Trouble with my scale sheet mold!!!

Hello Mernetwork!

I'm working on a silicone tail and im having trouble with the scale sheets.

my first attemt i used foam sheets and cut them into small circles. the foam sheets did have sticky backs so i used that to stick to a piece of plywood then put some clay around the outside. i put on a couple layers of mold release spray and let dry. then pored the fiberglass resin.
once the resin was cured i flipped the scales over and some of the resin didnt cure fully (I belive i didnt add enough of the catalyst.) i went back in and mixed a bit of the catalyst in and most of it was then useable. when trying to remove the foam circles they would break off. not pealing out at all. so i decided to try again.

the second scale sheet i did i again used sticky back foam sheets cutting them. this time i used e6000 glue to glue it to the plywood so when i lifted the mold the foam circles wouldnt lift. after a couple days (making sure the e6000 glue fully dried) i sprayed a couple layers of mold release.
i pored a layer of gelcoat as i was told it would give me better detail (i used it with some clay hip fins and liked how it turned out) then on top of that the fiberglass resin.
when i pored the gelcoat though some of the foam circles started lifting away from the plywood. i believe when the gelcoat was curing it heated too much and the e6000 glue melted. when all was said and done i flipped the scale sheet and where the foam circles lifted left dips in the actual mold. once again the foam would rip when trying to lift them out.

i gave up for a bit and now im trying to come back. i was told that a lot of mers dont use the sticky back foam sheets so i purchased just the foam and cut them out. but trying to get them to stay after being glued is super hard.

is there something im doing wrong? any tips or tricks to this? any forums with great results i can look at?
please help! :cry:

I used sticky back circles and then cooking sprayed the heck out of the scales, it will be a greasy clean up though! The heat of fiberglass can be a pain but I think it makes a nice and affordable mold, not to mention the materials are so easily available. Also I used a flexible foam sheet for the backing so the scales would bend up. Your original sheet most likely will be ruined no matter what. Not sure if that will help just my experience :)

A couple layers of mod podge before molding will hold the scales in place and fill in gaps also

When I did my mold, I brushed on a few layers of Shellac over my scales. Of course, I was working with plaster and not fibreglass, so I can't be sure it'd work in your case. Might be worth a try. My scales came off the surface I had glued them to, but they also peeled out of the plaster with no trouble at all.

Maybe try molding a small number of scales at first to test things?

Foam absorbs, you need a release which is greasy enough to put a layer on but which doesn't inhibit cure or muddy the detail. For me, a thin layer of Vaseline all over the foam worked well. Some people suggest a light amount of heat applied after (like from a hairdryer) to melt away fingerprints.
You have to clean the resin after it's cured and foam removed, because the greasy Vaseline will remain.

I myself made a successful mould using epoxy resin and foam circles. But I would definitely follow this tutorial if I were to do any kind of resin mould again as it's easy to get a disaster (resin heats up and can warp things very easily as I have unfortunately discovered lol) and very worth while doing it properly to begin with:

http://mernetwork.com/index/showthre...ght=resin+mold

(My foam scales were glued using PVA glue, onto plywood and I never had an issue with them lifting off, just thought I'd add that info in case it's helpful)

A lot of people use foam circles as its the most practical thing you can buy. i did a test with sequins and it works well. I used plaster to make my mold, i used just the standard glue sick to glue them down. removing stuff from plaster is easier but using plaster will depend on what you are casting in the long run. can you get selley's Kwik grip in your country? its heat resistant glue so its most un likely to pull away while curing. Heat resistant glues would be a better option. a good coating or vasseline or any release agent will help with the demoulding. If in doubt do a test piece first it will save you a lot of time and money.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n...psbwrzkpvt.jpg

Thanks so much!!
I got this mold release spray that wasn't the best. I found a different one that I'm going to try out! Or I'll try some Pam or Vaseline! Thank you so much for all the input Mers <3


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What was your process with the gel coat?

Lay a thin layer over the foam let cure then put the fiberglass on top.
But I didn't make the gel coat thick enough I'll try to take a picture of it asap but the scales aren't flat. The lower part (where the gel coat was thick enough) was great but the higher part wasn't thick enough so when I tried to pull out the foam it would peel the gel coat as well.


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DO NOT USE E6000 FOR ANYTHING TO DO WITH TAILMAKING! It will inhibit silicone cure, even if you clean the mold very carefully. I made the mistake of making a mold box with e6000 and the silicone won't cure anywhere there was adhesive. I think you can use hot glue but I'm not 100% sure. When in doubt, simple water-soluble Elmers or mod Podge will hold them in place.

I also have using straight fiberglass as a mold material. It's so runny! I usually mix half fiberglass with half Bondo auto body filler for something a bit thicker.

Good to know, I will put that in a drawer and never look at it again! haha.
I have been using straight bondo fiberglass because that is what is avalible to me. i find it rather hard to work with because it is so stiff. i should look for regular fiberglass!

I can confirm that hot glue works fine. I used it to secure the mold walls for a lot of my molds. For the mold walls themselves I just used long strips of craft foam I cut from one of those huge rolls you can get at the craft store for like 9 bucks. It makes it super easy and quick to make the walls and you can curve the foam around any sorts of weird shapes or curves your sculpt has. If you bring the walls in as close as possible to the sculpt it also reduces the volume of the mold box and therefore the total volume of mold material you'll end up needing, which can save you some money. I then apply a thick layer of vaseline as a mold release and I've never had any trouble with sticking. (Note: don't use foam mold walls with any mold material that heats up when curing).

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