Adding more greenstuff to existing sculpt

[Belgian]

Hello, I was wondering how sculptors add more green stuff bits and details to existing sculpts. Not sure how to explain it but when I have a fully cured green and I want to add some more layers and bulk, I can't get a smooth transition between the new and cured piece? I hope this question makes sense and a solution or how to would be kindly appreciated 

[Cubs]

You can get liquid putty (different companies will sell it under a different name) that you brush on for a smooth finish. This should help to hide any joins.

[Lovejoy]

Hello, I was wondering how sculptors add more green stuff bits and details to existing sculpts. Not sure how to explain it but when I have a fully cured green and I want to add some more layers and bulk, I can't get a smooth transition between the new and cured piece? I hope this question makes sense and a solution or how to would be kindly appreciated 

To be honest, there's no easy way to do it - you just have to be careful, and use a smooth tool, and a clay shaper as well for best results. It really does just get easier the more you practice.

And for smoothing, the best tool lubricant I've found is the grease from the side of your nose... sounds pretty disgusting I know, but it works really well!

[Steve F]

And for smoothing, the best tool lubricant I've found is the grease from the side of your nose... sounds pretty disgusting I know, but it works really well!

How have you been collecting the grease from the side of Belgian's nose without him noticing?

[Bergil]

To be honest, there's no easy way to do it - you just have to be careful, and use a smooth tool, and a clay shaper as well for best results. It really does just get easier the more you practice.

And for smoothing, the best tool lubricant I've found is the grease from the side of your nose... sounds pretty disgusting I know, but it works really well!

This.

[beefcake]

How have you been collecting the grease from the side of Belgian's nose without him noticing?

I use Vaseline, works quite well. Also filing afterwards can help if you are careful.

[dampfpanzerwagon]

Firstly, I'l start by saying that my own Green Stuff sculpting skill is less than average. However.

1 When I want to build up a sculpt, I tend to do it in sections or layers. For example building a Shako - I would start with a rough blob. Then build up some substance and finally add a smooth layer before adding detail. Leaving each layer fully set before moving on to the next.

2 I also use superglue between the layers to make a firm hold.

3 For smoothing out my preferred tool is a wooden cocktail stick which I roll along the surface rather than dragging it.

4 I also use a grey clay shapper which I lubricate with water - I do not like using spit or saliva and cannot see the logic in using vaseline.

See this link for notes on using Green Stuff;
http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=green+stuff

I hope that this helps.

Tony

[beefcake]

4 I also use a grey clay shapper which I lubricate with water - I do not like using spit or saliva and cannot see the logic in using vaseline.

I take it you've not used Vaseline then. I've used water, spit etc before and find the Vaseline works better. Just my opinion though, your mileage may vary.

[Belgian]

Thanks for all the useful comments, I do use water for lubrication I now try to smooth the pieces with those rubber tipped clay tools but sometimes the edges don't stick, could it be that I use too much water? Vaseline sounds useful, do you need to wash the sculpt after each session you use it?

As you can guess I'm not experienced in working with greenstuff but I seem to prefer it above super sculpey (how do you detail that stuff?) and you don't need to bake greenstuff which is nice.

[Connectamabob]

For lube while sculpting I use saliva. Vaseline or oil would definitely work better, but I don't want to interfere with the putty's self-adhesion in case I need to fold or smooth something over or add a little putty somewhere.

For blending or feathering onto an already cured surface, I use Apoxie Safety Solvent, which as the name suggests is actually made for use with Aves Apoxie Sculpt, but works well for other epoxy putties as well. It works much better than anything else I've tried (saliva, water, alcohol). The solvent action softens and lubes the putty to allow for easy blending, but without creating any slurry on the surface.

You can even get a bit more sculpting time out of a mix by kneading a little Safety Solvent into the mixed blob you're using as builder material when it starts to get stiff. Doesn't change the total setting time, just partially resets the gradual stiffening process within that period, if that makes sense. You can do this with alcohol or water too, but those have a tendency to make the surface gooey, whereas Safety Solvent just makes it softer.

