need some advice on carcass casting, i have looked through arcives but not found the answers. i am mounting a small dog ( a pug, plenty of facial wrinkles!) i have skinned out as normal, wired the full length internally, and front legs. positioned it in a sitting pose as required. it is now in the freezer, i did read that you mist the body several times with water to give smooth surfice ready for casting? is this a good idea or not, i will be removing the legs for seperate casting.does the plaster( dental, i normally use)become damaged due to the frozen carcass? i plan on doing a slash coat, followed by heavier hessiened layer. obviously this will be a 2 piece mould. in the past i have used wallpaper paste on to mould interior then placed cling film to act as a barrier for the foam. any new suggestions would be appreiciated.
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Try a splash coat of bondo and resin, backed up with a plaster mother mold. You can buff the bondo out with a pad and compound.
For the wrinkles EPO_GRIP 2 part is the perfect hide paste
You can use plaster on it - its cheap and effective but not the best material for the job. The freezing won't affect it too much save for a slower set time due to the cold. Try a liberal coating of petroleum jelly over the surface to work as an intial release.
You may have to let the piece warm up to demold it if you dont use a non water based release. The cold of the carcass could cause freezing of the water in the plaster which may bond to the carcass. A dusting of baby powder over the carcass may aslo alleviate that problem.
When casting you can seal the plaster mold with a coudpl of caots of shellac - then use mold release wax as a release to cast it in foam - but your plastic wrap idea could work too as long as you are sure the foam won't get hot enough to melt it all. One little hole in that wrap and foam can get through - if the plaster isnt sealed and mold released properly - you can get severe bonding and a ruined mold.
Bill,
Just finished a carcass cast on a fox. I cant believe you could do a dog in a 2 piece mold. I used 5 pieces for my fox. You can use the carcass in a thawed state. This allows you to position. Use a bed of damp sand to prop and form the mold walls. I use clay slip (a wet soup of clay and water) to act a a mold release on both the animal and the plaster. Position the animal and apply the plaster in steps to allow for halfs of legs and body molds (hard to explain). Then for the form, I make the legs out of bondo and line the plaster form with bondo. put the halfs together and seal the seam with bondo. After the bondo has set strap the mold together and pour in the foam. For a release on the plaster, just brush with paste wax, be liberal. I have a web site with some picks of the process and will be happy to help you through it.
Doug
all coments greatly recieved! a splash coat of resin and bondo sounds favorite, Doug, thank for your reply, the reason for a 2 piece mould , is due to the removal of the legs with clean cuts making perfect fitting when reattatched.i would very much like to see your web site for the picks etc. i presume the resin and bondo coat gives a smooth finish to the carcass and in affect replaces the fat layer that was removed?(which was possibly a 3mm covering all over). i guess a coat of pva on to the bondo is needed prior to the plaster covering?