How To Create A Mold For Fiberglass

Exploring the nearly endless creative options available with plastics and resins.

How to Make Fiberglass and Resin Molds at Home

Fiberglass and casting resins are a rewarding creative medium, but they can be costly to use. This is especially true when you purchase specialized mold-making materials like silicone resin. Often these cost at least twice or more than the resin being used—not to mention that silicone is liable to tear under sheer force.

Most households have a plethora of discarded plastic containers and packaging materials that are chemically unreactive and possess smooth surfaces conducive to casting plastic and resin forms. Im this article, I will discuss using cleaned frozen dinner trays and packaging materials for resin molds.

Clean Frozen Dinner Tray and Johnson Paste Wax

Jason Bosh

Applying Paste Wax to Mold Cavity

Jason Bosh

Step 1: Prepare the Mold

You have your clean plastic tray and some paste wax. Take a bit of wax with a rag and apply liberally to the cavity you wish to use. Allow to dry a few minutes while gathering other supplies or preparing a pigmented fiberglass resin. When dry, use a clean cloth or towel to buff off the excess wax from mold cavity.

Applying A Coating of Pigmented Fiberglass Resin to Mold

Jason Bosh

Step 2: Wet the Mold Cavity

Now with your mold cavity fully waxed, it's ready for resin and fiberglass. Take some catalyze resin with a brush and dab it in. Make sure all surfaces are coated thoroughly. This preliminary application helps prevent air pockets from forming under the fiberglass cloth.

Applying Precut Fiberglass Cloth to Mold Cavity

Jason Bosh

Step 3: Apply Fiberglass Cloth to the Mold Cavity

After the first coating of catalyzed resin is laid down, it is time to lay down a precut piece of oversized fiberglass cloth.

Step 4: Cast With Filled Polyester Resin

The kind of polyester resin used for fiberglass is called laminating resin. Because it is applied in thin layers, more catalyst is added to provide heat for curing. For this reason, fiberglass laminating resin is not recommended for thick section casting. The excess heat buildup in a thicker portion of resin liable to crack or cause other issues.

One way to work around this is by using ample amounts of inert filler. In the photos below, I added cheap powdered calcium carbonate (limestone) until the resin had a pancake batter consistency. This filler absorbs the excess heat and also makes the casting process cheaper as well. If I didn't care for the beige color I could sand the fully cured casting with 220 grit wet or dry paper and apply a spray primer. Then it would be ready for most kinds of paint.

Laminating resin with calcium carbonate filler

Jason Bosh

Cured cast with calcium carbonate filled resin

Jason Bosh

Using Plastic Blister Packaging as a Mold for Casting Resin

Jason Bosh

Tips for Using Plastic Blister Packaging as a Mold

This can be a good option for craft with casting resins on a budget. Clear blister packaging is easily had usually free or low cost with products you're already purchasing. The circular casting in the photo above was cast in a blister pack found in a parking lot of a Kroger's. These thin plastics are made of PET and will definitely need a mold release.

In the castings above I used Johnson paste wax but silicone release spray might be better. The PET is not silicone so experimental dye and pigment explorations are not recommended ended. As you can see from the mishap I had on the rectangular tablet forms. Dyes, pigments, and fillers should be fully disperse in casting resin.

Also, it should be noted the life of these improvised molds will be limited so don't get to attached to any of them.