Why Did My Wax Stick To My Mold? Part - 2

Last week I poured sculpting wax into a silicone mold and it stuck like glue. That has never happened before so this video is an investigation into what could have caused it.
This video is Part 2. Watch Part 1 of the series here:
kzbin.info/www/bejne/iH-pln2Pn7uthqc
Here is a list of suppliers for many of the materials I use in my videos:
www.dropbox.com/s/kz6mhmf7v5vpy7l/Material%20and%20Suppliers.pdf?dl=0
Do you have a project to suggest for the channel?
Here’s a .pdf with everything you need to know:
www.dropbox.com/s/pjb0l6fr7zjttec/KZbin%20Collaboration.pdf?dl=0

[@Jagent]

Normally, on this channel: "sticky wax! :D " Today, on this channel: "sticky wax! D: "

[@gregthorne4292]

I realize that the wax caused a bit of a detour on this project, but I'm still hoping to see you resculpt the wax figure and make a new one.

[@planetschlock]

Amazing how it started out with "now let's cast this miniature in wax so we can customize it further" and then we're hit with a major plot twist followed by a deep, dark mystery.

[@1dunnj]

I'd add one more precaution (since wiping with paint thinner seemed to help too) painters have lots of complaints about reapers mold release. Washing the model with some dish soap or simple green before making your mold will help keep it clean from contamination

[@Nillerus]

This was like watching a good episode of MythBusters. Methodical, thorough. You are a master craftsman, that was a pleasure to watch.

[@RobertTolone]

Thanks Nils, I appreciate it.

[@YanniCooper]

Misery and pain for you, but a teachable moment for the rest of us! Thank you for sharing your failures as well as successes!

[@FunkyFerret29]

Hi Robert, I'm just about to start getting into using wax as a medium for sculpting and mold making and wanted to say that discovering your channel and videos during my research has been a godsend! Thank you very much, always informative, entertaining and well made. Deconstructing what goes wrong was particularly fun and insightful in this video and in this hobby that seems just as important, if not more so, than what goes right!

[@jenspersson_lund]

When removing wax I tend to put it in boiling water that allows the wax to melt and float to the top.

[@RobertTolone]

I’ll have to give that method a try! Thanks.

[@SevenStarsandSevenStones]

Good idea! I was wondering whether there was a solvent that would remove the wax without damaging the rubber. Can't believe I overlooked good old-fashioned water!

[@Chrollo_Lucilfer]

I appreciated that you went out of your way to make another video explains the faults and flaws instead of just cutting the time out and making another. Really makes non professionals be able to follow along as well.

[@cerberus333dog]

Once again I truly appreciate the learning process as opposed to acing like one knows it all. One learns from mistakes and you are willing to show the process. Very much appreciated.

[@quondamreveries7258]

As soon as I saw the wax sticking to the outside of the mold, I suspected it was a contaminant in the wax, but I thought it was something introduced by the containers it was melted in!

[@RFC-3514]

Yeah, since he said it was exactly his usual wax, I assumed it had been something left in the mould by the previous batch of resin, or even by the original model itself.

[@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStart]

Yeah, in the old video people assumed it might have had something to do with the plasticizers in the PVC model

[@Bren0780K]

So when people say "Nothing sticks to silicone but silicone", well.......

[@shadowlicked]

Thanks for sharing your expertise with us, I love this channel. I recently used (abused) some concepts I saw here to make cut molds for chocolate, for my girlfriend's baking project. It turned out pretty great despite tempering chocolate being a rabbit hole all on its own!

[@RobertTolone]

My daughter is a pastry chef and she knows well the horrors of tempering chocolate! I feel you pain. Happy to hear your casting project came out well.

[@garyoverman4393]

Yup… just as I thought. Happened to me about 15 years ago. Your comment about diaper changes is hilarious. Good video !

[@bryansmith844]

Bob loves sticky wax so much he makes it by accident

[@RobertTolone]

Normally it is my best friend. This time, not so much. 😀

[@tokagehideto]

This was great. I loved watching these difficulties even more than your common videos

[@ancienttech4603]

Thank you for showing your entire troubleshooting process! It's at least as educational as when everything goes smoothly.

