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Concrete moulds Concrete moulds, are they easy? You may have seen in various garden centres "ornaments" and similar made from concrete, and wondered how they are made and "Could I do that?" Quite often the things you will see are made from concrete. The concrete is mixed, then poured into a mould, left to set and then finished, usually by painting Sounds simple and easy doesn't it? Well yes and no is the answer to that one. First you have to get your mould, the best ones are made from latex rubber as these can be used over and over again. There are various website supplying moulds, but they cost a great deal of money, This is because once you have the mould you can make as many of the object as you like and sell them at what ever price you like (so long as people are willing to pay that price) but here in lies a problem, lets say one mould costs £1000 (They really are around that price) That means you can make as many as you like of one thing, just the one thing, so in order to have variety you have have to have more moulds which is more initial outlay Next you have to get the concrete mix right, too runny and the concrete will not set / be too weak, too thick and you cant pour it, once you have got it just right you must note the exact mix. A tip is to shake the mould as the concrete is poured in, or fix the mould to a frame and mount an electric motor with a slight off set weight on the shaft to make the motor vibrate, because any air in the cast will give an imperfect finish or make it weak. Once poured you must leave it for at least 24 hours in the mould then another 36 hours to allow for final drying, you can then paint it in your choice of colours. So how are the moulds made? The moulds are also time consuming to make. First a clay likeness is made. You need to be artistic, the better the fine detail at this stage the better the end result will be. Once the clay is made into shape it is painted with latex rubber and left to dry. As latex paint is very thin, the clay "shape" will need several coats of latex paint (depending on how thick you want the mould 10+ coats is not unusual, if you are planning on making this a business, then you should be using a very large drum full of latex to dip the clay likeness, the longer its left in, the thicker the mould will become. All though it is a lot of initial outlay it can be a very good business, it will take some time to get your money back for the cost of the moulds, but do consider the above before you venture into it, remember it is a business not a flight of fantasy. Good luck Don't forget, I am here for you your opinions and views So many of YOU have read this, why not send in your comment? 175 301006
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