Smooth-On Alja-Safe™ Lifecasting Alginate Molding Powder, 3-lb Box

Great product for making molds of any thing you want. Ive used it for making molds of different lure designs and they have all come out great. I see several reviews saying the product is crap and others saying do not buy it. All I can say is that your doing it WRONG! If you use warm water, you already screwed up. The water at 80 degrees actually feels slightly cold to the touch. The warmer the water, the faster it sets up. 50/50 mixing ratio is a bit off for my liking but that's my opinion. I like to add an extra ounce or so of water to thin it down a bit which produces excellent details and pouring ability. Ive done several molds from this package including hands, feet and a face and still have some left over to play with. The trick is to find a water proof container just slightly larger than what your casting so you use less product. I use old lures melted down in an old microwave for my lures. This product hold up very well. If you cast a larger piece, you will see steaming and bubbling of the melted lures but in the end, when its cool, you still get excellent results and very few bubbles. Please, do not be put off by the negative reviews. Not every one can read and comprehend the instructions. Some people do not even try something small to see how the product works before trying the actual project. Ive yet to screw up one single project.

Product was delivered on time and worked as promised. I used this along with plaster bandages (ACTIVA Rigid Wrap Plaster Cloth) to make a half cast of a models face. The half cast came out perfect. The detail it captures is amazing. As a professional special makeup effects artist, I am very pleased with this product. I've never been disappointed by any Smooth-on products. Note when using this product: -The warmer the water is the faster it will set up. I like to used cold water to give me more working time. -You need to work quickly, it goes from a creamy texture to a solid before you know it. -Cover the model's eyebrows (or any facial hair they want to keep) with vaseline. It will take your hair out. -If used on the head, cover the model's head with a bald cap (it will take your hair out) -After a few hours the alginate will start to shrink and dry out, so be ready to more whatever plaster or resin in the mold as soon as possible. -Shrinkage can be fun! I got the alginate off the plaster in one piece (yeah! that doesn't always happen) and saved it by placing some very wet paper towels in the alginate so it would shrink without cracking. I checked on it every day. After a few days the face impression was about the size of my hand and slightly warped. I poured plaster into the smaller head mold. The result is a plaster cast of a slightly "S" shaped, shrunken head. It's just a fun, weird conversation piece and it totally freaked my model out (so it was worth the time). If you have extra time and extra plaster.... and you like weird stuff. :)

Update: I have now used this product for over a year and it still works great. I'm on to cold number 2 and I have made over a dozen casting from the one bag. Again it will depend on how buig your projects are as mine are infant's feet and hands. I love it as much as when I first bought it. I wanted to make body castings of our newborn baby son's feet as he grows the first year and this has worked well! The one bit of advice I would recommend is making sure to dip the body part and pull it out and then put it back in to get rid of air bubbles. Also when filling with plaster pour slowly and rotate it around to fill all the little nooks and crannies before completely filling. The instructions were very informative and helpful in guiding me in obtaining good results. There is enough material to do several pours. I have done 3 babies feel and 1 set of clasped hands and one small test mix to test at the beginning using my thumb and still have enough for several more baby feet! I keep it twisted tied closed and in the box in a dry cool place and haven't had any issues over the past 12 months.

Great product and so easy to use. Shipping time was okay. I ordered it than saw it for half the price a week later from the same company. Grrrrr. It is an excellent product even for newbies complete with full instructions website links etc. I will use this brand exclusively in the future.

Worked great! Exactly what I was expecting.

i like it and for sure if i need again i will order from same place.

It works really well but you must work quickly! Small amounts are easier to work with than larger amounts so be prepared to practice before casting multiple hands.

Good product !