5 Things I’ve Learned Cold Casting So Far

1. It’s Going to Be Messy

Look, there’s no way to avoid it. Especially if you’re particularly accident-prone like myself. Make sure your hair is tied up (better yet, wear a hat) and your wearing junky clothes (preferably ones that have long sleeves). Have an area where it’s OK to make a mess. I use leftover floor tiles on top of a table in my studio. They’re actually endlessly useful – I can cast on them or work on them and it doesn’t matter how filthy they get. I always have more. 

2. Make Sure You’re Adding Components in the Correct Order

I’ve been using the slush cast method, where you cast a thin lay of resin with bronze and then go in after with just resin. For the first few days I was adding my color AND my bronze powder to Part B and adding Part A in after. And then I couldn’t find out why it was setting so fast. You need to add the color to Part B, then add Part A. THEN add in the bronze, being sure to stir REALLY WELL to avoid clumps. Smooth-on has a good tutorial here that covers the basics however it also brings me to number 3.

3. Find Out What Works For You 

Each project is different. In the Smooth On tutorial they have a much larger cast than what I’m making (mine are about 3″ diameter circles) and part of their steps include painting the slush coat in with a brush until it gets really tacky. Every time I tried that it would get too tacky and my cast would come out lumpy where it has started to pull up. Now I use a slightly different method. I pour first into the areas with the highest details and then I use the head of a pin to “paint” into there, but only briefly. Then I squish and pull the mold a bit and tilt and turn it to coat the sides. Once it’s viscous (but not super sticky) I put it down and leave it. 

4. Safety First 

This should go without saying, but make sure you’ve got good safety gear. I was a little lax at first and ended up breaking out in rashes all over my hands. Now I use Nitrile gloves and a respirator ever time. It’s a pain in the ass when you’re churning out a bunch of stuff to take them off and on all day but it’s worth it for health and safety.

5. Troubleshooting May Be What you Spend the Most Time on At First

Bubbles! Why are they there? How do we get rid of them? Why are my tiny details not coming out? Why did it turn into a foamy mess? There are so many variables at play here and I’M still figuring them all out, so don’t look at me. However, ResiObsession has a good article on troubleshooting that has helped me out. Unfortunately I live in a very humid climate so I’m learning to just live with some bubbles.

Don’t let failure stop you. I was incredibly frustrated by the entire process at first but now I’ve had about two good days of multiple casts turning out as I like them. Nevermind the entire drawer full of rejects that I can’t seem to get rid of. It’s a learning experience!