well for mask making, prototype tooling, prosthetics and even doll reborning.
• Silicone rubber comes in any types – there are tin-catalyzed silicones and platinum-catalyzed variants as well. The softer silicone rubbers are suitable where the models have many undercuts while the firmer ones are chosen for their longer life.
• Special variations of silicone rubber are available that are FDA approved as food safe. These can be used to make food molds.
• Then there are skin safe variants of silicone rubber that can be directly applied on the human body to make reusable body molds for life casting.
• When speed is most imperative, a fast-curing silicone rubber putty is available that sets in just 5 minutes. Regular silicones can take hours to cure.
• Almost any kind of material can be cast in silicone molds – be it polyester, plastic, plaster, urethane resin or other rubbers.
• While silicone does not stick to any other material, it will definitely stick to itself. It is still possible to cast silicone rubber in a silicone mold by sealing the mold properly and using a release agent.
• A leading benefit of silicone rubber is that the

silicone mold does not shrink or even deteriorate easily. They can be used over and over again to reproduce casts with the same staggering shape and details.

• Storing a silicone mold is also easy. They will not lose any detail or get distorted as long as they are stored properly.

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.