Prepping For A Cape Pull

Before I produce my first pull from the mold, I need to clean it up. I also need to figure out exactly how much latex I need to mix up for one layer. What I do not want to happen is to get 3/4 of the way through a lay up only to run out of latex. I could NEVER match a color from a previous batch, hence my dilemma.

So these pictures illustrate these two purposes being executed. I'm covering the mold with a layer of latex to figure out how much I need, and to clean it. The latex picks up every little piece of dirt and dust out of the mold when it comes up.

Here's the mold about half way done.



And here I'm practically finished.



I left a little section around the neck area so I would have some room to experiment further with colors and compounds.

While at Lowe's the other day, I picked up this little roller:



At first, I was VERY excited by the results I was getting. The latex was going down pretty smoothly, and not pulling up much. I was actually starting to think that I would end up using a roller for the project instead of a brush.

But after a few more tests, I realized that the brush kicks up too much of a texture. Way too much. So I'm going back to my foam brush.

However, I'm once again on the fence about which latext to use. I've gotten some good results recently with the Slip Casting rubber, which is much thicker than the balloon casting. So I'm back on the fence about that.

See? THIS is why my projects take so long to finish! I noodle them to death until they are "perfect". So it goes.