Recipe 17.3 : How to Make Silicone Prosthetics - Part 3

In previous pages, I showed you how to design prosthetics and mold them. This page will show you how to mix silicone and make prosthetics, as well as the silicone formula. Did you miss Parts 1 & 2? If so, please click the button below.

Part 1 : Prosthetic Design

Part 2 : Mold Making

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4.Making Silicone Prosthetics

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Materials you need...

• Petroleum Jelly

• Hair Dryer

• Chip Brush

• Urethane Parfilm/ Epoxy Parfilm

• Acetone

• Baldiez

• Airbrush

• Compressor

• Needle

• Respirator

• Nitryl Gloves

• Scale

• Plat Sil Gel 10

• Plat Sil Deadner

• Revlon Colorstay Foundation

• Red Flocking

• SilcPig White

• Mixing Cups

• Mixing Sticks

• Vacuum Chamber

• Scraper

• Q-tips

  

  

  

Material links are here.

https://shopmy.us/shop/collections/1500771

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Lesson Video

This video starts from prepping the mold.

1. Mold Prep

   1. Now you have a mold. Before pouring silicone into this mold, we need good mold prep. Otherwise, silicone prosthetics might stick to this mold and be destroyed.

   2. First, brush on petroleum jelly (Vaseline) on the mold. You can warm it up with a hair dryer. It will make it a smoother and thinner layer.

      

      Ensure that Vaseline layer is very thin.

   3. Next, spray Urethane Parfilm. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Epoxy Parfilm works as well.

      

      Urethane Parfilm

2. Spray Plastic Skin

   1. Gel 10 Silicone stays sticky if there is no plastic skin. So, you will need to encapsulate the silicone prosthetic with plastic skin on both sides. I use Baldiez for this. It is acetone-based. You can use Super Baldiez, which is alcohol-based, if you like. It is softer but also more fragile.

   2. Baldiez normally comes in a thick liquid. You need to thin it out with acetone in order to spray with an airbrush. My favorite ratio is 5:1 (Acetone:Baldiez).

   3. Pour this into the airbrush cup. Keep the leftover mix in an airtight, acetone-resistant container.

      

      Airbrushing thinned Baldiez on the negative mold.

   4. Spray 2 layers of this on the silicone mold. Each layer needs to dry before the next layer.

   5. 3rd layer is on the sculpture edges only. Too much Baldiez layer will make the surface stiffer. Use a needle and pick the plastic skin on the outside of the prosthetics. Check if it looks like a spider web or pantyhose. If it looks like a plastic wrap, it is too thick.

      

      Checking the thickness of Baldiez.

3. Mix Silicone Base Color

   1. PlatSil Gel 10 is a standard for silicone prosthetic makeup now. It comes with A & B. Mixing ratio is 1:1. For this prosthetic, I am making it 150% soft. It is very easy to handle during the application. You might adjust the softness accordingly. I tried other softness levels for some facial areas. The softest one was 200%. It was very soft and moved well. I just needed to hold it carefully when I applied it.

   2. When you mix it, it is important to weigh out the exact amount of each. You will need some math skills here.

      

      Mixing silicone color with Revlon Colorstay.

   3. Formula for 150% softness

      1. Platsil Gel 10 A - 100 grams

      2. Deadner - 300 grams

      3. Revlon Colorstay Foundation - 3 grams

      4. SilcPig White - 0.6 grams (Optional)

      5. Red Flocking - 0.06 grams

      
      

   4. Calculation example (Do not mix these! It is just a calculation to figure out how much deadner you will need for 150% softness.)

      1. A = 100 grams

      2. B = 100 grams

      3. A + B = 200 grams

      4. 200 x 1.5 (150%) = 300 grams

      5. Deadner = 300 grams

         
         
         1. 

            Using a smaller portion each time.

   5. Once the tinted mixture is ready, I put it aside. Then, I take an adequate amount from the cup. This time, I only used 100 grams. I added 25 grams of B. This is how I calculated it. (D is Deadner.)

      1. Here is a cheat sheet.

         1. 150%: (A + D) divide by 4

         2. 175%: (A + D) divide by 4.5

         3. 200%: (A + D) divide by 5

         4. Example; B = 100/4 = 25

            

            Mix it thoroughly.

   6. Mix A+D and B together and place it in a vacuum chamber to remove bubbles. I leave it in the chamber for 1 minute. If you do not have a vacuum chamber, pour the silicone from a high point slowly.

      

      Pouring A & B mixed silicone.

   7. Pour the silicone on the mold. Since I am right-handed, I poured on the right side of the mold and used a metal scraper to scrape the excess silicone.

      

      From right to left.

      

      Steady, steady.

   8. Use a Q-tip to wipe off silicone from the edge of the prosthetic. Do not rip off the Baldiez skin on the edge.

      

      Wiping off the excess.

   9. After 2 hours, check if it is cured. Then, spray 2 layers of Baldiez again, and 1 more layer on the edges. This will encapsulate the silicone. You can glue and paint on it more easily now.

      

      Don't forget this step!

   10. Once it is dry, apply RCMA No Color Powder and remove the prosthetics from the mold. Use a soft brush to remove it slowly.

       

       Slowly peel it off from the mold.

       
       
   
   

Silicone prosthetics waiting for the makeup application.

Phew! This was a very long recipe to write! But it is worth it! Silicone prosthetic making is very mathematical and chemistry-like rather than a cooking recipe such as foam latex and gelatin. It has to be precise and detailed. Otherwise, it does not come out well. I use silicone for old age makeup and injuries a lot. An example of my makeup is here. The next recipe will be a more advanced version of silicone prosthetics! Stay tuned!

More advanced recipes are coming!

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