Cheap & Easy Brush On Silicone Mold

[@colemyst]

Thank you. This seems a lot less intimidating than some silicone mold videos. Always a pleasure to see you at work.

[@dqauto500]

Exactly what I was thinking!

[@petecowart272]

"A few moments later", that was great!

[@artkaufman595]

Cool! An Imagineer friend turned me on to Reynolds Advanced Materials and the Smooth-On products. I wish I had more projects that need casting -- it's fun!

[@wesleyrussell8386]

6:58 looks like you got yourself the "busts that look at you wherever you're standing" effect as well!

[@VanOaksProps]

That’s correct!

[@stephannieschapiro1816]

Love it as always. A helpful tip I learned in my mold making class was to add some color to your second batch of silicone. This way you can tell if you covered the first coat completely. I recently made molds of my ceiling roundelles in my very old house and because I was working upside down, and on a scaffold, I found that trick to be super helpful.

[@VanOaksProps]

Great tip!

[@ricom7091]

Damn smooth-on! They've been like a crack dealer for me for over a decade.

[@VanOaksProps]

hahahaha same here!

[@diyfireking]

Nice work, keep going 👍👍

[@sewslow2700]

This is so helpful and yo u make it seem so approachable. Thanks! 😊

[@VanOaksProps]

Glad it was helpful!

[@TheSmugglersRoom]

Great tutorial Derek! I’ve wanted to do some brush on mold action for a long time. Thanks for sharing this with us!

[@VanOaksProps]

My pleasure!

[@blizatrex]

A great 'quick' mold. Thi-vex is good for thickening the second and third layers so it doesn't run away.

[@bonniewanhala432]

wow you make it look so easy

[@VanOaksProps]

You can too! It just takes a little getting used to.

[@JamesABeckHouse]

PERFECT! BEEN needing this. Thank you

[@jbprospector3638]

Wish I knew a long time ago. Thank you for sharing. 😎👍

[@SCG99]

I love this! Maybe you can do the alignment notches in different shapes? Like always have a triangle on the top and a square on the bottom so that even if they break off you know that is the orientation. (and mark or carve those on the plaster as well - like the side). Your videos are very inspiring!

[@helenwright6840]

Good tip for many things that need alignment marks. Ty.

[@guidancebeats]

Great video

[@chadm1346]

This is really cool! I wish I had waited just a week longer. I used a generic lion head pendant for my haunted mansion door project. I'd love to see a full size permanent door video. I did mine in foam for a Halloween display. I would be interested to see what material choices you'd make for a permanent one.

[@stu3379]

Thank you for the great tutorial on this! About how many castings could one expect to get out of one of those molds before needing to make another? Of course , outside of puncturing, ripping of the silicone, and damaging the plaster shell. Thank You!!

[@VanOaksProps]

It's kind of hard to say. I have some molds that I've made nearly 100 castings from that show no signs of wear, and some that lasted 25 castings. It all depends on the casting material, how often you're making new castings, how hot your material gets during the curing process, etc.

[@scottlymbery7948]

another great video! cheers

[@VanOaksProps]

Thank you!

[@Countryboy246]

Great video derek I got to try this sir

[@VanOaksProps]

Go for it!

[@MROC66]

Excellent !

[@brycejames7829]

yaaay, and please do make doors 💖💖

[@anthonymartelli6091]

Did ACE hardware call to say thank you for the ad spot?! 😊😊😊

[@VanOaksProps]

Not yet…maybe someday?

[@joelwilliams7978]

Fantastic video! I was just searching KZbin for mold making and you uploaded this. You don’t mention using Ease Release, how do you choose when to use or skip?

[@VanOaksProps]

According to Smooth-on it’s not necessary but can extend the life of your mold. I tend not to use it during the casting process and instead opt for baby powder as a mold release because it doesn’t react with paint. If you use spray/brush on mold release you’ll need to wash your castings before painting.

