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marlefield
26-08-2009, 11:30 PM
Hello, I am hoping to pick some brains here, regarding using silicone moulds with silver clay. I made a mould of a strawberry to make a pendant - it worked, though I ended up using more silver than I had intended. Now I have been asked to make two more as bridesmaid presents but have come over all ham fisted when trying to get the silver clay smoothly into and out of the moulds - the resulting 'strawberries' come out a little too freeform! Should I be using a lump and smoothing it in (this is what I used on my first one, but I am suspecting it was a sad case of beginners luck) or should I go for a fairly thick wee sheet and sort of roll/ease it in and out?
I just seem to be making a right hash of it and have retired to a contemplative G&T; not the ideal answer but I am just getting scunnered!
Hope someone can help me:(

The Dragon
26-08-2009, 11:45 PM
Invest in something like badgers balm. It's a non sticky substance that stops the clay sticking to most things. Gently coat the inside of your mould so you have a nice even thin coat, cover your findgers too as this helps. It might be a good idea to gently dry your piece in the mould with a hairdryer on a low setting which should mean it's dry enough to remove from the mould without too may mishaps.

Hope this helps a little, I'm sure you'll get a few more tips a little later.

:Y:

Solunar Silver Studio
27-08-2009, 05:28 AM
Hi Marlefield :~:and welcome to the forum. I am a pmc 'dabbler' - I am self taught and exist on lucky flukes!! ...so what follows is a sort of 'the way I see it' and should be viewed with caution!!:o. I do use moulds a fair bit (I like to get a range of sizes of things so take advantage of the shrinkage of pmc and take a mould of fired designs to reproduce it 10% (ish) smaller than the original pmc piece! - good for earrings!!)

The biggest route to disaster that I have discovered is to be afraid of using too much pmc....trying to get 'just enough' into a mould means you tend to try and push it around to get into the nooks and crannies and this can accidently blur the crispness of the detail. I do usually use a lump, but if you are struggling to get the pmc to go where you want it try using the end of a rubber tipped pencil* to squidge the clay in -it seems to work better than finger pressure. (You need to take a bit of time making the back tidy again though!)

* I cover the aluminium that holds the rubber with a bit of masking tape first as I believe aluminium does 'nasty things' to pmc and shouldn't make contact with the clay...:dontknow:

I also second what the Dragon says about allowing the piece to dry a little in the mould - just enough to give it a little firmness to hold its shape - before you try to pop it out....and using a tiny bit of balm or oil in the mould first before you begin.

I've noticed a lot of pmc teachers have come onto the forum in the last couple of days so there is a good knowledge bank out there...you'll just have to wait and see if they pick up your question later on!!

Best of luck anyway!!:Y:

marlefield
27-08-2009, 09:02 PM
Thanks for both these replies - I use either badger balm or a wee bit of olive oil in the moulds, but neither seem to cure the ham fisted-ness - I will try to be braver with the size of my lumps ( ooh err missus) from now on though!!

MuranoSilver
27-08-2009, 09:36 PM
You shouldn't need to use anything in a silicone mould, if the clays conditioned it wont stick to silicone (oil and badger balm seems to actually reduce the detail in silicone) :)
Unless you're in a rush roll a ball of clay (just enough to fill the mould) pop it in the mould and push down. You're aiming for just enough to come to the top and lie relatively flat. Then leave it, go to bed wake up the next morning and sand the back of your perfectly formed and dry strawberry :D
nicx