A Few Examples of Cold Casting Art Using ArtMolds Cold Kasting Kit. Click on the image to enlarge.

Metal casting, especially bronze castings are the most desirable high end statuary finishes in today’s art world. They are truly gallery art. However, the costs and time associated with such castings are often prohibitive to an artist on a limited budget. Cold casting was developed to provide a low cost option to the traditional hot foundry casting method. Cold casting uses the same metals (bronze, copper, brass, aluminum and others) but in a different form.

The metals are ground into a fine powder and mixed with a casting medium and poured or painting into a mold. The result is a surface that almost duplicates the look of an expensive foundry casting. It can be polished to a high sheen. It can be patinaed using cold acids, just as if it was solid metal. That is because the surface is of metal bonded together with the casting medium.

The casting medium is often a clear resin. But resin has its draws backs. It has a strong undesirable odor, it requires solvents to clean up and it is difficult to control setting times.

To solve these problems ArtMolds has assembled an all-in-one ColdKast kit using Forton MG as the suspending and back up medium. Forton is water soluble so clean up is a snap and by adding an accelerator a complete casting can be accomplished in under an hour or so. Better yet, there is absolutely no odor.

We are going to demonstrate how easy it is to use. To begin with we need a mold. The ColdKast Kit works well with both alginate and silicone molds. If you do not know how to make and original mold, click on the 'How To' link (or here) to see how we made the face casting mold.

Safety Note:

The kit contains a dusk mask which you should wear when mixing powders. The latex gloves supplied in the kit will protect sensitive skin the mixes. Wear them throughout the casting procedure.



Our objective is to create a cold cast bronze casting which rivals the look of a foundry casting. We begin with a mold we have created from a master cast. The mold can be of alginate, resin or silicone. In this example we are using a MoldRite 25 silicone mold because it requires no release agents which may mar the surface of the casting we are about to make. For information on making a secondary mold from a master cast please check out the article in the "How To" section of this newsletter.		We will use ArtMolds' Cold Cast Kit. Open the kit box and assemble the components from the kit. The kit consists of a mixing container, container of bronze powder dry mix and a liquid resin component, the back up dry mix and additional backup liquid resin, a mixer, a dust mask and a packet of chopped fiber glass. We will not use the fiber glass. You will also need an accelerator to speed the setting of our casting material. The accelerator consist of a 10:1 mixture of water to aluminum sulfate. You can get the aluminum sulfate from a garden store as it is a fertilizer. You will also need '0000' grade steel wool, paste wax, a can of spay polyurethane, picture wire, latex gloves 2 mixing containers, and a 2 or 3-inch chip brush.

Step 1. Pour in your liquid VF-812 into the mixing container.		Step. 2.The pour in the powder on top of the liquid.

Step 3. Using your electric drill and mixer supplied with the kit, mix your ingredients until you see no white streaks.		Step 4. After mixing, separate your mix into two equal portions.

Step 5. Add about 4-table spoons of accelerator to one portion.		Step 6. You will notice the face mix begins to thicken when you mix in the accelerator.

Step 7. Begin painting in the face mix using your brush.		Step 8. Make certain you completely cover the surface.

Step 9. Wash your brush and dry thoroughly.		Step 10. Let the surface begin to set. Test lightly with your finger. You should leave not indentation.

Step 11. Repeat steps 1-8 to apply a second coat.		Step 12. After you second coat, put aside to dry.

Step 13. Begin mixing the backup mix by pouring the backup VF-812 into a clean mixing container.		Step 14. Add the backup dry powder mix from the kit.

Step 15. Mix thoroughly until you see no more streaks of the white liquid.		Step 16. Add about 6 tablespoon of accelerator. But be careful not to add to much or your backup mix will set before you have a chance to apply it.

Step 17. Continue mixing to incorporate the accelerator. Your mix should begin to thicken up.		Step 18. When the mixture is about the consistency of peanut butter you can apply it on top of the face coats.

Step 19. Cover the surface to a depth of about 1/4-inch or so. Be careful that you have adequate thickness on the sides of you mold as gravity tends to pull the backup mix to the lowest points.		Step 20. Take your picture wire and loop the ends as shown in the photo.

Step 21. Place the loops on either side of the mold on top of the back up mix. Make certain you have enough wire showing that it can be hung on a wall hook after the backup mixture sets.		Step 22. Now place a glob of backup mix over each loop to bury them into the mold. Cover the wire well.

Step 23. Continue to add the balance of your back up mix evenly through out the mold		Step 24. Then set you mold aside to dry. With the use of the accelerator you mold should be set in 30-45-minutes.

Step 25. When the casting material is set you can demold. Carefully remove the mold from the casting. The casting will have a haze across its surface. This is normal.		Step 26. There are several operations to clean up your cast. Use a Dremmel tool to remove any ragged edges.

Step 27. Use plaster rasp tool to smooth all edges,		Step 28. Once the edges are smoothed you can begin polishing the surface to bring out the bronze. Use the '0000' grade steel wool and 'elbow grease' You must work at this until you see the shine of the metal. You can further shine the metal with a buffing wheel and rosin if you wish.

Step 29. Once you are satisfied with the shine coat the piece with several light coats of a matte polyurethane spray. When dry use some paste wax to buff out the shine and soften the glow of the metal.		Step 30. Here is the finished cold cast bronze art piece hanging on the wall looking just like in came out of the foundry.

Cold Casting - Part 1
A Few Examples of Cold Casting Art Using ArtMolds Cold Kasting Kit. Click on the image to enlarge. Metal casting, especially bronze castings are the most desirable high end statuary finishes in today’s art world. They are truly gallery art. However, the costs and time associated with such castings are often prohibitive to an artist on a limited budget. Cold casting was developed to provide a low cost option to the traditional hot foundry casting method. Cold casting uses the same metals (bronze, copper, brass, aluminum and others) but in a different form. The metals are ground into a fine powder and mixed with a casting medium and poured or painting into a mold. The result is a surface that almost duplicates the look of an expensive foundry casting. It can be polished to a high sheen. It can be patinaed using cold acids, just as if it was solid metal. That is because the surface is of metal bonded together with the casting medium. The casting medium is often a clear resin. But resin has its draws backs. It has a strong undesirable odor, it requires solvents to clean up and it is difficult to control setting times. To solve these problems ArtMolds has assembled an all-in-one ColdKast kit using Forton MG as the suspending and back up medium. Forton is water soluble so clean up is a snap and by adding an accelerator a complete casting can be accomplished in under an hour or so. Better yet, there is absolutely no odor. We are going to demonstrate how easy it is to use. To begin with we need a mold. The ColdKast Kit works well with both alginate and silicone molds. If you do not know how to make and original mold, click on the 'How To' link (or here) to see how we made the face casting mold. Safety Note: The kit contains a dusk mask which you should wear when mixing powders. The latex gloves supplied in the kit will protect sensitive skin the mixes. Wear them throughout the casting procedure.