Chavant question

[ALEXCALIBUR]

Hi all,
I'm working on a sculpture using Chavant and I would be interested to know which product to use to polish the surface removing waste in the form of small pellets, scratches, and polishing using a brush. Alcohol, solvent?
thanks in advance

[sloopster]

water

[Corpsehand]

I'm no expert on Chavant but rubbing alcohol or any other alcohol based solvents should do the trick. I use to brush original scent Purell onto Sculpey to smooth it out, prob wasn't the best idea but it did the trick. I use regular rubbing alcohol most of the time with all oil based clays. A lot of people use turpenoid, I think it's a bit too toxic for my taste. If you really want to play with fire, you can get a plastic alcohol torch and briefly run the flame over the area to melt the clay a little. If the clay gets too liquified for your taste, you can take a compressed air-can and shoot it upside down and the frost that comes out will harden the clay significantly.

Don't try hardening the clay with the air-can while softening it with the flame... Oh and don't let the stuff that comes out of the air-can when sprayed upside down get on your skin. Just be careful in general when working with anything except rubbing alcohol. Otherwise you should be fine.

Good luck
Eric

[ALEXCALIBUR]

I'm no expert on Chavant but rubbing alcohol or any other alcohol based solvents should do the trick. I use to brush original scent Purell onto Sculpey to smooth it out, prob wasn't the best idea but it did the trick. I use regular rubbing alcohol most of the time with all oil based clays. A lot of people use turpenoid, I think it's a bit too toxic for my taste. If you really want to play with fire, you can get a plastic alcohol torch and briefly run the flame over the area to melt the clay a little. If the clay gets too liquified for your taste, you can take a compressed air-can and shoot it upside down and the frost that comes out will harden the clay significantly.

Don't try hardening the clay with the air-can while softening it with the flame... Oh and don't let the stuff that comes out of the air-can when sprayed upside down get on your skin. Just be careful in general when working with anything except rubbing alcohol. Otherwise you should be fine.

Good luck
Eric

Thanks so much for your answer.
I think I'going to try using alcohol. I guess rubbing alcohol is mainly used for wounds,alcohol for domestic use (96 º)
am I right?

[Corpsehand]

Very welcome, I mean I use rubbing alcohol and brush it over areas of my sculpture. I'm not entirely sure what you're asking. The conventional use of rubbing alcohol is to clean cuts or scrapes. Alcohol is also a primary ingredient in many cleaning supplies and sanitizers. If you are talking about alcoholic beverages, I guess one can say they are for "domestic" use, although I don't see any need to use it for sculpting. Rubbing alcohol should be fine and I'd assume that the higher the level of alcohol percentage, the more it'll impact your sculpture. For example 90% alcohol might brush away details and smooth a surface with less effort then a 45%. I suppose you could add water or brush the surface with a lot less effort if you feel it's too strong. Then again, I'm not positive.

Eric

[ALEXCALIBUR]

gorgeous works, Eric!
I am modeling a shark and I meant clean the areas previously modeled using the tools .. smoothing the rough edges, scratches, etc..
Isopropyl alcohol seems the best solution.

[EricSki]

Ive used rubbing alcohol (also known as isopropyl alcohol), Denatured alcohol (ethanol/methanol, which the same stuff that goes into alcohol torches/lamps) and turpenoid for smoothing chavant clay. Alcohol evaporates faster and doesn't seem to cut into the clay as fast or as "deep" then turpentine. Turpentine can really mess up your details if you're not careful or if you use too much, but it really is a great thing if used right. The alcohols react differently depending on type and concentration (70% vs 90% with isopropyl). One thing you might want to try is to make a test slab with details and patterns and play around to get a feel for each one, and how much to use.

[ALEXCALIBUR]

Ive used rubbing alcohol (also known as isopropyl alcohol), Denatured alcohol (ethanol/methanol, which the same stuff that goes into alcohol torches/lamps) and turpenoid for smoothing chavant clay. Alcohol evaporates faster and doesn't seem to cut into the clay as fast or as "deep" then turpentine. Turpentine can really mess up your details if you're not careful or if you use too much, but it really is a great thing if used right. The alcohols react differently depending on type and concentration (70% vs 90% with isopropyl). One thing you might want to try is to make a test slab with details and patterns and play around to get a feel for each one, and how much to use.

Thanks so much, EricSki.
I think I'll test both products but I'd probably decide by using isopropyl alcohol for fear of eliminating subtle textures.
On the other hand need to know if anyone can help me in this forum on the making of molds.
I know I must make a two part mold of the shark (the piece measures 25") pectoral fins need 2 separate molds, one more mold for the clasper and finally one for the gums and teeth.
It will be a very elaborate piece and want to get a perfect mold for resin replicas.
Can anyone help? I made molds before, but I 'm not experienced enough and this job is really important to me.
Any help,advice would be really appreciated.