[Jewelry making - Article 00023] - Re: [Orchid] Making Bad molds

[castaldo]

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Dear Karen,

>         Can you say more about this? This is the first I've heard of
>     the need to wash frames and tools with solvent after using the
>     silicone rubbers! 

    The chemistry needed to cure natural rubber (such as our White
    Label & Gold Label) doesn't get along with the chemistry needed to
    cure our Silicone rubbers. 

    You can't mix the two for that reason. But even without mixing them
    there can be trace amounts of either type of chemical on anything
    that touches them. For your purposes that means the model itself,
    the sprue rod, the sprue button former, the inside of the mold frame
    and the mold plates. 

    Contamination of this sort won't ruin your mold but will make any
    affected areas soft, sticky & gooey. The effect is limited to just a
    few 1,000/ths of an inch deep, but it's enough to be unpleasant. 

    Almost any solvent -- from acetone to paint thinner to gasoline --
    can be used to clean affected parts. 

    As a practical matter I keep one set of plates, frames, etc for
    silicone rubber and another set for natural rubber. It's easier than
    cleaning, cleaning and cleaning again. 

Michael Knight
CASTALDO
& F.E. Knight Inc
120 Constitution Blvd
Franklin, MA 02038  U.S.A
www.castaldo.com

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