As many of our customers are using our molds in production settings we wanted to give a more in-depth dive at caring for you molds to get the longest life possible. The life of your mold is very dependent on variables outside of our control. This includes the mix used, how it is cleaned, curing times and frequency. We do have a few suggestions to help you from best practices to incorporate into your process to get the longest life from your mold.
- Always clean your mold after each use with warm soapy water. Wipe dry. This is to remove any chemicals from casting mediums from the surface of your mold.
- Store on a flat surface at room temperature in a dry environment.
- Hand wash your plastic frames, they are not dishwasher safe.
A few additional thoughts based on your casting medium....
Concrete
Concrete is abrasive. No matter what silicone mold you use, concrete will age your mold. The aging most commonly shows up as shrinking in silicone. Concretes with an accelerator, for quicker curing times, are even more abrasive. There are a few things you can do if using concrete to help slow the aging(shrinking) of your mold.
- Always cure for the shortest possible time. This is especially true with leaving concrete to cure overnight if it isn't needed.
- Use a mold release spray, this will help create a layer between the mix and the silicone.
Gypsums
A gypsum mix is going to be far less abrasive than concrete on silicone. If you are wanting to get the longest life from your mold, look for gypsum based mixes. This includes Hyrdrostone, Jesmonite, or Matrix Dryve All-Powder Polymer Modified Gypsum amount others.
Resins
If using resin, please ensure the resin used is safe for use with silicone molds. You will want to look for casting resins. Resins are very aggressive to silicone. Expect a low number of uses before degradation.
- A mold release spray is a must to protect the surface of you mold when casting.