Am using Sculptamold on my layout and have become thoroughly confused and discouraged re staining it. I prefer staining to painting as it gives a more realistic, natural appearance than paint where I want the Sculptamold left exposed (bare ground, for example).
Am using acrylic paints (from tubes) mixed with water for stains (using Dave Frary’s stain recipes). (These stains work well for me with Plaster of Paris rock castings.)
Have read a summary of Dave Frary’s decription of using Sculptamold for making rocks, in which he describes his method of staining Sculptamold. He says to let the Sculptamold dry at least a week before staining it, using his method. Am not using Sculptamold for rocks, just was following the time-delay recommendation for staining.
Others have said in postings that in their experience that it should be stained while still wet (how wet, not stated).
I have tried both ways (wet & dry) on some trial applications and in both methods, the stains do not get absorbed by the Sculptamold. I get splotchly results - to over state the appearance, it looks a Pinto horse.
Will greatly appreciate any suggestions/recommendations.
You can also use the small bottles of acrylic craft paint and water them down for stain work. Maybe they would work better for you? Sculptamold is a plaster type material, so I am not really sure why you are having a problem with it. Are you adding a bit of dishwashing detergent to make the stains “wetter”? I also would think that you would want to let everything dry for a couple of weeks before staining. If some parts are wet, or wetter than others, this will affect the color or amount of stain that will be absorbed by the plaster and Sculptamold.
The other way to go once the stain won’t give you what you want is paint. It’s a little harder to get it right with paint, but it will cover the errors.
You will get that splotchy look with sculptimold. It almost seems like it has something like wall paper paste in it making the stain absorb inconsistently. I need to restain a section and was thinking about using that white artists Guesso to cover up the old stain. I haven’t tried this yet, so I don’t know if it will work. Or maybe brush on a thin coat of plaster.
Sculptamold is trickier than plaster or Hydrocal, since it is basically a papier-mache plaster mixture. I use Sculptamold a lot because I like it’s grainy texture, but most importantly, out here in a basically hot, dry climate, it has a longer setting time than either plaster or especially Hydrocal, which allows me to use it for rock-work, but for the best coloring, it’s really almost necessary to let it dry THOROUGHLY for about two weeks. In fact, when modeling Sierra granite, which is basically what the rocks on my MR are, I’ve taken to very lightly spraying it with an overcoat of acrilyc gray paint, then working in the details and highlights from there with a dry-brush of undiluted acrylic colors and Bragdon chalk powders. It’s not really that friendly to stains, I’ve found.
Actually, it works pretty well. Use 1/2 water to 1/2 Sculptamold, you get a really soupy mixture, then pour it into the mold and let the mold lay face down for about 5-10 minutes, which puts the plaster smooth on the bottom of the mold. Then slap the mold where you need it and let it dry for about 20 minutes before you pull the mold off. Works well for me. I’ve been doing it on the Buttes project and the surface is just a ‘tad’ grainy, but a lot like the granite I’m modeling. The only drawback is that the Sculptamold castings are a little heavier than Hydrocal, but seem to be a little lighter than casting plaster. It works pretty well for me, and out here in this dry climate, it’s a lot more workable.
Here’s a photo of the Buttes project: The area behind the water tank and to the left of it is Sculptamold castings–the far right is blended Sculptamold and Cripplebush rocks.
Hi Richard: FWIW, here’s my suggestion. While I like Sculptamold, I use it a little differently. I mix it with Gypsolite/Structolite, a “scratch” coat base for plaster. I mix it approx. 1 part Sculptamold to 4 parts Gyp/Struc. Some advantages: It takes stains and paint equally well, It contains small particles of perlite for texture, It will stick to anything, It can be smoothed, ie, for roads, It will glue and blend plaster rock castings with surrounding terrain, It dries in less than 24 hrs., and it cleans up with plain water. Most of my scenery is plaster cloth with this mixture applied, but I’ve also applied it to bare wood. My stain is usually ink and rubbing alcohol, and my paint is latex mixed 50% water. Here’s a few examples.