[@HandleToBeDetermined]

Feels like I dodged a bullet by adding some mold release filler together with carnauba wax. I'll remember to keep adding them when I have carnauba as an ingredient for my wax mixes.

[@RobertTolone]

What material do you use for your filler?

[@grimoirworkshop6623]

I might be rosin as well, that’s the sticky component of sticky wax, and I’ve seen a lot of recipes of casting/modeling wax containing it in small amounts. Thanks for clarification, all lessons learned.

[@omoikumogakure4534]

excellent video. your experience knowledge and analysis of the problem shines thtough!!!

[@AxDhan]

I used carnauba in my university degree, we used it to help mangoes to last longer while stored, we mixed it with avocado oil so it will became a little bit less britle

[@robertprice2148]

Mould making and casting is still a mysterious dark art!

[@rrswitch48]

You cracked the code! Well done.

[@RobertTolone]

It’s better to be lucky than good.

[@jameshakola3603]

Ah, the carnauba, very interesting! It's a good reminder to us to test new materials thoroughly. I just made a new batch of wax myself, and that's of course one of the ingredients. It's a really crazy wax, it's almost as hard as epoxy, and it has a considerable aroma, kind of like liquorice. But every good sculpting wax I've used has had it in there.

[@danbritton4766]

Oh the joys of recycling... Glad to see such a great mystery solved

[@RavenMinis]

I'm really interested to see the continuation of sculpting this mini

[@wadekothmann431]

This investigation was very fun to watch… silver lining to the stickiness frustrations was a great video!

[@bartcubbins3528]

Thank you for sharing all the trials and tribulations !!! It helps in way's you don't even (but probably do;) know!!!

[@kieranclarke135]

Glad to see you found the reason for the sticky wax.

[@eduardobarros6562]

Good thing you found the cause. I too was confused since silicone only loses its title of most non-stickable material to teflon.

[@jimfolkers4425]

It's in the material! It has it happen to me alot now!

[@petsdinner]

Glad to see the mystery solved!

[@stiffk666]

I really love these fail vids and testing to fully understand what happened. My brain works the same way 😄 They're truly fascinating.

[@garyoverman4393]

Thanks for the kudo Robert ! Keep up the amazing work you do.

[@kallymihova6232]

Im cracking up ahahah I work with resin on the daily and still mix 2 part Bs! Thanks for sharing this mystery

[@RobertTolone]

Don’t you absolutely hate it when that happens? Makes me mental!

[@TvorCrl]

Very cool that you figured it out!

[@RauMins]

Wow! My guess would have been some kind of residue from the miniature itself, but this has been very interesting!

[@magnetomage]

when cleaning out the mold, could you have put the mold in a bucket of hot water, and let the wax float to the top?

[@RobertTolone]

A couple of people have recommended that process here in the comments. I’m inclined to try it.

[@EricElwellArt]

Nice! Glad to see the resolution. Though it's not the case this time, this did have me thinking that 3D printed objects sometimes react with the silicone. I believe that generally prevents it from setting up. Do you have any experience with this?

[@RobertTolone]

3-D printing resin’s are notorious for causing cure inhibition. Every time I do a project that has been 3d printed I test my rubber with the resin.

[@joe_ferreira]

Prime your print first.

[@ironocy496]

I was hoping to see a part 2 to this! Mystery solved!

[@KickapooNinja]

I am glad you found the culprit! Haha can't wait for your next video man I really love your videos

[@joepilimai4604]

Newly subscribed. Been thinking I’d like to cast some of my 3d prints and this has been an awesome video. I’ll be watching the rest as well

[@ReadFenton]

I'm glad it got solved!

[@RobertTolone]

So am I. Would have been a really lame video if I couldn’t have found the problem.

[@methibosheth]

I'm really stoked you figured this out. :) Love your videos.

[@ClearMarbles]

Not sure if it's been mentioned, or thought of, but Reaper's Bones minis are coated in a substance that will inhibit paint, and other stuff. Evidently, it didn't inhibit the Silicone, but maybe that remained in the mold, and reacted with the wax? But the second run didn't have the coating?

