REVIEW: GSW moulds for bricks and paving stones
I tried GSW silicone brick moulds and paving stones that my colleagues bought for my birthday at Carta Magica. The quality of the mold is very good. They are soft and flexible, so removing the castings is very simple, you do not need to use additional tools or Vaseline, but it is mandatory to use a solid base under the mold.
As a material for making castings, I used GSW acrylic resin. I did not measure the ratios exactly, but the measure was the viscosity of the mixture. It turned out to be both good and bad. It is good because after a few minutes the mixture starts to settle, so the rubber and the excess water separate and it is nice to see how many grooves in the molds are filled, so you can add more material if needed. The bad thing was that you had to wait longer for the excess water to evaporate in order for the material to start hardening. I removed the excess liquid with paper towels and thus speeded up the process.
Filling the mould is easy. With a wooden spatula (for mixing coffee) I leveled the excess material on the surface of the mold and supplemented it where necessary. The main problem is residual air, bubbles in the mold. They should be shaken well or "punctured". This requires a tool of suitable size because the grooves in the mold are very small. In my case, I used wooden toothpicks. I do not recommend metal and sharp tools because if they could damage the mold. I had to throw away a lot of castings because they were incomplete.
After an hour or two the castings can be taken out, but I left them all night and took them out the next morning. Castings have scratches that are easily removed with fine sandpaper. It’s a bit of a tedious and delicate job because the castings are tiny and hard to hold in your hands for work. But tweezers with flat tips help.
Overall, I am satisfied with the quality and speed of work, and I believe that with time and experience I will get better results.
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