[Jewelry making - Article 00427] - Re: [Orchid] Crisp mold-making material for PMC

[Veronica Kubat]

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    Put the stamp (rubber part only) on a piece of mirror or smooth
    glass and stick it down either with super glue or smooshing a very
    thin layer of "Clean Clay" (which doesn't have any sulfer-this is
    critical-NO SULFER). Use Clean Clay and build a wall around the stamp
    leaving a 1/2 inch of glass showing. Smooth it down on the inside so
    if you were to put water in, it would not leak out. Picture a castle
    (the stamp) and a mote (the clay wall). Also seal the edges of the
    stamp with a little clean clay so "water" won't get under the stamp
    between the stamp and the glass. Just smoosh a line of Clean Clay
    around the edge of the stamp. 

    Use RTV moldmaking material which is mixed with a catalyst and a
    throw-away paint brush. Brush a very thin coating over the stamp and
    check and remove all little bubbles with the paint brush. Move slowly
    and you'll get all the bubbles out. Fill the rest of the mold with
    RTV and put it on a LEVEL surface to cure overnight. It should peel
    right out of the RTV (I haven't used it on rubber. So I suggest
    making a mold of another stamp of the same material to try it first.
    It could stick to the rubber stamp. If it does, try mold release
    spray. I haven't used that, but I hear it helps. 

    The result is a mold of the stamp that is the depth of the piece of
    rubber the stamp is made of with the detail of the stamp you want in
    a negative. 

    Melt Aluwax (if you want maleability) or injection wax (if you
    don't) into the mold, checking for bubbles (I use a wax pen or
    soldering iron). Pop it out after it cools a bit. You can vary the
    depth of the final piece by how much wax you put in the mold. Keep it
    on a level surface so the thickness is even. 

    Hope this works for you. I do it all the time. It's a great
    moldmaking technique. 

    Veronica 

    (The two-part RTV stuff you mix with your hands isn't going to give
    you fine detail. The RTV liquidy stuff I'm talking about will give
    excellent detail on the shallowest of markings. The key is to remove
    all bubbles from touching the stamp. I used the two-part putty-like
    stuff and it was great on large detail, but tricky to mix.)
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