RTV Alternatives

[bamabass]

What are the best alternatives to RTV? I am making some molds of some cranks and need something other than RTV due to the setup time, prices, and ect. Ive heard of others using epoxies. What do you recomend for a mold to get medium detail at a good price, setting up in a reasonable time, and last a while?

Thanks

[Travis]

Well sometimes the best answer is the one you aren't wanting to use. Just get the RTV and don't look back. When comes down to price it is the cheapest in the long run (number of baits molded, time remaking inferior bondo molds, etc...).

Now if you are going to do a plain jane bait with no detail then use bondo. A gallon and hardner is going to get you close to similar price of RTV starter kit and give inferior results and more difficulty with release from master and molded bait. Up side you can make a lot more molds. Of course you will need more molds because some will be destroyed , shorter mold life, etc... I have used Durham's rock puddy also.

[Husky]

What are the best alternatives to RTV? I am making some molds of some cranks and need something other than RTV due to the setup time, prices, and ect. Ive heard of others using epoxies. What do you recomend for a mold to get medium detail at a good price, setting up in a reasonable time, and last a while?

Thanks

You get what you pay for. NOTHING works as well as RTV silicone.

There are ways to "Extend" it to make it more economical. One is to buy 100% silicone from Walmart. A 10 oz tube only costs $2.50. You an use it to fill in the mold box after you've used the RTV to cover the model. Once the model is covered, all the rest is filler. I will squeeze strips on wax paper and let them cure, After I cover the model with RTV and let it set, I squeeze some Tube silicone on the RTV (not too much or it won't cure, about 1/4 to 3/8 an inch) and then place the cured strips on that. Once that cures, I top off the box with RTV, and I can assure you, the mold will look and perform as though it's 100% RTV, but at a fraction of the price.