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  An Exciting New Direction For Making Brush-On Molds
                . . . Dragon Skin™ Silicone Rubber & Thi-Vex™II

Making a brush-on mold of any model has always been a compromise.

Use latex rubber, and the time necessary to build an adequate mold thickness by brushing on layer after layer of latex is several days. Also, you are limited by what you can cast into the finished mold.

Barry Atkinson Studios produced this ape using Dragon Skin™ as a base casting which was then painted with Dragon Skin™ pigmented with Silc Pig™ pigments. The eyes are made of Crystal Clear 200 resin.

Use a urethane rubber (such as Brush-On™ 40), and model preparation becomes a critical factor in the success of that mold. If the sealing agent and/or release agent is not properly applied, the rubber will bond to the model. Also, a release agent is required when casting most materials due to the adhesive nature of the rubber.

Use a conventional silicone rubber (such as Mold Max™ Silicone), and you need an accurate gram scale to weigh 3 components (Parts A + B + thickener). Also, the time between coats is hours, resulting in a finished mold time factor of at least 3 days.

Enter The Dragon - Customer applications for Dragon Skin™ and Dragon Skin™Q soft silicone rubber continue to astound, with impressive Dragon Skin creature creations appearing in movies, museums and other venues.

Not long ago, students at Harvard University, Rhode Island School Of Design and others exchanged e-mails stating that Dragon Skin™ Q was “the most incredible brush-on rubber ever invented”. They put the word out via internet chat rooms and soon we had a number of people calling us
asking for directions on how to use Dragon Skin™ Q to make a brush-on mold. Here Are Some Tips:

1. Dragon Skin™ and Dragon Skin™ Q offer the advantage of having a mix ratio of 1A:1B by volume (no scale required). Each can be thickened with a very small amount of Thi-Vex™II (added by volume) to make the rubber thixotropic for vertical surface application. Proportion: Roughly 1
teaspoon of Thi-Vex™II will thicken 1 lb. (0.45 kg.) total volume (A+B) of rubber. Procedure: Combine equal amounts of Parts A & B and mix thoroughly. Add Thi-Vex™II and mix thoroughly. You will notice the material thickens almost immediately and in proportion to the amount of Thi-Vex™II added - the more added, the thicker it becomes.

             Click Here To Go To Dragon Skin Technical Bulletin

2. Model surface preparation is minimal - Since these are silicones, no sealing agent or release agent required for many surfaces. Dragon Skin™ Q gels so quickly, it usually sets up before being inhibited by many model surface contaminants that would inhibit conventional platinum silicones.
We usually apply SuperSeal™ to porous models or Ease Release™ 800 (release agent made especially for using with silicone rubber) to non-porous surfaces as an added precaution before applying any silicone rubber.

    Click Here: A Step-By-Step Of How It Is Done . . .