I tried the Dawn method, 4 days ago and my molds are still drying 🤷 did I add too much Dawn soap? I didn't even make huge molds, I'm experimenting to create molds for plaster castings for some art projects.

Thank you -- this is helpful.

Yeah 2 10 oz tunes of silicone are 20 bucks now😅

hope you see this sweetie...i'd like to make a mould for a candle my grandma used as her "lucky charm" on holidays at the family poker table. she has passed and it was the only thing i wanted from the estate besides a book on irish folklore...anyhooty, i want to mould this little elf riding a snail candle safely and cast beeswax candles for my entire family, for "good luck" any help would be loved and appreciated, thx, helga

luvabean if you haven't found an answer email me at artisanjewelrysupply@gmail.com

its the moisture in the air that cures it.

So which one is better, soap or corn starch?

its not the warmth, it is water that makes it cure. there is a cure inhibitor that makes the silicone cure as soon as it gets exposed to any moisture including ambient humidity,

How'd it go?

Lori, I am working on a new mold invention. Stay tuned.

Miss Kim - great tip ... Now I have to go to the garage and look at my caulk gun. And - they finally made a cap (cheap) to cap off a tube.

Wonderful!

Deby it does smell a little, but it is only acetic acid (vinegar) not a problem. A bag of fish & chips smells more.

Awe what a great comment. You get me. Made my day. Thanks. 🙏

Yep, and I like making two big batches at a time too.

...yes, or lean one side on the wall and add something to support the other side

is what i was saying to self..... and would have been alittle thicker, solid.

great idea!

Hi! You sound like you know about making silicone molds. It's my first time and I want to make a mold of my daughter's moana pendant to make more for her birthday party, as well as a maui's hook which I will make out of homemade cold porcelain clay. Both will be about 1"x 2" and have fine detail, which I hope transfers. You say in your comment that cornstarch is easier to work with. Is that what you suggest for me to try vs. the dawn method? Thank you in advance! BTW, I bought 100% clear silicone. Am I correct in assuming I can make this a month in advance of the party?

Using cornstarch will make it more like dough, but cure faster, similar to the silicon dough sold in kits to make home molds. It should be easier to work with, and get good detail, mix it to the consistency you want and immediately press the object into it. That will work regardless of what the pendant is made of, but if it's glass, you might want to press in into the dough and immediately remove it, as silicone will bond to glass. If it's a plastic pendant though, silicone doesn't stick very well to plastic, so you could probably just coat the front of it with a good glob of silicone, making sure it's in all the details, and is thick enough to hold its shape, and just peel it back out in a couple days when the silicone has cured. silicone molds won't go bad, or break down in the foreseeable future, so making them ahead of time should be fine. I haven't used the dawn method but it seems quite a bit messier and hard to work with, and I'm suspicious of how the soap affects the final integrity of the silicone.

Scereyaha what if I want to mold a cold porcelain figure? should I seal the figure first?? thanks

Almost definitely, porcelain can have a porous surface and can also be very glass like, or even have a glass glaze on it. Silicone will stick very impossibly well to glass, other silicone, and anything else with a high silica content. Things like plaster and NON fired clays will separate from silicon because of their powdery surface texture (if particles of silica in the outside stick they'll just pull of the surface layer), but once fired or _especially glazed_ I'd say definitely coat them in something the silicon won't stick to. Since you're talking about "sealing" I would guess you mean a raw fired porcelain surface, and that you intend to do something that isn't a glass glaze (something like oil or wax, or release spray, etc...), If that's the case then the short answer is yes.

Scereyaha your awesome. I forgot it was acetic acid, and this now makes the dawn method make sense. Your removing the acid with the help of water and using dawn to keep the surface tension low. The more water, the more the solvent can be carried off, making fast cure times and a strong silicone to silicone chain. Great now I'll have to do some videos going deeper in to this... lol

Okay! You just made my day. Thank you back.

Fortunately it’s inert. And glass is impenetrable.

No.. acetic acid attacks the skin directly and allows the silicon monomer easy access to the body where it can be very detrimental. The most noticeable is industrial dermatitis. I got this from repeated exposure and now the slightest touch I break out in hives that last for weeks☹️ you should always be careful around all chemical products.

Best mold release I've ever used is 4 parts liquid Ivory soap, and 1 part talcum powder. Mix thoroughly to a paste, and store in an airtight container. You can add a drop (but no more than two, ever!) of food coloring to help you see where you've put it, and if it ever seems like it's thickening up, add a drop or two of plain water. Best stuff ever.

Yay! Thanks.

it doesn't have to be dawn dish soap it acn be any ol' cheap soap.

Well that was well worth the watch and take your investigation on board when I make my next moulds. I will say I found when kneading the silicone it is better just using my bare hands. Thanks for sharing your experience 😊👍

Thank you. Loved knowing the chemical knowledge

I do believe you are right! Makes me want a do-over, I am considering a two tube version for a larger, longer batch.

I noticed you used Dawn as a release agent for the straight silicone mold but not for the cornstarch mold. That's probably why the cornstarch mold was more difficult to release from the pan. Then again, the Dawn could have soaked into the cornstarch and affected the mold. I think your comparison may have created more questions than it answered. :)

AFAIK this instructable was the birth of the cornstarch method: www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Make-Your-Own-Sugru-Substitute/ I believe it's best to pre-measure your cornstarch in a throwaway container (like mixing epoxy) and knead until putty-like. within 5 minutes the silicone actually starts to cure because of the increased surface area by the corn starch and you have another 5-10 minutes to form it before it's too stiff to work. Less cornstarch by volume will give you a stickier "dough" and a longer working time, though... I've made custom ear-plugs like this and that acetic acid (that smell) is no joke!

