Couples Hand Casting Kit

The casting process typically takes only a few minutes. You'll need to hold hands without moving until the casting material sets to ensure a clear, detailed mold. Full setting times vary, but expect to remain still for about 3-5 minutes.

Alginate sets more quickly when the water or room temperature is warmer, so use cold water from the tap to give yourself as much time as possible to get it mixed. Using cold water will mean you need to keep still for longer. You should always use an electric mixer as getting our casting mixture mixed with a hand whisk or a wooden spoon is going to be incredibly difficult before it starts to set. Get a friend or family member to pour in the bags of alginate while you mix, this will mean you can just keep mixing and will save you time.

Hand position is very important! Make sure that fingertips of both hands are in contact with each other when you form the shape you’re going to dunk into the bucket. Fingertips that are ‘floating” are hard to fill with the stone. So, ensure it’s a nice loving hand grip. When pouring the plaster hold the mould at an angle. This way the fingertips of the cast are filled first. In case you do still lose some fingertips, we recommend holding back a bit of the casting powder (just a couple of spoonfuls) before mixing it up so you can make repairs. Mix equal parts of stone powder to water.

Make sure that the alginate is mixed as thoroughly and smoothly as possible. Another tip to avoid bubbles is to keep tapping the bucket during the stone pour. This releases air from the liquid stone. Keep tapping at every stage of the pour and after you’ve filled the mould up to the top of the wrists. Keep tapping both sides of the bucket until the liquid stone starts to thicken and then stop. This will bring all the bubbles to the surface and prevent the liquid stone from separating and forming channels or bubbles. But if you still encounter the above problem here’s how to fix it! You can carefully scrape away tiny bubbles using a suitable tool. Don’t try and flick them off as this will result in little craters on the skin surface. Our kits include a detailing tool that can be used for small bubbles or you can use a craft knife or scalpel. You should remove larger bubbles by gradually scraping them off. Do this carefully layer by layer until you reach the level of the skin surface. A craft knife or scalpel is best for this.