dylnlc
Well-known member
Does anyone have any advise or information about molding zinc? I would like to try it but dont know really where to start at. Thanks
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Zinc Molding
- Thread starter dylnlc
- Start date
e-tek
Well-known member
EdT
Well-known member
What do you want to make??
e-tek
Well-known member
Will I am trying to cast toy tractor parts, if that helps any lol. Just the smaller parts to add detail to the tractor. Thanks
Did the link help? Find anything better?
EdT
Well-known member
Ahhh!! For that application I think I would look into some other low temp casting material. There are lots. Gogle "low melting point metal casting" and you should find some good info. Some of these metals melt at <200F and you can use them with silicone molds without damaging the mold. Also, some of them have virually no shrinkage as they cool which will yield more faithful reproductions of your parts. Whatever you choose to use, you will have to make a mold from something which will require making a master part from which to make the mold. That is the fun part. Parts like this are made for scale tanks and armor, model trains and toy soldiers to name a few, so there's lots of info out there. good luck!!
metal1313
Well-known member
to make molds, i use algenate, then plaster or wax to make a positive. with both you can do touch ups and make things perfect. then i use a silicone molding material to make longer lasting molds. i would think you could find a high temp silicone mold material that can take some decent heat
Cool thanks guys! I've been making these parts out of styrene but that takes forever, so I was looking into making something more time effiecent while still retaining the strengh. I'll look into the silicone stuff and see what that leads to. One question tho I have is, do you still have to have a special release that you have spray on the mold to release? Again thanks for the advice
EdT
Well-known member
I think, generally, release is not required for the silicone mold material, but each formulation has its own peculiarities. If you're making multiples, then molding makes sense, but for a onesie you have to make a part to make the mold from anyhow. Do look into the low melting point metals as I think they will give you an excellent result with the silicone molds. Check out some of the military model forums for more info than you could ever use (just like this one; just a different topic)
EdT
Well-known member
The problem with aluminum, while plentiful and cheap, is that it melts somewhere north of 1220F, zinc melts at around 800F and the low temp metals are as low as <200F. You can melt the low temp stuff in a teaspoon over a candle or in a cup of hot water which makes them good choices for silicone or even plastic molds. The other two will kill the flexible mold quickly if not instantly and they are more toublesome to melt.