SiliNOT! How To Guide
Safety
CAUTION: Avoid contact when heated. SiliNOT! Non-Toxic is produced with food safe ingredients. Food-Contact Safe only applies when
SiliNOT! Non-Toxic has been used exclusively with food safe casting
material. Keep out of reach of children when heated. May
contain food allergens. Contains citrus ingredients.
What is SiliNOT! ?
While we can't divulge our propriety formula, all ingredients in SiliNOT! can be found on the shelves of your local supermarket. You probably have them in your pantry! All are edible food grade ingredients, sourced from certified manufacturers.
We like to say, if you drank the "most popular diet soda", and ate a blue marshmallow, you would have eaten every ingredient in SiliNOT!.
Before we start..
Mold making is a skill! Professional mold makers have years of failures, training, and developing skills before high quality molds can be produced. Don't worry if your molds don't come out first try! This is the main reason SiliNOT! was created, when we fail or make a mistake, we can remelt and try again. Learning and having fun is the name of the game!
You've got this!
1.0 Heating
1.1
Start with a microwave safe container. Open your pack and fluff up the powder. This can be done with your fingers or squeezing the bag. Pour the amount needed into the microwave safe container.
Microwave for 10 sec. Then let sit for 30 sec. Gently stir between each interval, do not whip or stir aggressively. Repeat until fully melted. Be sure to let sit between microwave intervals, this will ensure heat gets to all parts.
SiliNOT! will be the consistency of maple syrup when ready. A thin liquid with no lumps.
Tip: To avoid burning, reduce microwave power to 50% or use defrost/thaw setting.
1.2
You can heat with the following methods. Ensure a consistent 150 F 65C temperature.
Double Boiler | Hot water bath | Candle Wax Melter
Tip: Too thick? add a teaspoon of water and mix in until desired consistency. For detailed and smaller molds, sometimes thinner is better. Add too much water? Heat to 150 and allow to cool, repeat until desired thickness.
1.3
Keep a constant watch on your SiliNOT! while heating. Overheating will burn and deactivate the setting agent, resulting in a stickier, unstable mold. Overheating will be evident by color changing indicator, SiliNOT! Flex will change from blue to light green, getting progressively darker green as overheating increases. There is no reversal from overheating. Follow directions closely and always heat in short intervals.
2.0 Pouring
2.1
Prep for pouring is the most important step for a successful mold.
- Place mold positive in a non-porous container. Silicone works best!
- Ensure mold positive is sealed and non-porous. If positive is hollow, ensure no air can escape from cavity. A Clear gloss coat can be applied to most porous objects to seal them. Ensure coat is properly applied and cured.
- Secure positive to your mold container. Positive can float if not secured properly.
- Ensure positive can withstand 150F/65C.
- For detailed molds, use a mold release compatible with your positive. This can be food-grade oils, petroleum jelly or commercially available mold releases. The mold release helps breaks the surface tension between the SiliNOT! and the positive, allowing it to flow deeper and reach every detail while releasing trapped air. Only a very thin layer is needed. This will also help release the positive once cooled.
2.2
Pour close to the mold or object to avoid bubbles. Pour slowly and steadily in one spot. Don't pour directly onto the positive, pour to the side. Allow the SiliNOT! to rise and flow over the positive and flow into all the nooks and crannies.
Tip: In high detail areas, pour small amount and brush the SiliNOT! into those areas. This will help break surface tension and release any trapped air.
2.3
Once you've poured the mold, gently tap the container to help raise and release bubbles. Bubbles will rise naturally and release at the top. Allow the mold to sit in room temperature no less than 5 minutes after pouring. This allows the SiliNOT! to stay fluid long enough to release bubbles.
After waiting 5 minutes, you can place the mold in a refrigerator or freezer to speed up set time. Room temperature is also appropriate, allow 5-10 minutes per Fl.Oz used for set-up time.
