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Welcome to the fascinating art of lifecasting!

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•, For more detail browse the LifeCast™ Library.

General Instructions: There are so many uses for this art medium that we can explain only some of its basic uses. A Material Safety Data Sheet sheet is available by selecting the 'MSDS' tab at the right.

#1170 Contents: 15 pounds ArtCast™ in a BlendBag™ / Boxed / Instructions.

ArtCast™ Safety Precautions:

WARNINGS:

•, MAY CAUSE BURNS IF ALLOWED TO HARDEN IN CONTACT WITH THE SKIN!

•, DO NOT INGEST OR POUR DOWN YOUR DRAINS.

•, NOT FOR USE BY UNSUPERVISED CHILDREN!

Always use sensible precautions with any art material, such as those described in the LifeCast™ Library and on a material's MSDS.

•, When needed these two areas are accessed by clicking their right side tabs.

An Important Beginners Exercise:

1. Put 2 tablespoons of water into a disposable cup.

•, Cold materials and/or water slows the process, warm speeds it slightly.

•, This example uses room temperature materials. (65-70 degrees F).

2. Add 4 tablespoons of ArtCast™ powder by sprinkeling or sifting it gradually into the water.

•, You should notice air bubbles coming up in the water's surface. These are surrounding each particle in its dry state and are important to remove entirely by soaking.

•, Briefly stir to break up any lumps and set this aside to just soak for 2 minutes.

3. After soaking stir the 'slurry' briskly for 2 more minutes. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom to get all of the ArtCast™ evenly blended. It will becomes creamy as you mix.

•, Soaking and or mixing for too short a time make a weaker finished casting.

•, Soaking and/or blending for too long a time makes the mixture impossible to pour or otherwise manipulate.

4. Tap the cup firmly and observe more air bubbles coming to the surface.

•, These are what you just mixed into the materials while blending. If these are trapped, the casting may have lots of little holes.

•, Its best to mix the slurry in a manner that minimizes the bubbles added at that step. Stirring around within the slurry instead of up and down from the atmosphere into the slurry.

•, For larger amounts our BlendBag™ is a useful tool to minimize air bubbles mixed into the slurry.

5. The ArtCast™ will begin to harden in 15-30 minutes.

•, Feel how hot it gets. That's the chemical process called hydration which makes all cementitious materials (ie; plasters, concretes, etc) harden.

•, It can generate temperatures high enough to burn you severly so never allow it to hydrate in contact with living tissue such as your skin.

•, When the materials cool down the process is complete and if used in a mold the object may be 'demolded'. At these conditions this will usually require about an hour.

ArtCast™ General Usage Guidelines:

ArtCast™ is much stronger than plaster, more durable and able to capture very fine detail. Mixed with clean water it hardens by a chemical process called hydration.

In other words its being wet that makes the cement harden not, as many beleive by drying out. Within parameters the longer it remains wet, the stronger it becomes.

Notice how the blending time affects the final strength as shown in this graph.

•, The graphs displays the information by weight.

•, See the table below for volume measurements.

Data on graphs courtesy of USG.

This graph illustrates how to control water/ArtCast™ mixtures (slurry) by altering the ratios and blending time. The strongest slurry is a paste to be spread into the final shape while the weakest has the most absorbency for ceramic molds.

•, For casting into flexible molds (i.e.: ArtForm™, Earthium™, PolyArt™, etc.) somewhere in the mid range is typical.

WEIGHT CONVERSIONS: 1 Pound (Lb.) = 16 Ounces (Oz.) = 548 Grams (Gm.)

VOLUME CONVERSIONS: 4 Cups = 1 Pint / 2 Pints = 1 Quart / 4 Quarts = 1 Gallon

WATER: 1 Cup = 8 Ounces = 224 Grams

ArtCAST™: 1 Cup = 8 Ounces = 224 Gram

Estimating the Volume: ArtCast™ and water combine to the final, liquid volume. The easiest way to estimate how much is needed for a mold:

1. Fill the mold with water. Empty it into a measuring container. This is the total volume needed.

2. Divide this volume by the ratio (water to powder) you wish to use. For example, at a 1:2 ratio you divide by 2 or 50%. Remove that much water.

3. Again, using a 1:2 ratio for example, measure out twice as much ArtCast™ as there is remaining water. Sift the powder into the water and blend according to time allowed and strength/absorbency desired.

Other Effects: ArtCast™ is reinforced with burlap/gauze strips, hemp fiber, chicken wire, etc. for shell molds & free form sculpture.

•, Set time can also be hastened by adding calcium sulfate (terra alba) but this will have an adverse effect on the final hardness.

•, Salt (sodium chloride) may also be used but, will eventually cause surfaceing/finish problems by efflorescence.

Embedded Color: You may add small amounts of water based color to simulate natural stone or to give the statue a pastel tint.

•, Dry pigment is best but acrylic works well too.

•, This will weaken the final strength of the casting

•, Too much pigment can prevent hardening at all. Use sparingly.

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