[@RFC-3514]

That was my original thought, since he said he'd used his usual wax, but I guess it wasn't his usual wax after all. :)

[@jewabeus]

Been waiting for this. Glad you have an idea as to what happened. Gotta admit, I enjoyed watching you make the mold, but I was really interested in seeing how you solved the mystery. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the wax figure. 😀

[@WhereNerdyisCool]

I had to check out your channel since I have had a few people claim in am your twin, 25 years younger. Apparently the hat and glasses is out Schick!

[@Johnny_Guitar]

You should've just simply tossed the block into a pot of hot water, of course off the flame. The wax would've melted and floated to the surface! Oh, and sorry for the trivial pronunciation correction Robert, but in Brazil, the proper way to say the word for this wax is not as: Kar-KNOB-bah (knob lol) ........but as: Kar-KNOW-bah

[@jeremiahmason6127]

I cant thank you enough for this one, had an issue with a previous mold about a year ago now and couldn't figure out what happened until this. I had used a car polish to make a piece i wanted to mold super glossy with no orange peal and i didn't use any mold release and the silicone stuck to them just as bad. never though I was going to find out what happened for that. kinda want to go and do a test now to confirm it.

[@YankeeGuy00x]

I understand you got the carnauba to stick but I’ve had this problem before with multiple wax recipes and then had successfully results with the same wax. I found the temp of my wax was too hot.

[@sofiamejiasesperanza2912]

Hey Robert! Just stumbled upon this video and your channel, I've been enjoying your casting adventures quite a lot! I saw that you mentioned that this batch of "test waxes" were waxes you made yourself! I'm currently looking into this whole wax multiverse as my goal is to make wax for both modeling and casting lost wax jewelry models, are there any tips or tricks you would recommend for a rookie? Also, is there a video where you talk about these tests waxes? 👀👀👀👀 couldn't find it! Cheers from Argentina!

[@galfawker339]

Thank you for sharing this knowledge, I always learn something from you.

[@jst1man]

That was priceless... You remind me of my Uncle Frank.... Thanks

[@roger.agburn]

That was super interesting to see. Lovely video! Are you uploading next friday? Since it's christmas eve then. Just in case: Have a merry christmas and a happy new year!

[@RobertTolone]

I shall put out something that resembles videos over the holidays - but lord only knows what.

[@roger.agburn]

@@RobertTolone How about a funny remix of all your fails und reactions to the fails. Would sure be a lot of work thou finding all the pieces.

[@RobertTolone]

@@roger.agburn It would be a long video!

[@roger.agburn]

@@RobertTolone :D

[@rexrodecolt]

2:23 That's what she said. That's wrong I'm sorry, Great video.

[@BeeHolding]

I know you say no water but when that happens to me I boil the mold with the pour spout facing up and the wax melts and floats out.

[@RobertTolone]

You just have to make sure there’s absolutely no water around your molds when you pour resin.

[@pevanzylpearston]

Did you ever do/upload a video on making your wax/clay? Hard to think anything sticks to silicone...though i have older molds with signs of degradation. Small amounts of silicon oil might refurbish some of the original qualities of old silicon

[@DJ-jp3ye]

Hey Robert, I have a question for you! I have to mold disks of paraffin wax, 89mm in diameter x 2-3mm thick. I run a slime business and the disks go on top of the slime for my customers to break up in the slime. The issue is that it's very difficult to get the wax to not stick to the silicone mold, and I can't use turpentine since this is something that people will be playing with. Any suggestions on what I can coat my mold with to release the wax without breaking it?

[@mraide]

Im glad toy worked it out, and write on that bag of wax bits " don't use" :)

[@144wychwood]

@RobertTolone bit off topic but for this video but do you have recipe for creating our own sculpting wax? I saw another video where you listed types of wax but how do I know what portion of each wax to add? Thanks😊

[@johndix6101]

I remember the diaper days 😆 🤣

[@IcsulX]

I loved the science!

[@xreev0x]

I am confused. If you reused the wax that stuck the first time, why didn’t it stick the 2nd time?

[@TheSpencomatic]

Thank you for this. I am about to have my high school students try this. At what temp did you warm your mold too?

