Working with Silicone

You need:

• Silicone A
• Silicone B
• Deadener
• Plastic Cups
• gloves
• marked( a,b,c) wooden sticks
• wooden brushes
• cling film
• kitchen scale
• baby wipes
• cotton buds
• silicone pigments
• alcohol
• super Baldiez
• Naphtha

Steps:

• are you wearing old clothes? if not maybe you should get changed at this point
• make sure your work space is all set up-> cover surfaces and scales with cling film
• have baby wipes ready
• Beware that you have to change always into an new pair of gloves if you work with a different silicone->they can't get mixed up otherwise it will get contaminated and you will have to throw everything away->you don't want that!!
• mark your wooden sticks, A for Silicone A( for future references SA-Silicone A,SB-Silicone B, C-for Deadener),B for Silicone B and C for the Deadener, which you will need later
• with the Silicone A and B you will now create a negative
• Always use the same amount of A and B-> you will have to be very accurate or the process can fail!
• prepare scale and put the cup on( you can measure everything in one cup or do it separately just make sure if you use one cup to reset the scale to 0 before you pour in SB)->make sure the scale is on 0
• put on gloves and have baby wipes ready
• get your A stick and take out the SA with it
• depending on how big your wound is , the amount of SA and SB will also vary, but for this example we will use 35g for each
• pour in 35g of SA into the cup
• when done clean the silicone container and close lid->wipe again
• change your gloves
• reset scale to 0
• get stick B and pour 35g of SB in the cup
• clean SB container and close the lid, wipe again
• take off gloves and wipe your hands with a baby wipe just to make sure your hands are clean
• stir the SA and SB mixture but make sure there are not too many air bubbles as they will give the negative mould texture
• as soon as SA and SB get in contact the mixture starts setting so you always have to be well prepared and work very quick( otherwise it will change into a more hard consistence and you have to throw it away and start anew
• tap the cup on the table to get rid of some of the air bubbles
• pour mixture into sealed sculpture and make sure everything is evenly covered
• now be patient and wait until it is fully set->to be really sure wait around an hour

1 Hour Later :D

• try to remove the plastic cup without breaking the plastic base and your sculpture
• then take the negative out and make sure everything is fine
• now clean it with alcohol and make sure you don't have any clay bits left in it
• put a mask on and spray with petrolease
• now make a 2:1 mixture of super Baldiez and alcohol->2units alcohol and 1 unit super Baldiez->this will be the base for your mould which you can later blend in with alcohol
• do even layers and let them dry until it's matte; you can also use a cool hairdryer to help with the drying process, then do another layer,smaller pieces need at least 2 layers
• while the last bits are drying you can start to do the Silicone and Deadener mixture for the positive
• make sure work space is set up again and fully covered in cling film
• have marked sticks,change of gloves and baby wipes ready
• put an empty cup of a with cling film covered scale and set it to 0
• now you need a mixture of the equal amount of SA and SB and from the amount they have together you calculate around 60-70% which will be the amount of Deadener you will add
• the Deadener will make your final piece more flesh like and the more you add the more softer it will get but be aware that the Deadener can never be the same amount ad SA and SB together
• Example:SA 10g, SB 10g-> total 20g->60% of 20g are around 12g->so you will need to add 12g of Deadener
• but always discuss your amount of SA and SB for each mould as each one is different
• so as we did before put on the gloves, get SA and the A stick and pour in 10g of SA, wipe container clean, change gloves and do the same with SB, clean SB container and change into a third pair of gloves
• reset the scale to 0 again and now with the C stick pour in 12g of Deadener
• then quickly add the pigments you want to use-> be beware that you will only need a drop of the pigments as they are very pigmented
• also always to a match test to see if you are using the right colors
• mix everything and try to avoid air bubbles
• again you will have to work quickly because the mixture is setting very quickly
• get you negative and with a stick pour in the mixture, let it set into the mould->but not for too long and if needed pour a little more
• clean up and create an even surface using the metal tool from your tool set or a ruler covered in cling film
• if you should have any of the silicone where you don't want to have(on the negative) get a cotton bud and Naphtha and clean it up
• Naphtha removes the silicone mix but be careful not to get it into the wound you are making
• let it set completely( around an hour again->depending on the size)

How to remove the final piece from the negative?

• when it is completely dry get some talg or baby powder and a wooden brush
• first cover the whole piece with the powder and then look out for the edges from the Boldiez
• pull it a bit up and then brish the powder underneath it which will help to remove it