I've made a plaster of paris mold of my hand, if I fill it with plaster of paris will they stick?

Question

It's to make a cast of my hand, should I filll the mold with plaster of paris, wax,...? Obviously to separate the mold and the cast I'm going to have to break the mold, but I don't want the two to stick together, i have to be able to separate them.

Answer 1

Yes - coat it with vaseline first or spray some PAM.

Answer 2

how did you get your hand out of the mold if you can't get it in again?

Anyway, you don't have to get your fingers inside, you have to get a brush inside. And vaseline does melt (but it does burn as well, so don't heat up much, use something like a hair dryer. Or use some spray grease like pam.

In an ideal world you also would have made either a two part mold or you would have put some pigment into the first coat of plaster as a warning sign that you get close to you the cast you want to break out and to proceed with care...or you would have used a flexible mold like alginate (though that's not reusable either).

Answer 3

coat it.

Answer 4

Soft soap, also known as mouldmaker’s Soft Soap.

Dissolve some of the soap in water to thin it down and then brush on at least two coats.

When you have completed it, the surface should feel slightly greasy.

If the plaster mould has dried before applying the soft soap, soak the plaster first. As an alternative to brushing you can spray it through a pump up sprayer.

Some hand soaps (the dispenser type ones) can be used as an alternative.

When breaking the mould, be careful not to break the cast piece, a way to avoid this is to use a harder plaster, e.g. stonecast.

I use Tiranti's for my casting supplies, but they are based in the UK. They do mail order.

http://www.tiranti.co.uk/

You can probably find a supplier closer to you, ask at a craft/ art shop.

Answer 5

Use oil, vegetable, olive, motor, on dry plaster let it soak in pour off excess before filling with plaster. Tip try coating inside with ink or something before the oiling to help you know when your getting close to removing your mold.