[@RobertTolone]

I heat it to the melting temp of whatever you’re filling the mold with. (more or less - I’m an artist, not a scientist)

[@mizkail]

Could it also be that there was a mould release on the original model that coated the inside of the silicone mould - that the wax then stuck to. And then when you cleaned the silicone with a solvent you removed that too?

[@jaytoigo1027]

I don't cast anything with wax. So I have no experience using wax. I had assumed correctly that it had to be something that changed in the process. Interesting to see that it was one piece of Wax with different properties that caused such a mess. Soaking any mold in paint thinner will cause expansion of the mold. Literally if you put a mold in a jar cover it in paint thinner. You will get about a 10% expansion of the mold. Then the stuff takes forever evaporate out of the mold. Eventually the mold will go back to its original proportions but it never seems to be the same.

[@RobertTolone]

Yes, plus heating helps. But it will never regain it former glory. I know the feeling.

[@stevendavis7628]

Any suggestions for flexible silicon rubber that will work with pewter? The high temperature rubbers I have found are less flexible...or if there a flexibility metric that I should know? Thank you for all your work. I've been binge watching your channel. Have a great holiday season and a better 2022.

[@Drakkin2001]

i once used a cheap glass cup to mix my silicon (clever me: silicon shall peel right off and no more disposable cups in the trash!). The silicon residues got glued to the glass!! That is still also a mistery to me... maybe some glasses are actually porous even if they feel smooth??

[@JohnJones-oy3md]

My money was on some sort of silicone contamination. Many years ago when I first experimented with silicone mold-making I poured a block mold into a LEGO form after using a silicone-based release spray on the model. The silicone (I think I was using Polytek products back then) stuck to the LEGO blocks like stink on a skunk. That release made for a pretty good adhesion-promoter in that situation.

[@RobertTolone]

Weird things happen, no doubt.

[@garyoverman4393]

Refrigerator was culprit on wax breaking. Let it cool naturally to avoid uneven shrinkage and crystallization that makes wax more brittle.

[@gordonwiley2006]

Yikes. Sticky and brittle plus soft and flexible, makes a hell of a glue.

[@ArcticFlies56]

Bob, did you sticky wax by mistake? Or did sticky wax get mixed with your clay somehow?

[@ArcticFlies56]

Wow! I never would have guested Canauba wax! I use that in my wood turning projects as a finishing wax. Well, look on the bright side Bob, it’s eatable! Just in case you get hungry. Not so much the sculpting wax though.

[@arichutfles]

Fascinating. Yeah, I had some urethane rubber that isn't 1:1 ratio so I had a big cup and a little cup. I forgot to tare the scale between cups and ended up with orange goo the consistency of toothpaste in my mold.

[@RobertTolone]

I hate when I do stuff like that!

[@amirulmukmin4965]

Hello Mr Robert! just wanna get ur opinion here.. how did you use RTV silicone that use 100:3 ratio with high viscosity..?

[@RobertTolone]

Sorry to say that I have no experience with those silicones. The rubber I use typically have ratios of 10 to 1.

[@markburton5292]

hot water might have worked well to clean it. doesn't wax float on water?

[@WhenDoesTheVideoActuallyStart]

Thank you, now I know what NOT to do when pouring wax :P

[@RobertTolone]

😀

[@brokeneck]

I’m curious why you chose to work with Tin cure silicone. Most other molde makers I’ve learned from or talked to use platinum

[@RobertTolone]

Tin cure is cheaper and much more forgiving in terms of cure incompatibility with sculpting materials. The big advantage to platinum is that the rubber doesn’t degrade over time the way tin molds do. I am a prototype shop so I do not need to store my molds for long-term use. The only time I use platinum is when the casting material calls for it or when it must be a food-grade mold.

[@brokeneck]

@@RobertTolone hey thanks for the reply! Love your videos, and learning from your years of expertise! You think maybe you’ll do a video on casting with urethane rubber or other thicker mediums with the challenges that come up?

[@aitordanbolenea757]

Boiling the mould would've made the wax to melt and make the mould clean?

[@PetterBruland]

Would you be able to clean it out with really hot water?