[@Mattbirchfield]

looks good!

[@anthonymartelli6091]

How did you do the haunted mansion tour guide voice?! That a nice touch!!!!!!!

[@VanOaksProps]

One part AI and one part clever editing of the original ride narration.

[@checksumzero2344]

Will you ever do a run of these lion heads? I've been looking for them for a long time.

[@checksumzero2344]

Barring that, where do you keep digging up these molds?

[@VanOaksProps]

Unfortunately, no.

[@raskalrandom4291]

Fantastic! I've been looking for something like this for ages. I have some foodsafe silicon that I want to use to make a candy mold; is this plaster method foodsafe? If not, do you know a possible substitute to try?

[@VanOaksProps]

I don’t believe plaster is food safe, but you can always make a block mold with the silicone you have and then you won’t need the plaster.

[@johnbaker1263]

Going to Hibby Lobby right Now....

[@lainpowers8146]

Great job, thank you for sharing your amazing skills. I know you done this before but could you show how to make the changing portraits? I watched your video but I still don't know how you actually made it. I don't mean the technology side but how you put it together.

[@VanOaksProps]

Thank you! Regarding the changing portrait, there’s two images, the exterior one you see all the time that is printed on perforated vinyl, and the interior one that you only see through the perforations of the exterior image when the light flashes. They’re both mounted to a piece of tinted acrylic. Hopefully that helps explain it.

[@lainpowers8146]

@@VanOaksProps I see thank you... Out of curiosity the original plans for the change portraits to have 6 panels to slowly change... With this method do you think it would be possible to do?

[@VanOaksProps]

@@lainpowers8146 probably. It would likely require multiple light sources

[@torsloke]

Poll - More impressive: [ ] The silicone mold tutorial [ ] Derek’s Thurl Ravenscroft impersonation

[@VanOaksProps]

Haha. I can’t take credit for it. It was a combination of AI and isolated dialogue from the ride.

[@cosplayerFX]

Any suggestions on how to estimate the amount of mold silicone is needed? I've shied away from doing molding because of cost but if I knew I could make something with some specific amount I'd feel more comfortable getting what I need with out under/over buying.

[@VanOaksProps]

In one of my other mold making videos I share an equation for estimating. I tend to just keep some uncooked rice around and will fill the mold box with it to see how much is needed. Then I’ll pour it into a cup to determine its volume and then divide by 2 (assuming I’m using a 1:1 silicone). For brush on molds it’s a bit harder. I used more than I really needed to on the first layer, but I was able to use that as a baseline and could adjust for the 2nd and 3rd layers.

[@cosplayerFX]

@@VanOaksProps Great, thank you!

[@TheHauntedMansionArchive]

Is that an actual cast or a fan replica? Awesome video as always!

[@VanOaksProps]

Actual casting.

[@TheRayKid101]

​@VanOaksProps is it possible to make a model of this and sell it on Etsy? 🤔

[@VanOaksProps]

@@TheRayKid101 It's technically possible, but not likely to happen.

[@helenwright6840]

Tym. Seems approachable now.

[@nicholasjohnson6966]

I’m trying to make a living doing similar things to you in prop making. How do I get started? How did you?

[@VanOaksProps]

For me, it was luck. I started making videos and got noticed. I'd start with local theater groups to see if they have openings for prop makers/set builders. I'd also consider contacting the motion picture Local 44 union to see if they have suggestions.

[@PXCharon]

What would you do differently if you wanted to cast duplicates of something like a ring?

[@VanOaksProps]

It would depend on the complexity of the ring, but assuming it’s something with details on both sides I would make a two part block mold.

[@JamesABeckHouse]

Was that ai voice at thr beginning? That was awesome something I've been wanting to do here for obvious reason. Blink once for yes 😉

[@VanOaksProps]

😉

[@TheRayKid101]

you could scan this with your 3d scanner

[@VanOaksProps]

That’s right