Information-More PleaseIm new at this

20 years ago

I have found all of your posts very informative. But, none cover what I'm trying to do...

I have a concrete stepping stone that I have poured from a hard molded mold. I have one stone that is new BUT the mold has since cracked. I would like to pour more of these stones BUT IÂm not quite sure how to make a mold from the one good one. Can I use paste wax to seal the concrete and then make a fiberglass shell or does one need to make a latex mold first and then make a fiberglass shell to hold it? I'm wanting to pour about 10 stones.

A lot of information can be so confusing. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

Sharon

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Comments (3)

tango88
20 years ago
The type of mold you need generally depends on three interrelated considerations...a).How much detail... b).Do you have any "undercuts"...and c).How many pourings of what kind of mix.
Here are a few things to consider:
Fiberglass or any hard mold material should be durable and adequate...IF...you have no undercuts. If there are undercuts you'll either need a flexible or a multi-part mold in order to get the piece out. For high detail your best bet is either latex or urethane. Which one depends on how many pieces and how abrasive the mix is. Latex holds good detail and can be "painted" on if you back it up with a rigid "mother" mold. And it should stand up to 10 pourings if you are very gentle with it and the mix is not overly abrasive. Urethane can be poured and requires no mother mold. It is also much more durable and available in a wide range hardnesses.
Check out the link below for info on options & processes. Best of luck and let us see the results.

Here is a link that might be useful: Good Basic Mold Making Info
MtDreamer
Original Author
20 years ago
What a great link, thank you. But I still got questions. The mold I want to make is a paw print, there are no under cuts. This is what I think I need to do...if this is not correct please advise... The original stepping stone is concrete, I have applied spray glaze to seal the concrete, for the next step I was going to apply paste wax as the release agent. I wasn't sure if I should be using a fiberglass for the mold or a latex. I want to make about 10 pours with a fiber reinforced concrete. My original mold was a hard mold. I have never worked with a latex mold. If one was going to use fiberglass...can it be applied right over the wax? I figured 3 or 4 layers would make it stong enough. Will this work??? Or is there a better way??
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paws4pets
20 years ago
I do Paw Prints myself. I have 3 heavy plastic molds, 16", 10" and 4" and a lighter weight plastic molds(2) 10". The heavy plastic has built up concrete on it because I didn't use a good mold release when I first started to pour it. I learned my lesson. The lighter plastic mold was pretty cheap on eBay probably cheaper than making your own rubber/latex/urethane which ever way you go. With any of these you will need some kind of backup mold or I have used sand or packing peanuts to support the mold as they are pretty flexible.
I have gotten about 30 pours so far out of my light weight molds with no visible signs of build up or wear.
MHO
Paws
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