Pop mold questions

[BigBaitB]

So the internet has won today and I can't seem to find a simple answer so I'm asking y'all.

 

Will PoP bond to a clay master? Sculpey clay to be exact.

 

Also I have seen videos where they say PoP will leave a opaque residue on your bait. Is there  a way around this?

[mark poulson]

I never use pop with a hard master, unless it's a flat sided straight tailed worm.  It's too had to get the master out of the pop without damaging it.

If I'm making a sculpey master, I bake it and seal it with clear acrylic.  Then I use silicone to make the mold.

If you seal your pop molds with thinned D2T epoxy, there will be no residue on your baits.  I spray my pop molds with PAM to help the baits release more easily.

Edited June 4, 2017 by mark poulson

[BigBaitB]

Silicone is the way I normally go about it. I was only thinking pop this time to try and save some money do to the size of the master

[mark poulson]

5 hours ago, BigBaitB said:

Silicone is the way I normally go about it. I was only thinking pop this time to try and save some money do to the size of the master

 

I've never been able to use pop with hard masters.

You can use the caulking gun tubes of 100% silicone, which are cheaper than the true mold silicone, but it is a lot harder to work with.

[BigBaitB]

30 minutes ago, mark poulson said:

 

I've never been able to use pop with hard masters.

You can use the caulking gun tubes of 100% silicone, which are cheaper than the true mold silicone, but it is a lot harder to work with.

I've never even thought about that. When you say harder to work do you mean in terms of making the mold or pouring the bait? 

[DF1]

If you are going to make a simple bait without a ton of detail like a worm you can use scupley clay for the master but leave the clay green (don't bake it) and it will pull out of the plaster mold.  You can help prevent the green master from deforming by cooling it in the freezer for a little while before you cast it.  It may sound crazy but I have used silly putty to make simple masters for plaster molds.  

Here are some simple grubs I made using this process

http://www.tackleunderground.com/community/media/monthly_2017_06/large.SAM_0997.JPG.fb48048c3d5e4e6ff83a249bea960b27.JPG

Edited June 5, 2017 by DF1

[mark poulson]

On 6/4/2017 at 4:50 PM, BigBaitB said:

I've never even thought about that. When you say harder to work do you mean in terms of making the mold or pouring the bait? 

The caulking gun silicone is much harder to use to make molds.  Because it cures so slowly when it's thick, I had to coat the master with a cover coat, using my finger to force it into all the details, and then mix some water into the rest of the silicone as I filled the mold, so it would set up overnight.  Otherwise, it would take a week+ to set up.   It still came out with voids, and the molds are a pain to pour.

I don't use it anymore, period.

Edited June 6, 2017 by mark poulson

[JRammit]

Try air dry clay... The cheap Crayola stuff

It dries hard, but becomes soft again when it gets wet... Like when you put it in wet plaster

[BigBaitB]

I got tired of waiting to figure out the best way and just took a shot at it. I've decided to stick with silicone. Plaster is a pain.

[mark poulson]

1 hour ago, BigBaitB said:

I got tired of waiting to figure out the best way and just took a shot at it. I've decided to stick with silicone. Plaster is a pain.

 

I only use pop for soft plastic molds, and I add some yellow carpenter's glue to make it stronger.

[BigBaitB]

35 minutes ago, mark poulson said:

 

I only use pop for soft plastic molds, and I add some yellow carpenter's glue to make it stronger.

It was for a soft plastic just too much mess and hassle for my liking.