bear paws

[ladyarcher726]

ok, what I want to do is make a bear print to use and re-use, to press it into other things to make tracks.

I've never done anything like this, so I'm looking for an easy and affordable way.  My uneducated thoughts are to mix up plaster about 2" deep, coat the bottom of the bear paw with something to keep it from sticking (but also easy to clean off of the fur).  Once the plaster is dry I'd pour something into it, bondo/resin perhaps?  Then once that is set I could remove it from the plaster, and then I can use that bondo foot print and press it into things so it looks like a bear track pressed into it.

I hope that made sense, and I'd sure appreciate a little help.  Thanks!

[George Roof]

You method should work well.  It's according to how much you plan to reuse it.  Bondo isn't one of the best mediums for making positive casts and remember, you'll have all your prints of ONE FOOT ONLY.

It would be cleaner and faster just to press a bear's foot down into a layer of Critter Clay like a real track.  NOW pour your plaster over it to form the positive.  Shape it and then build a dam around it in order to make an RTV mold of the positive.  Now you can pour casting resin into the RTV mold and make tracks of that one foot forever if you'd like.

[ladyarcher726]

George!!!!!!    hi.

I need to find pics of real tracks for placement, I need to have a front and back foot print cast.  What is RTV?

so I am:
1. making an impression in the clay
2. pouring plaster into the clay to form the first positive.
3. once that's dry, flipping it pad up and making a dam around it, and pouring that RTV stuff onto it, basically making another impression?
4. pour casting resin into that RTV mold to make the final postive.

did I get it right? 

[George Roof]

(R)oom (T)emperature (V)ulcanizing.  RTV is a synthetic rubber that's painted on in a gelatinous state that cures into a pliable rubber mold that can be reused indefinitely.  The best type of RTV for this purpose is the 2 part with a catalyst that allows the cure to be cut to minutes instead of hours.

[ladyarcher726]

awesome, I'll do some shopping.  The RTV reminds me of casting that crab on Alaska!

[Jim B]

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.nps.gov/dena/images/bear_tracks_in_mud_web.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.nps.gov/dena/bear-safety.htm&h=1456&w=1000&sz=859&tbnid=trhH6tuF7XTGoM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=62&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dbear%2Btracks%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=bear+tracks&usg=__rDI0e0tofNJ9fzZQixTvTdhNPWI=&sa=X&ei=1KftTdHjLIe6sQPOlfStAw&ved=0CC4Q9QEwAg&dur=314