The creation of the test foot continues. After the clay model was completed it was allowed to air dry for five days. You may ask yourself how it is that the model air dried for five days yet the blog documenting the second phase of the process is less than 24 hours after the first? You ever see on of those cooking shows? One second they're prepping their main course and sliding it in the oven and then the next minute they're pulling out that pot roast that takes two hours to cook. It's something like that.
After drying for five days there was a small but noticeable amount of contraction in the model. While it was expected and while it will have no impact on the eventual product I did feel a few photos of the shrinkage were in order.
(The amount of contraction is evident in the clean outline on the pan surrounding the foot.)In order to move on to the next step of the test foot creation the model needed some additional preparation. Specifically it needed to be sealed. For this purpose I turned to the good people at Krylon™.
(Don't believe the hype. Low odor just means it will take longer to stink up the house.) Because of the clay's natural tendency to absorb moisture and due to the fact that a wet latex will be used in the second step of this process the surface of the clay needed to be sealed. The sealant was applied to the model per the manufacturer's suggested method of application. Two coats were applied to the model.
(The sealed model.)
(The sealed model.) After sealing (and after airing out the house) a few additional documentation photos were taken.
