Kind of hating Shell Shock.

[Lily]

I made molds of my side fins out of Shell Shock and they're... disappointing. TONS of bubbles, very brittle, didn't capture all the details (some of the veins just vanished in the mold). Even though I got the slow version (8 minute pot life), it started hardening almost immediately upon mixing A and B and was so thick within just a minute or two that I had a hard time brushing it over my clay. Which is probably part of why I have so many bubbles. :mad: I cannot imagine trying to spread this stuff over my scale sheet or fluke model before it sets up to the point of being unworkable.

I figure I need to find a way to thin and/or slow this stuff or it's never going to work for me. Halp!

[Mermaid Leira]

Hey Lily, I decided not to use shell shock, too expensive, here's a hot tip I learnt from a FX forum, use a mixture of fibre glass resin and builders or car bog, use the catalyst for both in the mix and stir well. the bog increases viscosity, makes the mold less sharp and brittle and quickens hardening time, it's cheap and you don't have to be exact with measurements, I just guessed. I tested within two hours of making mold and somehow this mix greatly reduces the need for off gassing you have with resin alone. It worked fine same day. Also fibre glass cloth can be used with it for strength. xx Check it out

[Lily]

Thanks for the tip, Amy. I just googled bog and it looks like some sort of dent filler putty? All the info comes from Australian and NZ sites so I'm not sure it's something I could find here in Oregon (Amazon and Home Depot websites have no results). Do you know if it it goes by a different name?

Edit: Oh, is it this stuff? http://www.homedepot.com/p/3M-32-fl-oz-Lightweight-Body-Filler-PN0262/202077782

I did try making just a straight fiberglass mold and it went... er... not well at all. It seeped under the clay and even between my scales (I tested on a small scale sheet) and I can't get the clay out at all. Something halfway between the viscosity of shell shock (too thick to use) and fiberglass (so thin it goes where I don't want it to) would be great.

[Mermaid Leira]

Oooo sorry hunny. It would be called "body filler" if from an auto store but the builders filler comes in larger quantities, not sure what you call it there but this is what I used maybe check the specs with home depo? http://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=CTaifVnDqVMf0M8yG8AX6kIKYA92G5PoF5bXerdsBtZKq9I QDCAQQASgFYKXAo4CkAaAB29_N3gPIAQepAouzdtfxUao-qgQnT9CgKodLDkcA-bVsSV20L1rzoOXT6OZocr8D8D4dw9xXiHfcW3CmugUTCMj7oYX k9sMCFWQXpgodkJcAxsAFBcoFAIgGAaAGJoAHjaCyIZAHA6gHp r4b2AcB4BLn49WP9tSKxkU&ei=VnDqVMj4MOSumAWQr4KwDA&ohost=www.google.com.au&cid=5GjuVrajwSN2j-i_kgQSh8romXJiNCMCMcBza-Lb0V9hiUY&sig=AOD64_0KcKr3No2rQMFDEPrFMNGBBZyzGg&ctype=5&rct=j&frm=1&q=&sqi=2&ved=0CB8Qwg8&adurl=http://www.masters.com.au/product/901928365/turbo-builders-bog-filler-2l

[Aziara]

Well, with the drawback of being very, very heavy, there is cement all rapid set: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rapid-Set-10-lb-Cement-All-Multi-Purpose-Construction-Material-02020010/202188464 It says to mix 4 parts to one part water, I usually do a bit more water until it reaches the consistency of pancake batter. It's really easy to demold from oil clays, as it will not stick to oil. In fact, I use pam spray as mold release. But yeah, it's basically cement, so while it's tough and nearly unbreakable once cured, I don't think it would be a good idea for a whole scale sheet (Would probably weight something like 50-75 lbs)

[Lily]

It would be called "body filler" if from an auto store

Ahhh, okay, cool. I should be able to find that - looks like 32oz (little less than 1L) for about $11, which isn't so bad I guess. Definitely less than Shell Shock! Do you remember how much of the fiberglass and how much of the bog you used, or should I just mix them until it looks and feels like the right goopiness and then add the catalysts?


But yeah, it's basically cement, so while it's tough and nearly unbreakable once cured, I don't think it would be a good idea for a whole scale sheet (Would probably weight something like 50-75 lbs)
:jawdrop: That's a lot of weight... My scale sheet is roughly 24x24 and my fluke will be even bigger, so that stuff is probably not right, but thanks for the tip! Maybe for some of my smaller fins?

[Mermaid Leira]

I used that large tub of filler the link leads to and 2 x 1kg tins of fibreglass resin, just over estimated with catalyst, don't put the bog catalyst in til it's mixed with the resin or it will harden too quick cost me about $80- for all the materials for the scale sheet I also used 1m of fibre flass cloth for durability, didn't even need a mold box just used a resin brush for the first coat and smeared the rest over with a cake spatula :)

The stuff Aziara is talking about is a completely different water based material like gypsum or plaster.

[Lily]

@Amy, thank you so much for your tip! I made a mini mold of some scales over the weekend and it's wonderful! Just a few teeny tiny bubbles that I could smooth out easily, and even the ones I missed didn't show up on my silicone test. Filler + fiberglass was pretty much the perfect consistency - thin enough that I could spread it easily, but thick enough that it didn't leak through everywhere. I had a few small patches where the material seeped under my clay (mostly due to the scale texture I'm using) but I was able to clean up the mold so easily I barely noticed!