Ply-O-Life

Please Note: It is very important that you read all of this information before using our Ply-O-Life.

Developed by Pink House Studios, Ply-O-Life, is a non-toxic and odorless platinum-base silicone rubber that may be applied directly to the skin.

A very generous coat of Neutrogena Hand Cream should first be applied to the entire area that is to be molded. The presence of Neutrogena on the skin tends to minimize the “suction-hold” of the cured Ply-O-Life mold on the skin, allowing for quicker removal. Wherever hair is to be included in the mold, the hair must be well-coated with cholesterol hair conditioner; this includes eyebrows and eyelashes. Even women often have very fine facial hair which you don’t want to stick to the mold. Using the cholesterol hair conditioner, all hair must be made to lie completely flat and all spaces between strands must be filled with cholesterol. Once this has been done, apply petroleum jelly over the hair.

When you spread on the Ply-O-Life with your spatula, be sure to apply it in the same direction as the hair is lying. Never go against the direction of the hair because this will cause the hair to lift and become entrapped in the Ply-O-Life. Even with all of this release applied to the hair, Ply-O-Life will still pick-up the detailed texture of the hair. It is not, however, recommended to make molds of beards or mustaches using Ply-O-Life. For that purpose, we recommend you use Algiform Slow Set instead.

Body hair on arms, back of hands and everywhere else should be shaved smooth. We suggest Algiform Slow Set for the face or entire head instead of Ply-O-Life, in order to avoid any potential problems. We have made many full body molds using Ply-O-Life; and as long as all hair has been shaved off, we have had no problems.

The advantage that a Ply-O-Life mold has over one made with alginate is that resins may be cast directly into the Ply-O-Life mold without the use of a separator. Also, PLy-O-Life will adhere to itself. Except where there are extreme undercuts involved, it will not tear when the positive cast is being removed. The mold is therefore reusable. Besides resin, one may cast wax, plaster, Forton etc. into a Ply-O-Life mold.

Use of Ply-O-Life is demonstrated in two of our technical video tapes, “Better One Piece Head Molds From Life” and “Success With Full Body Molds and Forton Castings.” Ply-O-Life is a two component product. Equal portions of each component are mixed together with approximately 6-minutes of working time. The material will set-up completely in about ten minutes. Nylon fly screening or cloth may be embedded in a reinforcing layer of Ply-O-Life (once the first layer has begun to set) by applying a second layer of Ply-O-Life over the first and sandwiching the screening in with the fresh material. This will produce a mold that is extremely tear-resistant. Your screening must be completely coated with Ply-O-Life, otherwise, the bandages will stick to the screening, making removal of the bandage shell from the Ply-O-Life difficult.The screening material is not necessary unless you anticipate a lot of stress and strong pulling in using your Ply-O-Life mold. It will be necessary to apply a third coat of Ply-O-Life wherever the screen is showing through the Ply-O-Life.

For full-body molds of either clothed or nude models, screening is absolutely necessary. Clothing needs to be saturated with petroleum jelly, rubbing it deeply into the matrix; otherwise, your Ply-O-Life mold will not come away from it well.

A rigid outer shell of plaster bandages should be applied over the Ply-O-Life to support the mold. Before laying up the plaster bandages over the Ply-O-Life, apply a generous coat of petroleum jelly to the Ply-O-Life so that the bandages may be easily removed.

Even though Ply-O-Life is superior to alginate for molding hair, eyebrows and around the nostrils, is NOT EVER TO BE USED FOR MOLDING WIDE-OPEN MOUTHS. For this, use alginate instead. When molded and cured in a mass, as it would be in an open mouth, Ply-O-LIfe is much, much more rigid than alginate, and will resist rapid removal. You can, however, make molds of parted lips with clenched teeth using Ply-O-Life.

Ply-O-Life’s four-minute working time (plus five minutes to a fully-cured state) is calculated for room temperatures below 70-degrees Fahrenheit. For every one-degree of room-temperature above 70-degrees, fifteen-seconds of working time will be lost. Storing your Ply-O-Life in a cool place to lower its temperature will give you a little more working time. You need not wait the full five-minutes until it reaches a fully cured state before applying the support shell. You may begin it as soon as the Ply-O-Life is set (no longer workable.) By the time you have finished applying the support shell, the Ply-O-Life beneath it will be fully cured and ready for removal from the model.

