Moldmaking Moulage Mold Material for Casting Wax or Plaster

Moulage is a reusable mold material made from agar. It is suitable for casting wax or plaster.
It is one of the traditional sculpture molding materials.



I have made some posts about moulage at my weblog:

http://atelierpoupee.blogspot.com/search/label/moulage

Moulage may be reused 50 to 100 times, making it a very economical mold material for casting wax or plaster.
Moulage can be used to make life molds on human skin.

To use it, it must be melted. Then, when it cools down some, it may be brushed, or poured over the model to be molded. After casting, the moulage mold material is cut up and stored until the next use.

 

moulage mold

It all depends on the mold. Undercuts, sharp points and edges, and other things can influence how many casts you can make. Moulage does not stick to anything, not even itself. So yes, multi-piece molds are quite doable. The mold has to be kept moist. This can be as simple as putting the mold in a plastic bag if you need to store it overnight.

I recently read that brushing the interior of the moulage mold with an alum solution before pouring molten wax, toughens the mold somewhat. From my own experience, I would say that you could possibly get five good sharp casts from a mold that was handled nicely. Here again, it all depends on the mold. If you try it, let me know!

 

moulage mold

Moulage melts at about 150 degrees Fahrenheit, and sets at about 110 degrees Fahrenheit. When you use moulage to make a mold from life, make sure you let the moulage cool down before applying it to the skin. This is very important! Use a thermometer to test the temperature of the melted moulage before applying it to human skin. Moulage itself does not stick to anything, not even hair or skin.

I have tried my very best to put as much information as I could find about moulage on my weblog. A moulage mold can be used to cast wax and plaster. I am currently testing it as a doll mold material for casting carving wax. The big benefit is that moulage is reusable.

I'm sorry to hear about your burn, Maggs.
I hope you recovered okay? No scarring?

 

I'm glad to hear that the burn wasn't too awful, Maggs.
What I recommend for doing any life casting (useful for sculpting references) is alginate.
Alginate is very similar to moulage, but it is mixed and applied cold.
When I first used alginate for life casting, back in the 80's, I used Dental Alginate.
It was quite expensive!
Alginate is a molding material that is very safe for human skin. :XD
Nowdays, there are much less expensive alginates available for sculptors than Dental Alginate. )
However, alginate is still expensive in that it cannot be reused.

So, consider using moulage for making dolly molds.
Use alginate for making molds from life.
There is absolutely no danger of getting burned when using alginate. )
There are several different brands of alginate available now, and scads of life molding/casting tutorials out there in Internet-landia.

 

Plasticine pattern and spare in a clay build-up.
Pour the first half of moulage mold over plasticine pattern.
Let the first half of the mold set up (cool).
Turn pattern over and remove clay build-up.
Carve registration keys in first half of mold.
Pour second half of moulage mold over plasticine pattern.
Let the second half of the mold set up (cool).
Open mold and remove pattern and spare.
The two-part mold is ready to pour a wax or plaster casting.
Note: Moulage molds are somewhat flexible, and they need a mother mold.

I don't see why it would not work.
Moulage does not stick to itself, or anything else.
You do not need a parting agent.

Once the moulage is melted, let it cool down some, before pouring it.
You shouldn't have any problems that I can think of.

What was the other reusable molding material?

I have never melted plasticine and poured it.
Is that what you tried to do?

I do not see why moulage cannot be poured over a plasticine pattern.
Moulage melts at 150 degrees Fahrenheit, but it sets up at about 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
A cool moulage mold is very similar to a water saturated plaster mold.
I am pouring melted carving wax into a cool moulage mold.
The carving wax is about 140 degrees Fahrenheit when it is poured.
I have not noticed any loss of detail in the casting, compared to the pattern.
Plaster also has an exothermic reaction when it sets up, and I do not see any problems
casting plaster into a moulage mold.

I am also interested in a PU resin that is humidity resistant.
A moulage mold is very humid!

 

Recently, I ordered some more moulage for my studio.
This time around, I ordered a 5 pound container of moulage.
http://atelierpoupee.blogspot.com/2011/07/art-materials-arrived.html

I am using moulage to make waste molds of doll parts for casting carving wax.
The original doll parts are made from brown sculpture wax (Victory Brown).
When I make a mold, I use plastilina to make the clay build-up.
I always let the moulage cool down some from the melting temperature, before pouring.

When casting carving wax in a moulage mold, it behaves very similar to
casting in a water-saturated plaster mold.

The carving wax thickens around the walls of the mold.
When the thickness is enough, I pour the excess carving wax back into the wax pot.

I have never melted and poured Plastilina oil-clay.

 

Hot-pour Moulage is a gelatin made from seaweed.
Moulage melts at about 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Once it melts, I stir it to make it smooth (dissolve chunks), and let it cool down some.
Then I pour it over my wax pattern and Plastilina oil-clay buildup, in a cardboard mold box.
Moulage does not stick to anything, not even itself.
My brown sculpture wax has a melting point of about 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Moulage does not warp or melt the wax pattern, nor melts the Plastilina.

The Gelflex and Vinamold vinyl mold materials melt at about 135-140 degrees Celcius.
135-140 degrees Celcius is 275-284 degrees Fahrenheit.
212 degrees Fahrenheit is the boiling temperature of water !
275-284 degrees Fahrenheit is very hot !!!

I do not think that either of these vinyl mold materials are similar to Hot-pour Moulage?
They are an entirely different type of mold material.

 

hot-pour moulage

I am glad to hear that you got some moulage, Mothi. I hope you will share your experiences using it. Moulage is easy to use, and reusable, making it relatively inexpensive in the long run.

I really do not use hot-pour moulage to make molds from life, although it has been used for that purpose in the past.

I use a thermometer with a stem to get a temperature reading when I am melting moulage and when I pour it. If I remember correctly, I am pouring it at about 130-140 degrees Fahrenheit. To get an idea of how hot that is, the common household water heater usually heats the hot water to 140 degrees Fahrenheit. When my children were young, I set the water heater temperature down to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, so they could not scald themselves with tap water.

I would not recommend using hot-pour moulage to make molds from life, unless you are very experienced using it. From the tutorials I have seen for making moulage molds from life, the moulage is brushed on the skin at about 115 degrees Fahreheit. Using a thermometer, and testing the melt with your finger will allow you to know when the moulage is comfortable enough to apply to the skin.

For making molds from life, I would recommend using Alginate. Alginate is not reusable, but it can be mixed and poured at room temperature. It comes in a dry powder and is mixed with water, then applied to the skin. It is hypoalerginic, as far as I know, much like moulage. Alginate does not stick to itself or anything else, although, if you are using it for making life molds, it is recommended to apply a lotion to the skin before using it because it will grab body hair, making removal uncomfortable. Many years ago, when I made some life molds with alginate, the only alginate available was Dental Alginate, and it was mint-flavored because it was meant to be used to make molds inside of people's mouths. Anyway, the mint-flavored alginate smelled good, and people enjoyed it on their skin.

I think that hot-pour moulage sets at about 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
The water in a Japanese ofuro is about 120 degrees Fahrenheit, and some people
find that temperature to be uncomfortable. So 115 degrees F is probably a good
temperature to apply it. A plaster bandage mother mold is usually made over the moulage mold to support it.

I mainly use moulage to make molds from oil-clay, or sculpture wax patterns which will be used for casting carving wax for further refinement.

This link is to all the posts I have made about moulage at my weblog:
http://atelierpoupee.blogspot.com/search/label/moulage