Making ice

[Sarathescenic]

Does anyone have any experience making a faux hunk of ice? I’ve made icicles out of packaging tape and that worked well, but that technique is too small for this project. I’m looking to make a chunk of ice that’s about 4′ long, 2′-3′ wide and 4′ high, that has a weapon’s handle sticking out of it. I’ve many ideas spinning around in my head from carving white foam for a base and covering it with crystal gel to crumpled acetate to a wooden structure covered in layers of packaging cling wrap. It is not stood on, so I don’t have to worry about that. But it does want that semi-translucent, glowing quality to it. The audience is 30′ away. Any tricks?

[Anonymous]

Hey,

I’m not sure of your budget but there are a few ways. My shop did an ice project a year back and we took a hunk of plexy and sanded it to the melted shape we were aiming for and then polished it, polished it, and polished it again until it was clear. We left a few spots unpolished so it gave that white icy freshly chipped look. Took a lot of time but looked great in the end.

Another option is creating a mold. <a href="https://www.smooth-on.com/tutorials/realistic-ice-display-encapso/&#8221; class=”bbcode_url”>https://www.smooth-on.com/tutorials/realistic-ice-display-encapso/

But this will also take a lot of work and research as well if you are unfamiliar with molds and smooth on products. Plus I’m not entirely sure how this will work the 4′ surface you need. Their customer service is pretty great though if you explain the project.

[Angelique Powers]

I have covered clear plexi with a pass of Super 77 and Saran Wrap. This gave me that “carved ice” effect. I lightly tinted some clear crytal gel to get some shades of blue and purple so it would look better under lights, and then gave it a coat of a harder gloss sealer at the end.

Not sure if the saran wrap would hold up enough to “fighting” but it was faster and safer in terms of fumes for trying to cut and carve a plexi.

[Rachael Claxton]

Ooo! Ooo! I just did this! It was totally an accident, but I just did this haha! I was trying to make removable puddles for a grass floor and I ended up making ice instead. I took a chunk of foam and very roughly carved out sections and covered the whole thing in plastic wrap. I took some clear pourable epoxy (usually used in silk flower décor as faux water for the inside of a vase or as a self-leveling clearcoat on wood butcherblocks/tables/etc), and poured it into the foam mold and let it cure for a couple of days. Once it was all dry I peeled off the plastic wrap and had ice! Because it was just epoxy it was very light and flexible, and could still have holes poked/string pushed through it depending on how it wanted to get attached. The more detailed the initial mold carving is, the more facets the epoxy ice will have once it’s done, making it look more realistic. You’d be able to set the wooden handle in while the epoxy was still wet as well and it’d be pretty securely set in there.

It was all totally accidental but it’s definitely how I’ll be making ice from now on.

[Author]

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