After the failure of the previous casting, this second attempt was a chance to put into practise all that I have learnt in the previous casting. With this in mind, I aimed to have finished the recasting and refining within the day so not to lose too much time before the exhibition.
After remoulding the cast, with its additional 2-3 layers, there are various superficial layers that needs be trimmed form the cast edges, as well as holes filed using silicone glue.
Thicker than my previous mould, it stands freely on its own, and only needs minor changes in terms of the outer corners of the cast, much larger in size than my previous attempt.
Before and After
Silicone Filler
Requires a continuous filling and smoothing for a 30 minute period, before periodically wiping to remove shine of glue
After 30 mins the hole that was filled is virtually undetectable.
Smoothing technique helps the filler create a film that mimics the original texture of the casting surface. This was done with my fingers as well as a tongue depressor and hairdryer (to speed the curing process)
Filling the Temple
Immediately after Filling and Smoothing Sealant into holes
Fully Cured
Fully Cured Temple
Chin Section
Probably the hardest part to fill in that there were so many holes that needed to be filled, as well the general reaping of the chin section (to get an even-ness), this required a lot of sealant and smoothing.
This was somewhat of an issue on my last casting, and I have to admit that I ended up significantly cutting the chin section to reshape the mask, something that I did not want to do this time around.
As a result, I meticulously filled and smoothed this sections over the course of 2 hours in order to retain as much of the original shape as possible.
Fully Cured
The cast (rather fortunately) also free-stands on its own. This allows me to move ahead with methods of display as I now know how the object will sit in a display cast.
