I am looking for alternatives to Smooth On oomoo 30 molding rubber. It works great and is easy to use but am disappointed with the 6 month self life of the unused product. I see Smooth On makes dozens of products. Their Mold Max line looks interesting but requires a balance (scale) to mix the two parts accurately. I could live with that if the shelf live was considerably longer. I am also open to other brands as well. TIA
Pete
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They all have a shelf life, not sure of smooth-on but most companies package in smaller qtys. So if your getting good results, purchase the smaller container or give them a call if they dont have it listed, I'm sure they will help if possible. Better than throwing half away...
Pete, Good post. I've been interested in this for some time. One common part on my steam switchers that is susceptible to breaking are the cab steps. I figured out that I could rebuild them from copper and JB Weld, but I'm hoping that casting may work, too.
My friend/coworker is a former art & design student who already dabbles in resin casting, so I gave her the frame of one my "donor" locomotives to see how the steps might come out.
Tom
Tom, resin may work. It is nowhere near as strong as diecast but it will bend instead of break. I have used it to repair passenger cars steps. You would need a good step to make the mold though.
Pete
I have used this product to mold and cast dummy couplers, as well as figures. This video sold me on it and it is as easy to use as this guys demonstrates:
You can make a partial mode of a section of anything.
Hobby Lobby has it. Hope this helps!
I use moldstar 16.
I have had no issues storing 1yr+.
Joe, I have not tried that putty but have made many items using the resin in that video.
BW thanks for the tip on Mold Star. Its longer shelf life is a definite plus. My current project would only require 10 ml of material to make the mold so I will have a lot left over. Have you used this material to make many copies? If so, is there any loss of detail after making say 10 in the same mold?
Pete
Give the container a shot of nitrogen before putting the lid on.
I have never done more than 5-6 from a mold
i have not noticed important feature erosion in the tool, but I use it to make parts for prototype production, not modeling so super fine detail is not critical, I might not notice superfine detail fading
I have noticed that I need to go light on the mold release and then brush it to be sure not to get puddles that show up in the final parts
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