Fallon Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 I have been wanting to make a plaster mold of an ice cream cone but am worried that it will get soggy and fall apart. Does anyone have any tips or advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiselleNo5 Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 I've never done this, but what if you dipped it in wax? Or sprayed it with non water soluble varnish?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Do what the food photographers do and use something other than ice cream ... The plaster gets hot as it dries so it will have to be something sturdy ... Some kind of foam or pillow fill shaped like ice cream?? Coat it with lacquer maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatthewV Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Why not just try it? If it gets soggy and falls apart you lost an ice cream cone and $1 of plaster. (and I think it would be fine) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Paining it with something like shellac or acrylic sounds good. (Would spraying be better?) How textured is the cone? Do you need to worry about releasing the castings from the mould? If its only mildly textured the slip may shrink enough to use a drop-out mould. Although you may find that the plaster casting traps the cone itself, which I expect you could destructively remove without damaging the mould (wait until it fully hardens?). PS Can you clarify if you are trying to make a casting of - a biscuit cone (which is what I'm assuming) - a cone with an ice-cream in it - just the ice-cream Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 You might want to fill the cone with something to prevent against collapse, from the weight of the plaster. Also, Peter brings up some good points. Depending on the type of cone, the castings might not release well, unless it is a two-piece mold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mug Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 A coarse waffle cone may need to be a three piece mold. It might be significantly quicker, easier and cheaper to add texture to a clay slab then make your cone. If you need to make the ice cream, try adding some things the clay that will burn out. Saw dust may work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Benzene: You might want to fill the cone with something to prevent against collapse, from the weight of the plaster. Good point, and you will also want to do this with something fairly dense to stop the cone floating about in the unset plaster. Damp clay is good, but keep contaminated clay well away from your other plaster. Cultures vary, but many UK cones have significant detail in the rim. http://img.21food.com/20110609/product/1306417618307.jpg If you want to mould this (and the rest of the cone suits a drop-out mould) you may want address this with a some sort of removable spare. (That needs a picture, ask if you are interested.) I suggest that you - make a simple drop-out mould of the main body of the cone - check that the casting does drop-out! - then, if you would like to share views on multi-part moulds, re-post (with a picture of the cone) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Miller Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 I think I remember someone doing something similar with metal. They made a more robust resin prototype out of the original by casting it in something a little gentler on the model and then made a resin prototype out of that. Alginate, resin, etc are a lot easier to work with for mould making because there are versions out there for a wider variety of applications, different set times and different viscosities. The other advantage is you then have a robust resin prototype As per Chris's suggestion, I'd recommend the old fashioned, home made, salt and flour play dough as the "ice cream." I'd also recommend you pack the cone with something. I could see at least three parts, maybe four for your moulds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 Why not just try it? If it gets soggy and falls apart you lost an ice cream cone and $1 of plaster. (and I think it would be fine) Plaster gets hot while it sets ... Trying it with the real stuff would be a waste of good ice cream! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rakukuku Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 food stylists use crisco for ice cream. but that might not work either. why not just build a clay ice cream cone and then use that? the kids classes at our studio make clay cones with sprinkles that are really cute. rakuku Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carola Posted January 4, 2016 Report Share Posted January 4, 2016 I've cast a cone before (without the icecream!) in a two piece mould. You are right to worry about it getting soggy.! Finally I coated the cone with several layers of polyurethane (oil based) inside and out . It worked. Don't forget to stuff the cone with clay or something before casting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GiselleNo5 Posted January 5, 2016 Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 Lol I love all the different points of view. This is why this forum is awesome, you get so many varied ideas. It never occurred to me, for example, that they might be casting the ice cream too! And also, my brain assumed waffle cone because that's the kind *I* like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted January 5, 2016 Report Share Posted January 5, 2016 Building spray foam looks like ice cream and will coat well with finishes for casting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fallon Posted January 9, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 9, 2016 Thank you so much everyone for all the help! I tried making the mold of the cone without anything on it and it turned into a hot gooey mess! While it wasn't very much fun trying to clean up the melted cone parts.... it smelled delicious. Luckily the second time around I sprayed a couple coats of lacquer on and filled it with clay and it held up perfectly! Also this is the cone I made the 2 part mold for! https://www.joycone.com/sites/default/files/products/thumbs/Products_400x340_CakeCups_0.png Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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