Originally Posted by
QC Inspector
The moulds I make for Marla are of Mold Max 30, by Smooth-On, Tin cured silicone (pink), a US based company, that I can buy locally. I make the nipples .010" to .015" bigger than the inside diameter of the tube. I try for about .100" to .125" longer than the tube at each end and the nipples are somewhere around .500" long. Life of the moulds has been from as low as fifty to over several hundred casts using polyester resin. Life goes down if you add fast catalyst or get the mix ratio off with extra catalyst. Marla doesn't use any mould release and the casts are left in the moulds at least 12 hours before being removed and placed in a warming drawer. It is a metal drawer with an old waffle iron opened flat on the lowest temp (you can hold your hand on it).
Pete