Silicone plaster mold. How to make a silicone mold

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Gypsum is widely used in many industries. Especially often this material is used in construction, medicine and architecture. But working with plaster requires certain skills and knowledge. How gypsum products are made is described in this article.

Features of gypsum

Gypsum is considered a unique material that is easily processed and able to take any shape. Almost any figure can be made from liquid plastic gypsum. After hardening, the product looks especially beautiful.

When dry gypsum is combined with water, a mass is obtained that is similar in consistency to dough. It hardens quickly and retains its shape perfectly. During solidification, the solution expands slightly in size and releases a small amount of heat. This feature is very important. The fact is that the expanding gypsum begins to fill all the recesses, repeating the shape with maximum accuracy.

Another important property of gypsum is its environmental friendliness. So, to prepare the basis for modeling, you only need dry gypsum and ordinarywater. Ease of use and environmental friendliness have made gypsum especially popular.

Gypsum is used to make various architectural decorations, decorative elements, figures. Special forms are used to create products. They are made from wood, cement, plastic, epoxy, plasticine, metal. But the most convenient and practical to use are silicone molds for pouring gypsum. They are in high demand and allow you to create unique plaster products.

What is silicone plaster mold

Silicone molds have many advantages. Firstly, gypsum mortar does not stick to its surface. This is very important, because the integrity of the product is not violated. Thus, plaster crafts cast in a silicone mold have a perfect appearance. No other material has these properties. Secondly, the silicone mold for gypsum is very elastic and wear-resistant. It can be used many times without violating integrity. Thirdly, the silicone mold is easily separated from the frozen product. This means that the silicone plaster mold does not require lubrication before pouring. For masters, this is very convenient and greatly simplifies the work.

How to make a silicone mold for gypsum

Ready-made silicone molds can be bought at hardware stores. But you can make your own. In this case, the master has the opportunity to create a form according to his own creative idea.

Making a silicone moldfor plaster is carried out according to a certain technology.

First you need to make a container for pouring. To do this, you can use wood, chipboard, fiberglass and any other material. Or you can take a ready-made container. Then you should carefully glue the parts of the form so that they hold well and there are no gaps.

The next step is to take the sculptural plasticine and evenly lay out up to half of the container. This should be done carefully so that the surface is smooth and without defects.

Then put the model into the plasticine, under which the form is made. It is very important to make small holes in plasticine with a pencil so that parts of the mold do not move during casting.

Now you need to measure the amount of silicone required. You can calculate the amount of material needed by the size of the container.

Then you need to lubricate the surface of the model with soapy water or wax. To create silicone, you need to mix a liquid solution of silicon dioxide and an acid hardener according to the instructions on the package and pour the mass in a thin stream onto the plasticine with the model. When the top of the mold hardens, you can remove the plasticine. But this should be done carefully so as not to damage the surface of the mold.

Now you need to re-grease the surface of the model and mold, prepare the silicone mass and make a mold for the upper part of the model.

The silicone mold for plaster is ready.

Cost of finished silicone molds

Today, many companies produce ready-made silicone molds for gypsum. Priceon them, depending on the complexity and size, is from 200 rubles and more. So, for a simple form for decorating a room in the form of a shell or a leaf, you need to pay 290–320 rubles. More complex large-sized molds are much more expensive. For example, the price of a mold for the manufacture of decorative stone ranges from 900 to 1500 rubles per square meter. m. There are intermediaries who offer Chinese-made silicone molds at wholesale prices.