What is the technique?

  Resin casting is a method of plastic casting where a mold is filled with a liquid synthetic resin, which then hardens.

  Latex is a milky white liquid composed of rubber particles dispersed in water. It is cast into mould and solidifies into soft flexible rubber.

What are the relevant materials needed for the technique?

  Resin & Latex:

  • Mould (premade or made with vacuum forming PVC)
  • Resin epoxy
  • Liquid latex
  • Mould release conditioner
  • Hardener
  • Paint & inks for adding colour
  • Objects to be encapsulated
  • Cups & ice cream sticks, toothpick for smaller cast

 

How to achieve technique?

  Resin:

  Clean & wipe the mould and spray a light coat of mould release conditioner; Wear mask & gloves; Measure epoxy resin and add colours (optional) then add 4g hardener for every 100g latex, & mix it with stick; Pour into mould & add objects to be encapsulated; Leave it outdoors overnight to dry; Release it from mould when ready.

  Latex:

  Clean and wipe the mould; Wear mask & gloves; Measure liquid latex and add 4g hardener for every 100g latex, add colours (optional)& mix it with stick; Pour into mould; Release it from mould when ready.

 

What are the uses and applications of the technique?

  The latex casting creates soft rubber shape and it is commonly used to represent skin in sculpture such as a face mask. It is also used as mould as it is flexible and easy to release.

  On the contrary, the resin cast is solid & quite heavy. It is popular in jewelry crafting and sculptural decoration.

 

Experiment

 Resin Casting

  Before class, I went and laser cut some design with MDF board and acrylic sheet as well as made a vacuum forming mould.  Mould release conditioner was sprayed. Colors were mixed with resin in separated cups. And since we were in a hurry to pour the resin before it hardened, there weren’t much time to take photos of all the process. Below were some of them made during lesson.

  

  The end results were not bad after I collected and trimmed away the extra parts. I also sanded on the surface but I felt that a resin polish would make the result much clearer & glossier instead of a matt finishing. The resin also shrunk a bit and leaving small gaps on some of the edges.

 

 

 Latex trial during class

  The latex wasn’t mixed well with the red & blue acrylic paint probably because it was quite solidified at that moment. In the end I only got one small piece in a jelly mould as shown below.

 

Personal Reflection 

  I didn’t have many chances to try with latex but I felt that it would be better if I mix the colour with latex before adding hardener. It would make the colour mixing much easier and won’t risk having the rubber solidify before being poured into mould.

  Personally I find resin has more potential to be exploded. It would be better if we could have bigger space and more time to prepare and work with it. Using a smooth plastic sheet as contact surface would help preserve the glossiness of the resin. Resin also works well with alcohol ink in creating clear coloured outcome in comparison to acrylic paint that is in fact opaque. In addition, by adding more hardener, we could explore the effects of cracking which is interesting as well.