Introduction: Custom Wax SkateWax Mold

About: I am fifteen, attending an early college high school. I have aquired many interests over the years such as metal work, 3D printing, arduino, circuitry, and other forms of trade via self teaching. I work alone …

This will show you the pentential of your wax melting stand shown in the previous Instructable.
This process can be used to create any type of mold for candles, skatewax, art, or even molds.

Materials
Plaster of paris (10$)
Elmers glue (Free)
Styrofoam (Free)
Paint thinner (5$)
Wax (Free)
Chalk (Free and optional)
Vaseline (Free
Most people have these items if it says free it means you can hunt one down in your house or ask someone for them.

Tools
Razor pens
Wax melting stand
Knife
Sandpaper
Measuring device


Step 1: Mold Design

First cut a piece of styrofoam as big as the wax object you want to build. Get a marker or pencil and draw your design onto the styrofoam (I used the ReVive symbol but you can use just about anything.) After you draw your design cut it out in square sections of one inch. Make a square with your knife or razor pen, make sure your square is deep enough that your design will pop out in a 3D way. Once the square is made cut into the square from the side to create a divit or missing piece. Do this until your foam looks how you want your wax to look like. If you tear or rip the styrofoam dont panic, just use some fine grit sand paper to smooth it out and give it an even surface Do this even if you dont have any damage to your foam surface it helps the finished product look more sharp and makes your life easier when you sand the mold.

Step 2: Making the Plaster Mold

Get some water and pour it into a tuperware or a paper food tray as i did. Place your styrofoam in and press down and add or take out water for best results. Next place the water into a measuring cup and round to the nearest whole incriment or number that is easy to divide. I had a little less than one cup and rounded up then divides by 2 and ended up with half a cup, then you can follow your ratio (Mine was 1 water to 2 plaster of paris if you follow the steps the dividing by 2 will help.)

Step 3: Mixing and Placing the Styrofoam

Mix your water and plaster powder in a paper food tray (Add about one to 3 shot-glasses extra plaster powder for a stronget mold and faster drying time.) And add food coloring if you have a heart. Place your styrofoam into the mixture, make sure the 3D pieces of the foam are firmly touching the bottom of the paper tray. Suction will keep the styrofoam on the bottom of the tray, but to be safe put weight on it and wait 30 mins to let the plaster dry and set.

Step 4: Getting Rid of the Styrofoam

Once your plaster is set, do not try and pull out the foam, you will mostlikely break the mold instead can use paint thinner to eat the styrofoam. Just pour a little on your foam and it is eaten up by the thinner do this until your foam is gone. It may look ugly but it just needs sanding.

Step 5: Sanding the Plaster Mold

At first your mold will be rough and not so delightful, just use fine grit sandpaper and a spray bottle with water. Spray the mold with water then sand keep doing this until it is semi smooth the next step will make it smooth as (insert redneck voice and something that is shiny and smooth and then say on a nice day in July.) After sanding you can shave off uneven pieces of plaster with a razor pen.

Step 6: Making the Mold Smooth and Seep Proof

You need to make your mold seep proof that way you can use it alot more than if you didn't. For this process you need elmers glue and a cottonball or you can use your fingers instead of the cottonball, just apply liberal amounts of the school glue and smooth out with tour fingers. The other way of doing things is to use the cottonball to soak up the glue and grab it with tweezers and then apply its to the mold. I found that if you use your fingers the process is much easier than using the cottonball. After you seal the mold let it dry completely before pouring in molten wax

Step 7: Pouring the Wax

This is the easiest process just pack in your shaved wax in the crucible of your wax melting stand from my previous instructable and if wanted to add color crush up chalk and throw it in your wax and then light up your sterno to melt the wax (I made skatewax so i put vaseline and butter to make it more plyable.) Wait 30 to 40 mins for the wax to harden (Do not place in fridge it will crack) and if you have trouble releasing the wax from the mold crack the mold at the corners to make things easier and then wiggle a knife between the wax and the mold to free it a bit but if you line your mold with a thin layer of vaseline before casting it will make the 3 minutes of your life you spend releasing the mold easier. If you had to crack your mold you can still use it, just apply liberal amounts of vaseline to the area of crackage and let the vaseline stick itself to the other part of the mold and the next time you cast wax just wiggle a knife between the wax and mold the pull the pieces of the mold away to reveal your wax product.

Step 8: Enjoy!

This project is great for anyone if supervised by adults, small children can make wax toys or other fun stuff. If you liked this skatewax block go to ReVive skateboards to get a deck to test your new custom skatewax.