Join me for this helpful little article to discover how, and enjoy your Forge World gifts just that much more this holiday season.
We've all experienced it. That shiny new piece of Forge World goodness that we bought or received as a gift, especially with the recent holiday, and were so excited about…really is shiny. If you're asking why resin is shiny, then you've never experienced the joys (insert sarcastic tone here) of getting a new kit from Forge World, only to find out that the think is slick as butter, with a shiny coating of mold release on it.
Mold release is a generic term for the liquid release agent/lubricant that casters coat their molds with so that the end product will release from the rubber RTV molds, without damaging them. It's a necessary evil, especially for the more intricate models, but it's still a pain in the arse as it rejects primer and paint. Slides right off like those magic non-stick skillets they tout on infomercials.Typically, you have to soak said piece of resin in a solution of water and degreasing soap. I typically would do this overnight. Then you get out a spare toothbrush and literally scrub the mold release off the models that has been loosened by the soak. My biggest issue isn't the soaking and waiting, it's the fact that I can't scrub some of the smaller pieces well enough to get all the mold release off without fear of breaking the fragile pieces! It's also extremely difficult at times to get in all the tiny nooks and crannies of said highly detailed figures.
I hate scrubbing resin.
Luckily, I've found a new way to remove the mold release without ever putting toothbrush to model! How, you ask? Follow these easy steps below:
1. In a bowl, submerge and soak your resin model in a solution of water and degreasing soap. Go heavy on the soap here. I like to use a colored soap so that I can use enough to heavily tint the water in said color to know I've used enough.
3. Wait. a few more days, check on the water level. Add more if your model doesn't stay submerged.
4. Wait some more...
6. Check the model. If you see no more shiny surfaces, then all the mold release has been removed by soaking the model alone!
7. Dry model, assemble and enjoy!
I discovered this when I couldn't get to my Relic Contemptor from Forge World for literally a month after I started soaking it, so I truly don't have any idea how long this process actually takes, but I would think it's different per model, base don size, and the amount of Mold Release left on it.
I know, I know, there are 3 steps above where all you're doing is waiting. While not a quick process, this is the alternative to scrubbing and potentially breaking off delicate pieces or details, and missing some of the mold release altogether. Considering the cost of many resin models, time is something I don't mind giving to this process. If you need your resin model done sooner rather than later, you can always resort to the scrubbing method, and just be careful with it. The reason I'm so ecstatic about this though, is when I pulled my Relic Contemptor out of the water, I couldn't see one iota of Mold Release on it, not even in the tiny feathers one the aquila detailing and trim, and those never get fully scrubbed.
Those of you who have resin sitting around in closets, and don't tell me many of you don't, drop it in a few bowls of degreasing soap solution and let it go. It's not like you're using it right now anyway, and you have the time! Plan ahead like this and your stress levels will thank you.
- Tim