To quickly and thoroughly blend the base and catalyst, we recommend that you use a small Jiffy Mixer (see our product list for ordering information.) A Jiffy Mixer is a stainless steel mixing attachment that fits into the chuck of an ordinary electric drill. A spatula, such as our #71 10-inch Steel Spatula, is an efficient tool for applying the Ply-O-Life.

Ideally, you should be adding about 25% Silicone Fluid to your Ply-O-Life, so that it you make better contact with the skin. Undiluted Ply-O-Life is a little too viscous (thick) and may not pick-up the finest details in certain areas without the addition of Silicone Fluid, which improves the flow.

To clean-up uncured Ply-O-Life, use a solvent such as acetone or lacquer thinner, observing the appropriate precautions to avoid inhalation.

Besides the fact that a Ply-O-Life mold (unlike an alginate mold) is a permanent mold for multiple castings, Ply-O-Life has additional advantages over alginate. Because the material conforms so closely to the skin, even after curing, fresh Ply-O-Life may be applied overlapping cured Ply-O-Life, and no “lap-lines” or seams will appear where they meet. The close conformation prevents seepage of the fresh material beneath the cured material.

NOTE: Until you are familiar with applying the material, we do not recommend that you mix-up more than a total weight of 1/2- lb. of Ply-O-Life at a time.

There is a possibility that applying Ply-O-Life against some surfaces made of latex or other rubbers (ie. some bald caps and certain rubber gloves) may inhibit the cure to the material. Also, sulphur-base materials (including some clays) will inhibit the cure.

Some skins lotions, such as aloe vera will inhibit the cure of Ply-O-Life. We suggest that you make a small test of Ply-O-Life on the model’s skin if he or she will be wearing any skin lotion on areas to be molded.

In order to determine if any sensitivity might occur, we recommend that you apply a small amount of the Ply-O-Life to the subject’s wrist, sometime prior to making your mold. While we have made every effort to ensure that Ply-O-Life is non-toxic and safe to use, there will be individuals who are sensitive to almost any material, organic or inorganic. When doing even a test, remember that Ply-O-Life will stick to any hairs on the wrist or arm. If the model’s hair in the test area cannot be made to lie completely flat without lifting-up, the hair should be shaved off before the test is made. Men’s coarse hair on the back of hands, chest, back etc. usually cannot be successfully made to lie flat. It is therefore absolutely necessary that men shave all coarsely hirsute skin areas that are to be molded with Ply-O-Life.

MAKING PLY-O-LIFE MOLDS OVER CLOTHING:

Ply-O-Life can also be used as a molding material over clothing; but the clothing should be generously coated with petroleum jelly. The petroleum jelly will soak into the clothing; then, even though the cloth is well-soaked with this “release agent” and retains a little on the surface, your Ply-O-Life mold will pick-up the texture of the fabric and clothing contruction details. If your mold seems to really “stick” in the process of trying to remove it from the dressed model, it may be necessary to cut the clothing away from the model, still attatched to the mold; then the clothing may be “peeled” or pulled out of the mold. This is more likely to occur with clothing or fabric having a more open-weave. Jeans, for instance, don’t create that big a problem in removal, so long as they are well-coated with petroleum jelly to begin with. Leather also may be very successfully molded, as long as there is some petroleum jelly on the surface (even if it soaks-in.) Obviously, there will always be some affect on the original clothing that is molded, even if it is only that it becomes saturated in petroleum jelly; so you must be prepared for this sort of damage.

 

4-lb. kit (2-lbs. base and 2-lbs. catalyst) $165.00

(Molding one full head of average size requires approximately four-and-one-half-lbs. of Ply-O-Life.)


Add between 25% and 30% of Silicone Fluid to your Ply-O-Life to increase it’s “flow (lower the viscosity). This will also give a little more working time and extend your more expensive Ply-O-Life.

  • Silicone Fluid (one pound) $19.

  • Large Reusable Plastic Syringes

Fill separate syringes with equal amounts of Ply-O-Life base and catyalyst, then dispense and mix as needed; no waste and no mess. Each syringes can hold 70 cc. or 2 1/4-oz. of base or catlayst – an ideal amount for controllable mixing. Any base or catalyst remaining in the syringe tips after dispensing may be saved for later use.

$6.50 per pair (one for catalyst and one for base)


  • Nylon Screening

Great for reinforcingPly-O-Life molds! (seeBetter One Piece Head Molds from Life”
and “Success With Full Body Molds and FORTON Castings.” )

12-inches X 36-inches for $1.50

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  • Cholesterol Hair Conditioner (15-oz. jar)…………………………………………….$7.00