Choosing a foundry and deciding on Bronze

[Pale Comparison]

Anybody know if a product called Brush on 40 from smooth on would be a good choice for making a mold on this sculpture ...any suggestions ?



http://paulk28.tripod.com/030804.jpg

[Pale Comparison]

Anybody know if a product called Brush on 40 from smooth on would be a good choice for making a mold on this sculpture ...any suggestions ?

[Pale Comparison]

Thanks for the advice,

I am going to order some stuff and try it myself, I hope they ship to Canada have you used any casting resins or materials in the past that look real good?

[Pale Comparison]

So, once you brush the mold on do you cut it in half starting from the head to the tail and then along the botton ....

The one thing am not sure of is where/ how to leave a space to pour the casting material into the mold ....



By the way hows New York doing any place that somebody interested in sculpture should visit while in New York City

[conjugations]

I would never recommend any smooth on products for bronze casting they are awful to work with when pulling a wax, for starters, they stink and you have to use a mold release, not to mention they are more toxic than silicone rubbers. I made molds in a foundry and it is no secret, its just a matter of expense. Silicone is more expensive, and has a life of only about three years, however if taken care of you can easily pull hundreds of waxes from it. It doesnt warp or shrink as much with the heat of the wax, and its flexibility and tear strength are sufficient. I recommend a product made by dow corning called HS-II it's light green in color, and can be poured brushed or sprayed, it's thickness is changed by a product called thixotropic.
You will need to add a "pour" spout in clay before molding, pick a place like the stomach of the horse where it will be easy to dress out later. Look at the piece before you begin to detirmine if cutting off some of the limbs will make molding easier, often on a piece that size the limbs have to be cast seperately anyway, so you may be saving yourself alot of trouble. Think about how the wax or whatever materialyou are using will flow into this mold you are making, without getting air trapped.

[ahirschman]

Very nice work.
I have been using Polytek (http://www.polytek.com) products for the past 10 to 13 years with very good results. I tend to favour their 74-30 (Available in several versions) as it is strong, but still flexible and soft enough. Start by looking at Tips (http://www.polytek.com/tips/tips.html) It will be quite helpful. Also, be aware that you can get a good discount on new items that you have not used before (Trial pricing). They are also quite good on the phone if you have questions about chemestry/releases/etc.
Here is an link to an image of a Bronze Sprinter (http://www.arisartstudio.com/track%20sprinter%201.html) done using two molds made out of 74-30, with a plaster and a wood mother mold.
Good luck, and take your time with the mold. Lots of preparation will yield very good results.

Also, their catalog (http://www.polytek.com/catalog/catalog.pdf) is a gold mine of information.

Ari.