SiliNOT! is set-up fully when it reaches room temperature 70F/21C. After it has reached that temp. you can remove the mold from the container and positive.
3.0 Casting
3.1
Verify the material you want to cast in a SiliNOT! mold is compatible by checking this list.
Below is the criteria for compatibility. Even if the material is not on the list, if it meets the below requirements it will be compatible.
- Cure temperature below 130F/54C.
- Maximum 3:1 Water to Dry ratio.
- Maximum pouring temperature 130F/54C
- Ensure material can cure in a slightly acidic environment
Ensure SiliNOT! Mold is completely cure before casting. For high detailed molds, use compatible mold release for casting material (food-grade oils, petroleum jelly, commercially available mold releases).
3.2
Mix or prepare your casting material and pour in a smooth and consistent motion. Pour in a single spot, allowing the material to flow into all areas. For high detail areas, brush the material into the areas to break surface tension and release bubbles.
Tap the mold to release bubbles. Let fully cure. Remove once cured.
Tip: For High temperature casting material, freeze or refrigerator SiliNOT! mold before casting.
4.0 Cleanup
4.1
If heated SiliNOT! spills, allow it to cool completely. Do not attempt to clean while still hot. Once cooled, it will peel cleanly off non-porous surfaces. It will peel off porous surfaces but may come off in smaller “crumbles”.
When using your molds, you can clean them after with cold water only. Do not fully submerge. Dry with paper towel immediately after cleaning.
SiliNOT! is sticky when heated, but when cooled it will peel cleanly.
5.0 Remelting
5.1
Before remelting, ensure SiliNOT! is clean and dry. Cut SiliNOT! into small quarter size pieces and place back into bottle or heat safe dish. Follow normal melting instructions.
With proper heating, SiliNOT! will last over 30 reheats.
6.0 Storage
6.1
We recomend storing your SiliNOT! in the bottle with lid closed. Used SiliNOT! Can be cut into quarter sized pieces and placed back in the bottle for remelting. SiliNOT! will not dry out, but can get a little stiffer if left out for long periods (weeks). If you do leave it out, just add a teaspoon of water next heating and it will be back to brand new!
7.0 Common Issues
7.1
Bubbles
#1 - Be sure your mold positive is sealed and has a proper mold release coating. This will prevent bubbles from sticking to the postive.
SiliNOT! will self-release bubbles during cool down time. SiliNOT! must be heated to proper temperature for bubbles to rise and release. The longer the SiliNOT! remains at melting temperature, the more bubbles will release.
If you're having issues, try pouring in thin layers of your positive. This gives the bubbles less resistance to rise and pop.
Another great way is to keep the SiliNOT! in the microwave (powered off) for longer before pouring. Microwave for 10 seconds every 1 minute to keep the temperature up and all the bubbles to release. Do not stir during this time.
Be sure your positive is not releasing air or gases when its heated under the SiliNOT!. One great example of this is hollow 3D Prints, air inside the print can escape when heated through the layer lines and cause bubbles. Be sure to print solid or seal print completely.
7.2
Casting Material Incompatible
Ensure the material casted in the SiliNOT! Mold is compatible. This can be done by checking the compatibility list or following the requirements in Section 3.1.
Symptoms of incompatibility are:
- Melting Mold - Check temperature requirements
- Mold dissolving - Check water ratio requirements
- Not curing - Ensure material can cure in a slightly acidic environment
- Losing detail after cure - Check temperature requirements, see 7.3
7.3
Casting Material Thermals
Many two part casting materials produce heat when curing. Normally you may not notice this heating, but with a SiliNOT! mold, this needs special attention. High temperature curing materials are often marketed as fast cure. Avoid these and opt for slow cure instead. Also, decreasing part thickness can help as well. Deep or thick pours can concentrate heat on specific parts of the mold causing it to deform. A symptom of this is 90% of the mold curing properly but one part deforms while curing. This can be avoided by multiple shallow pours, chilling the mold before pouring, or ensuring proper casting material.