[@artsplunge]

Well you didn't say anything about using carnauba wax in the first video. Of course it was the carnauba wax. What else could it possibly be, as if I would know that it was or wasn't. But thanks to Google I can now spell "carnauba" correctly. Sounds like mystery solved.

[@speedandstyletony]

Well now you know how to glue silicone molds with wax!

[@RobertTolone]

😀 Yes! Handy skill.

[@levinebette15]

Inspector Tolone solves the problem!

[@RobertTolone]

Ha, luck smiles down on everyone once in a while.

[@glenfisher728]

Always interesting and entertaining !

[@RobertTolone]

Thanks Glen!

[@jackdaw7792]

At 2:37 it looks like there's a puddle of yellowish wax in the pie tin. Could it have somehow separated during the first reheat? It's similar enough to how the carnauba wax looked melted.

[@RobertTolone]

That was beeswax that was dripped in the pan.

[@jimfolkers4425]

Have too love mold making!

[@jeanclaudevomdeich4234]

Could you melt the wax in hot water instead?

[@tomthumb6269]

If you want to clean it, boil it in hot water and the wax will float off the mould to the top?

[@RobertTolone]

A number of people have suggested that in the comments so I am inclined to try it!

[@bensonprice4027]

Does anybody else see a face in the sticky test of Carnauba wax on the outside of the mold? 16:44 - I think if you were to make some art of that you could make a mascot or shirt out of this experience. lol

[@jayedwin98020]

Like I mentioned in the "Video 1" comments, why not use a mold release agent?

[@RobertTolone]

Because it has never been necessary. The wax has always released easily from the mold.

[@Tpecroe]

To be safe use mold release agent.

[@imdeaded]

Very nice vid very nice . Thank you caurnuba wax for the entertainment

[@annekabrimhall1059]

You can tell a dad who actually changed diapers!

[@RobertTolone]

I confess my wife did the heavy lifting but I am proud to say that I did my share. But only one kid so it wasn’t too bad! You had a much bigger job on your hands!

[@RFC-3514]

@@RobertTolone - If it ended up in your hands, you need to improve your wet wipe technique.

[@garyoverman4393]

Just a hint… after cleaning the mold, a quick trip through the vacuum chamber will evaporate the residue super quick rather than overnight.

[@RobertTolone]

Never thought of that. I gotta try it!

[@jimfolkers4425]

They changed up the mater!

[@ravencraft3074]

I wonder if freezing the mould would have made it easier to clean out?

[@RobertTolone]

Many people commented on cleaning out the mold with water. Many recommended boiling, the rest freezing! I think it is something that bears investigating.

[@sergiocarreiras5328]

You can boil in hot water to take the wax off

[@RobertTolone]

I will give that method a try for sure!

[@crashoverride93637]

Could you have boiled it out of the mold?

[@octoBadger]

+1 for James Webb reference

[@P1X3LM4N]

interesting that one small change could cause so much confusion

[@RobertTolone]

This is the nature of mold making and resin casting. One small mistake at any step in the process can result in failure. That is why being systematic and consistent is very important for a mold maker.

[@wishcloudstudios]

Man, it makes me sad that I left all my casting wax behind when I lost my house! I could be using it right now. I didn't know waxes could be so fickle, and I have no idea what the make up of the wax I had was.

[@RobertTolone]

Wax is a universe of substances. So many different kinds!

[@wishcloudstudios]

@@RobertTolone Yeah, it was a wax I got from an old artist that had made it. A whole black trash bag full of it. It was so heavy, and I was tired of moving stuff, so I just left it, along with a bunch of other art supplies. Now I am kicking myself and wished I would have kept all my art supplies, and thew out the china cabinet instead!

[@RobertTolone]

@@wishcloudstudios It’s an opportunity to scrounge up new materials!

[@wishcloudstudios]

@@RobertTolone Yes it is. I just don't have the same resources I used to. Hey, are you up to do some more casts for me? I also wanted to try a new casting method this year that other people are having success with. I was curious if I could do it at your studio and maybe have you around to check it out and maybe give me some pointers with your expertise. I have all the materials, just not the space or equipment.

[@RobertTolone]

@@wishcloudstudios email me [e-mail]