Mold materials for the manufacture of artificial stone

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Mold materials for the manufacture of artificial stone

Molds for making artificial stone have recently become especially popular.

Buy ready material is expensive, and decorate the site, every unusual dream of the house is dreamed of.

Molds for artificial stone can be rectangular, square, diamond-shaped, angular, they can be bought ready, and you can do it yourself.

Material for manufacturing use different - it is wood, silicone, polyurethane. This is what we will discuss today in our article.

Contents:

  • Wood form
  • Silicone or polyurethane molds
  • Artificial stones - what to make of?

Wooden form

A wooden form is not the best option for making artificial stone, but at the same time it is also used in construction work.

To make it yourself, prepare the following material.

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This is a few boards, preferably old, with a unique pattern, they will form the bottom of the mold, and hence the outer pattern of the artificial stone. And even rails - of them will be made beads and partitions.

Depending on the intended design, the partitions can form the same models, or they will be located chaotically, in the form of non-standard curved lines.

The mold is assembled with nails, carefully compacted and reinforced to avoid leakage of cement mortar.

As you understand, the size of the form is determined individually in each case.

Silicone or polyurethane molds

Silicone or polyurethane molds are more difficult to manufacture than wooden ones, especially if you plan to make them yourself, but they allow you to make not only a richer variety of patterns, but the technology of making artificial stone here is simpler, they are practicaland durable.

The truth here is to note that silicone and polyurethane as a material are quite similar, but silicone is considered a more durable material, again, polyurethane is less expensive.

A set for making a stone

The first thing you need to start making a mold with your own hands is to pick up the future patterns of an artificial stone.

The natural material, fragments of natural stone, can be used as an initial basis, they can be obtained independently, breaking a stone and turning the edges of the fragments.

Since silicone and polyurethane tooling are produced by pouring, even with their own hands, it is necessary to make an initial basis.

We take any wooden material: plywood, sheets of particle board, the remains of old furniture and so on. It is desirable that the wood blanks are smooth, so that it is easier to remove the finished shape from the base.

Shoot down a wooden box, the height of the sides of which will be equal to the depth of the future shape.

All wooden parts are connected together by screws, for best effect, to avoid leakage, it is possible to glue.

The workpiece must be flat, its size determined by your wishes for the future form.

We lay the prepared stone blanks on the bottom of the box, with a pattern upwards, the resulting joints are covered with plasticine, so that the silicone does not get stuck under them.

It's better if the reverse side of the natural stone is smooth, this will ensure a tight fit of the stone to the base.

We prepare silicone or polyurethane precisely with the instructions attached to these materials, always observing the proportions of hardener and catalyst.

It's better if you mix the mixture with a drill with a "mixer" nozzle. The ready solution should be allowed to stand for 30 minutes.

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While the solution settles, check the correct location of the stones at the base( this affects the patterns of future artificial stones), coat them with a solidol.

A ready-made solution of silicone or polyurethane is poured into the original substrate, periodically ramming it to prevent the formation of voids in the mold and to ensure uniformity of the silicone layer.

The mixture should cover the highest natural stone in the workpiece by at least 5 cm. Otherwise, the bottom of the future tooling will have a thin, and therefore the process of operation is not long-lived.

After the polyurethane or silicone molds, or rather their original bases, will be flooded, they must be placed in a dark place and leave to freeze.

Depending on the composition of the solution, the drying process takes 36-48 hours, but sometimes it takes a longer time.

However, patience is one of the ingredients of success in making molds with your own hands.

As soon as the silicone or polyurethane dries, the side edges of the original base are removed and the finished mold is carefully separated from the stones.

You can start making natural stone, silicone or polyurethane molds( depending on what material you use), made by yourself, ready.

Artificial stones - what to do?

Artificial stone can be made from gypsum, alabaster or from a mixture of sand, water, cement.

The product from the cement mixture is made in several layers.

For the first layer mix a proportion of 1: 3 sand and cement, add if necessary a colorant of the desired color and dilute with water to a creamy state.

The mixture is filled half way. To cement the cement mass, it is shaken or taped. In order for the stone to be strong, it is reinforced.

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As a reinforcement use a metal mesh, which is put in the form on the first layer. On top of the grid pour the second layer of cement mass.

Small grooves can be made on top of the cement, which will facilitate the adhesion of the product to the surface on which it will be laid during installation.

The mixture is left for 12 hours, then the resulting stone is removed from the mold and dried for two weeks, and a new portion of the cement mixture is poured into the mold.

Silicone or polyurethane molds must be washed after each product is formed.

The technology of making artificial stone from gypsum does not differ in principle from the process of formation from cement.

However, we must remember that unlike cement, gypsum material freezes faster.

Therefore, the amount of the mixture knead small( excess frozen gypsum will no longer be suitable for making stones), and to prolong the pour time, you can add citric acid to the gypsum mixture.

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The form is greased with vegetable oil before filling, which facilitates the process of removing the finished stone from the mold.

And since the gypsum mixture dries very quickly, the time for the formation of the finished product is no longer calculated in hours but in minutes.

Artificial gypsum stones can be made in various colors.

Dyes are added directly to the mixture when kneading, and covered with special paint finished gypsum products.

For the last version, the stone before the coating is cleaned with a clean rag from dust, sand, and only then the paint is applied. The number of layers of paint depends on the desired color shade.

Therefore, many prefer not to add the dye to the gypsum mixture, but to cover the artificial stones with artificial paint, giving them not only the desired shade, but also making up the design for the interior design of the finished products.

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Artificial stone, obtained in the forms made by hand, will always be individual. The material for its production can be concrete, gypsum, cement.

Areas of application of artificial stone are different: facing walls, fences, laying out garden paths, mosaic decoration.

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