I want to make a silicone mold of an ornate masquerade mask so I can make a fondant replica. My question is will the silicone ruin the mask or will it come completely off when it's finished? I don't want to ruin the mask or leave any trace of the silicone on it.
Also, what type of silicone would work best for capturing all the intricate details of the mask?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Iset78 - I can answer your question after I get the following information. What is the mask made out of?

How big is the mask?

Once i know these two details, I can give you a full run down on how to make this mold. It is usually something easy and fun to do.

Dominic

Hi Dominic. The mask is a paper mache masquerade mask imported from Venice. It has a lot of paper mache "gold leafs" on it so it is not a smooth mask. It is a half mask that covers the eyes and nose only. It's approximately 8" long by 4" high.

Is it possible to make a silicone mold from paper mache? It's a hard mask but I wasn't sure if it would work on that material. I'm thinking I probably want to use silicon spread on it but again not sure if I can.

Thanks for your help!

Paper Mache is porous and must be sealed before you apply any of my silicone mold making materials. I created Seal-Dit, a non toxic sealing agent just for this purpose. If your paper mache is bare and uncoated, then the Seal-Dit will be absorbed a little and change the color of the paper mache. It would look like it had been rubbed with oil. Other than the color change, I don't think that seal-dit or any of my mold making compounds will damage the paper mache.

Using Silicone Spread would be a good choice for this project. Silicone Plastique would work also or you could use them together as shown here:

http://cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-671323.html

Dominic

If the paper mache is painted gold will it change the color of that? Should 1 pound of silicone spread be enough for that size mask?

Also, in the link above the user made a clay bed for the figurine. Do I have to do something like that for the mask or can I just put the silicone spread over the mask. I basically just want a mold of the front of the mask that I'll be using to make a fondant mask. This is the first mold I'll be making and it seems like all the molds I've seen have some extra borders around the outside.

The seal-dit will probably not change the color of the gold paint. Ask yourself this question: If you put some Crisco on the mask and wiped it off would it change the gold color? Probably not. Seal-Dit would act the same way.

Putting the object on a clay bed will enable you to make a silicone flange around the outside of your mold which will aid in unmolding. You seem to want to make a quicky mold just to get the impression and move on, which is fine. many of my customers make molds this way and the Silicone Spread will work very well for this application.

Hope This Helps - Would Love To See a Pic When Its Done!

Dominic

Just ordered my Seal-Dit and Silicone Spread. I'll take pictures...good or bad. Hopefully I won't mess things up too badly! Thanks for your help!