I wouldn't use a liquid putty (like Liquid Green Stuff) for anything you think might become a master for vulcanized molds, because those putties are solvent-based rather than epoxies, and likely won't do well under vulcanizing temps/pressures.

[FramFramson]

My nose is terribly greasy - have I finally found a use for this miracle tool?! 

[blackstone]

Try mixing some milliput in with your greenstuff. It changes the feel of the putty and I think would make the smooth transition of putties much easier. I use vegetable oil to help smooth putty also clay shapers are very useful.

[FramFramson]

A word to the wise: There are different types of milliput. I tried a GS-Miliput mix but mistakenly bought fine white Milliput. That turned out... poorly.

[Connectamabob]

I mix mine with Aves sometimes. Surprisingly it makes the cured piece a little less durable than either (surface is good, but limbs and suchlike break easier), but it improves the sculpting properties quite a lot IMO.

I love clay shapers for general sculpting, but for seamlessly feathering a soft GS edge into a hard surface you gotta go with metal. The give of the rubber w/ a clay shaper prevents you from truly fully flattening that last bit. Takes the unyielding hand of metal to show the uppity putty it's place. Interproximal carver FTW, IMO: http://onlinedentalbook.blogspot.com/2008/08/types-of-carver.html .

Hollenback is better for blocking out a sculpt, but interproximal is better for smoothing and troweling. Sickle carver is THE SINGLE MOST VERSATILE MODELING TOOL I OWN. Picked one up on a lark, and now years later I'd feel one-handed without it. It's amazing, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Get the good ones from your dentist or a proper pro dental supply outfit, not the cheap Indian/Pakistani flea market grade ones all over Amazon/Ebay/Etsy/etc.

[Vermis]

A word to the wise: There are different types of milliput. I tried a GS-Miliput mix but mistakenly bought fine white Milliput. That turned out... poorly.

Fine white milliput takes a bit of getting used to, but then so do the other types of milliput IMO. (Based on my experience with a single packet of each, I'd rather have superfine white than black or terracotta) The problem with SFW is that being fairly firm and fine textured, it takes away from half the reason for mixing claylike putties with green stuff - reducing the fine-textured firmness of the latter, itself.

I mix mine with Aves sometimes... it improves the sculpting properties quite a lot IMO.

I mix mine with Aves most times, for that reason! I haven't really noticed the reduced durability, but maybe I've just been lucky.

... seamlessly feathering a soft GS edge into a hard surface you gotta go with metal. The give of the rubber w/ a clay shaper prevents you from truly fully flattening that last bit. Takes the unyielding hand of metal to show the uppity putty it's place.

QFT!

http://onlinedentalbook.blogspot.com/2008/08/types-of-carver.html

Leaves out quite a few types, surprisingly. Maybe they're in a different post? But in the meantime, hope you don't mind me butting in with this.

http://minisculpture.co.uk/index.php?topic=623.0

My own go-to carver is an old GW sculpting tool ground right down and polished to something between a lecron (the old GW tool type) and a zahle. It has a few features that I personally think are useful for sculpting, that are shared by a few different types of carver: A blade with a relatively fine cutting edge, a point, and a 'large' surface on the side; and a cleoid end, leaf or oval shaped, with a blunt edge and a slight convexity. I find it lets me do almost all kinds of spreading, pushing, smoothing, cutting and mark-making.

Get the good ones from your dentist or a proper pro dental supply outfit, not the cheap Indian/Pakistani flea market grade ones all over Amazon/Ebay/Etsy/etc.

Yup! A cheap set of wax carvers (especially a vehe) showed me what a piece of garbage the unmodified GW tool was, but now whenever I pull that old set out, I wonder how I got anything done with it, too.

Though I've found that proper dental tools aren't so expensive on ebay either. I've bought a lecron, zahle and vehe there, for a couple of pounds each. I haven't taken them for a proper spin (keep reaching for the go-to tool) but the quality is obvious.