Boco Clacko 🤔 🤔...(?)... So-what would/might happen if baking soda was substituted for cornstarch? Or-for that matter-baking powder? (Just wonderin’, is all...)

@@Sedgewise47 baking soda might work, but why bother? The author of that Instructable likely already tried it and found it inferior to corn starch. Copied and pasted: "As I understand it, 100% silicone caulk works by the moisture in the air initiating the polymerization of the silicone. So it cures from the outside in and as it does, it allows the water vapor to slowly seep inside and eventually cure the unexposed silicone. While it cures, it gives off Acetic acid (vinegar is diluted acetic acid) which is the strong smell you will notice if you use it. *"I experimented with quite a few additives to try and introduce some moisture into the uncured silicone. Several of them worked to some degree, but the hands down favorite was also the least expensive.* "It turns out that corn starch is highly absorbent and when sitting around in an open box it will absorb moisture from the air. It is an extremely fine powder that diffuses evenly in mixtures. By adding the right amount of corn starch, the sticky silicone is somewhat stiffened and very quickly starts to set up from the inside out. While it still sets up faster on the surface than in the middle, the whole thing will set up in five minutes to 2 hours no matter what the thickness. The actual curing time depends on the temperature, the humidity, the amount of corn starch added, and the speed at which it was mixed. "So that's it. Oogoo is corn starch and clear silicone caulk mixed together and then molded by hand or by forms to create just about anything you can imagine that needs to be adhesive initially and solid yet flexible when cured."

not sure any release that can survive Lye, or not react with it. Hmm? Thanks for the compliment.

Brilliant idea, I was thinking of pieces of coat-hangers but the sticks are better!

Roger That was thinking the same thing 👍

yes and yes. I think i did on another video, but a release agent is best. Silicone wont let go of plastic. Glad you like the channel. thanks

Yes like talk power or manybe the dish soap or coarn startch

we learn as we go

Dianna Diatz or spray it with Pam cooking spray

he's not cooking lol. The surface of the mold wouldn't be perfect if he did that.

Glad it helped!

Mick, fantastic. I have never succeeded at gluing anything with super glue. But you give me purpose to try again. Thanks bunches.

You want to practice on something first as its prity much instant and in quantity produces a heat reaction. I generally use Baking Soda, be safe have fun and good luck!

miester rhovanion so make the silicone mold first, then would you put the finished silicone mold in a box or something and then spray the foam on the outside of the mold, which is down inside the box? How would you be able to get the concrete statue out if u used concrete in the mold?

Demo video link??

Brittney, that is really good to know.

Please do try again, and share results. Thank you.

Will do!!

Awesome! Do share your results.

Great point!

Yeah. Mix soap well into the "cold" water, get your hands good and wet too. Mix in a big bucket. Squirt out a thin snake of type 1, 100% silicone into the bucket and let it sit for 2 minutes. Then start gathering it up, mushing and kneading slowly till it starts firming up. Keep folding it into itself (water is activating the silicone). I believe the soap is just so it's not as sticky. I believe the more soap you add, the worse of a product you'll end up with. (but it's a nessesary evil)

Well! It really depends now doesn't?

I know...people just love laughing at others..till it happens to them.

Sometimes learning the hard way is unavoidable. Thanks for the tip.

Wow! that info is so lacking from what I've heard , I wished I would have known that before, so thanks for that because I've been having trouble and I did"nt know it was because I was using the cheaper type 2.

effsixteenblock50 , wow! Thanks a lot for the tip😉

I so mad that I did not see your comment this morning...I tried to do the soap method with the type 2 this afternoon....what a freaking mess it sucks my things are stuck in gooo

Yes it should, if you are not drastic with it.

I bet you can. You might run some small experiments with different release agents. Let us know your results. Thanks.

I was not aware of the shrinking. I don't think you can control that. hmm!

Appreciate it Eric.

Yes the silicone 1 stinks. But the smell goes away some time after curing. I have never smelled anything but soap after using my home made molds. Hope that helps and good luck.

Excellent question Lori. The Dawn mold seemed to release the easiest.

I will def do that on the next batch.

I don't see any reason that it would not work. In fact I think a handle on just about anything is possible. I do not know the heat rating specifics in Silicone 1, but would research that first. Do share your own findings.

Mity Mouse thank you for the reply, I did and it, did not work. The handle still got very hot. Not recommended for heat.

Michael, sorry it did not work for you. Hmm. I suppose it's time for a new pot, or oven mitts. Let me know what works.

just apply some silicone to the outside straight on.

Thanks for sharing!!

True. But I have skin issues. Better to be safe,,, for me. Thanks Keith.

I tried this just with the water, no cornstarch, no soap, 4 days later just a sticky mess, tossed it in the garbage. Will try this method.

But if it cures with water and silicone is waterproof how does that work? Idk what silicone to get so I bought GE 100 silicone in the blue packaging for doors and windows or whatever one. Idk lol every time I watch videos they don't say what kind their using so I wasn't sure. It also is the non paintable kind which I don't get really if we mix paint in it but I guess it's cuz we do it before it's cured it's ok right? Or should I have bought the paintable one? Sorry people make videos but don't really explain the details on what kind of silicone to get

Never knew that, ty