Silicone vs. HDPE Molds

[Larry Steinmetz]

Hello,

I am curious if there is a preference for the silicone molds like PTownSubbie sells or the HDPE molds from Lizard Blanks? I notice that PT sells HDPE as well. Is it based on what you are casting or just a material preference? Thanks.

 

[Richard Coers]

I haven't checked recently, but the silicone molds always had a nub to locate and seal off the brass tube for casting with the tube in place. The HDPE was just casting a block of resin and not with the tube in place. Has this changed?

 

[Chris Lawrence]

I haven't checked recently, but the silicone molds always had a nub to locate and seal off the brass tube for casting with the tube in place. The HDPE was just casting a block of resin and not with the tube in place. Has this changed?

You can get HDPE molds with squared off silicone plugs for the tubes.

 

[Larry Steinmetz]

I contacted Fred Wissen at ptownstubbie.com and got what I thought was a very informative answer to my question about the difference:

"The first question I always ask is what resin you plan to use. If you plan to use epoxy, I try to push to HDPE if that is an option. Epoxy wears silicone quickly. It works fine in silicone just doesn't last as long.

If you're not using epoxy, silicone is as good of an option as HDPE. Silicone is faster to demold since you don't have to take the mold apart. If you're just casting color blanks, the vertical molds save 30% resin volume so that is another reason since you can't get verticals in HDPE that work well each time.

It really comes down to your intended use on which way I recommend you go. If you want to talk about options on the phone let me know. You'll get a lot more knowledge that way than I can type! LOL!

Hope that helps a little!"