Hot Melt Vinyl and Sculpey?

[Sunseaker]

Hi, I'v got some Sculpey figures to cast, and I was thinking to make the mould out of Vinamold, a kind of hot melt vinyl rubber. It's a lot cheaper than silicone and reusable, and I only need a few replicas of each model so I thought it would be ideal. However, now I think about it, it needs to be 150C(302F) to melt, will the Sculpey start flexing and deforming in heat of the rubber, and when I cast in resin, will the resin get too hot and melt the vinamold?

These are probably daft questions, but I'v never cast anything before and have a limited budget, I would appreciate any thoughts or information about this.

[Fovos]

I never used Vinamold before. Don't know what is going to happen in sculpey but resin it does get hot.
How much Vinamold material cost? There are different kind of silicones in the market from the really expensive and the really cheap ones.

PS. Friendly note, i believe members of this forum need to update their location on their profile. It is very useful for others to help especially when giving information about materials.

[Sunseaker]

Thanks Fovos, fair point about location! I'm in the UK, Vinamold seems to be from £5 per kg, while the cheapest silicone I can find is £18 per kg, though if the Vinamold will melt I don't really have a choice. I'm guessing I will need about 5kg :(

[DMN Creative]

I've used vinamold and other hot melt pvc to mold sculpey originals with no problems, the molds have been used to cast with 2 part resins (mixed with fillers to save costs) You shouldn't have any problems with the sculpture as long as you make a good casting jacket from plaster (or fiberglass - if you're felling fancy :)) I got mine online from TOMPs and the fella who sells it is really helpful on the phone if you have any queries about the materials.

hope that helps and good luck with your sculpts

almost forgot, I bought some vasaline spray to coat the mold in before pouring in the resin, much easier than brushing in a release agent.

[Sunseaker]

Thank you DMN, thats great news! I had not thought about a release agent, I will try and find some vasaline spray. I shall go order some now! Thanks for being so helpful!

[Sunseaker]

Thought I'd give an little update on this stuff incase anyone else was wondering about using it, made a super quick model, did a 3 part mould using Vinamold and filled it with boat resin, turned out pretty ok! Well, I'm pretty chuffed with it, as my 1st attempt at any moulding or casting anyway. Not perfect, but it picked up the texture on the feet, super-thin ears and crazy undercuts, ace.

[DMN Creative]

A 3 part mould? nothing like throwing yourself in at the end :) glad it worked out, and the sculpt you made to cast looks pretty cool too.