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.

Very easy to use alginate! Included a reference chart for how much to use for each part of the body which was extremely helpful for beginners. Cure time is fast, but I slowed mine down by using slightly cold, filtered water. Picks up every tiny detail perfectly. Bought a few boxes to take multiple castings of a pregnant belly and they turned out great! As mentioned before, the chart is extremely helpful, but it doesn’t include any references for pregnant bellies, but stated a full torso would only take 1.5lbs. Since I bought extra, I decided to try 3lbs just to be safe since I was dealing with a larger belly. What a waste! Not only was it waaayyyy too much, it was too heavy & the mold didn’t turn out right due to the excess weight. Tried again only using 1.5lbs and was a perfect amount for doing a cast with both parents hands on the belly. The mother wasn’t too big compared to most pregnant women so when it came time to just do just the belly I only used a pound which was plenty. I’m very pleased with this product and will now be my go to product for future projects. Easy to use and clean up.

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. :)

I am extremely impressed with this product. It meticulously captures every detail, and within eight minutes, it is prepared for silicone application. My primary concern, however, is the pricing. It is quite expensive. For a product primarily intended for single-use applications, the cost seems disproportionately high. While it is possible to reuse it on the same day with careful removal of the silicone, significant shrinkage occurs unless refrigerated. I would readily purchase multiple units, but at $50 per box, this is not feasible.

You get a pretty large bag full of life, casting molding, which is awesome. It is a bit pricey, but a lot cheaper than 99% of other reseller out there definitely worth the price plus you get to create memories of your kids, little hands and feet.

If you have kids this makes for an interesting craft/gift idea for family. Just don't go willy nilly like I did and try a large project right off. Trying something smaller like a hand print or thumb (suggested in directions) will give you an idea of how much time goes by before the alja-safe starts to mold. My poor 3 year old daughter had to "try" and sit still for minutes because I was trying to make a candy bowl out of her cupped hands...cute idea but it didn't work out -- she wasn't keeping still and all we ended up was a mess and wasted mold. I later tried her entire hand up to her wrist -- still didn't quite work but then I did her hand print and smoothed out the back while the plaster of paris was still wet and will affix it to a board or something -- this shows her detailed hand and fingers in [still] motion while not requiring her to dip her whole arm in to the mixture. Other similar products cost anywhere from 15-25 dollars and will only provide enough for one time...you mess up the money is wasted - I'd rather get a plastic tray or dish from a craft store and have the extra mold to compensate for my mistakes :D Very happy with the product but because of my impatience I will have to order more to finish my project ideas :D

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.

Easy to use with every clear directions. Makes extremely clear molds for creating a multitude of casts. Great value!

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 !