Using Magic Sculpt to Harden Almost Anything

If you don't have access to a 3d printer or may want to harden fabric, thin cardboard, duct tape, armature wire or supports or other similar material, a product called Magic Sculpt may help. It is a two-part epoxy-like material that needs equal parts of resin and hardener to cure. It is hand workable, but silicone tipped tools called "clay tools" are useful to smooth and work it. The material can be sanded after it cures for a few hours. This material cures far more hard and rigid than any polymer clay I've tried and doesn't need to be baked. It is also far harder than ABS or PLA plastic from 3d printers.

For this demonstration, I saved a cracker box, and I have a 3 panel solar charger that needs a holder so it can be slightly angled in the sun for better exposure. I cut the box apart, and sketched a possible leg, and intentionally went over a fold to show how that won't matter when it's covered. I cut out the sketch with scissors, and mixed the resin and hardener for a few minutes until the color was uniform. I then smeared it over the cardboard piece. I roughly did it because it doesn't need to be perfect for this use.

After several hours, the Magic Sculpt has cured, and the piece is very rigid.

Magic Smooth is a similar, more liquid product that is normally used to add a hard coat for foam projects. I've found Magic Sculpt on Amazon, but the Compleat Sculptor site has different colors, and the Magic Smooth, along with many other sculptural tools and products. For added strength for some applications, fiberglass or carbon fibers could be added similarly to their use in ceramic clay. I happened to check the Compleat Sculptor site, and there is a new type called Magic Sculpt - Fast. This mentioned it has a working time of 6-10 minutes, and cure time of 30-45 minutes. It mentioned it cures faster in warmer temperatures. Regular Magic Sculpt has a working time of about 45 minutes to 1 hour, and takes a few hours to completely cure. I used the longer curing type for my project.

For most of the text, Magic Sculpt will be referred to as MS.

Magic Sculpt resin and hardener - some possible sources are Amazon and Compleat Sculptor.

silicone tipped "Clay Tools" or other clay tools (optional) for forming the medium before it is cured, dental tools, regular tools for ceramic clays can be used as well

Sandpaper (optional) for sanding the cured material or rasps, a dremel tool could be used for drilling holes or cutting.

Cardboard, fabric, yarn, jute or similar material to harden

Before mixing the resin and hardener, sketch out on the cardboard the first piece you may want make and cut it out.

Mix the resin and hardener. I normally hand roll them together, fold over, roll again and repeat that several times. The color should be uniform.

Cover the cardboard or other material with the mixed MS. This should stay workable for at least 30 minutes or so. Set aside and let harden for several hours or overnight

I made the next leg out of extra aluminum foil and just made approximate size of the other piece. It is thicker, but I think I will try to sand the pieces to make them more uniform. Note: If you need more of the MS, just mix a bit more, and add it where ever you may need it. It should stick on well.

I thought it might be easier to just use some bamboo pieces across the back, so I made ends to attach them to the legs. At first, I made a loop just from the MS, but then I thought it might be more flexible from some extra paracord pieces and that seemed to work well. You can see I did try to sand the cured MS, and it did seem to sand well, but for this, it just needs to be functional, and I should be able to fold it for storage. I need to modify the legs because they slid out of the paracord ties

After tying the paracord on my main project, I knew I needed to modify the main supports.

I untied them, and added some additional MS. made the backs a few inches taller, added a back piece, and less of a lip. This really has been a fun learning experience and I should have initially tried some cardboard pieces to begin just to test what may have worked.

After adding the new changes, allowed the additional area to cure, and tied them again. It works, but I'm adding footers to the pieces to make them more stable when the charger isn't present. They tend to flop over too much, and small footer pieces should help with that.

Added more MS to the back area of the legs. I tested a few of the thin pieces with acute angles, and for some cured MS that was maybe about 1/4 inch thick, I was able to pretty easily snap and break it at the bend with just my hands. I keep even the small pieces like this to use in other items.

I have some pool noodle like foam that I save from getting bottles of oil from Amazon, and I thought about using some of that around the main area to maybe make the paracord a bit more secure when I'd tie it. (If anyone is interested, these small foam tubes come on bottles of Aromatika brand Sea Buckthorn seed oil.) The tubes are about 1.5 inches in diameter and about 4 inches tall, and the foam is about 1/4 inch thick.) That did help to keep the paracord much more secure, too. The two legs can now stand on their own so that did seem to help the overall stability when I retied the back support pieces.

For my photos, the south wind was gusting pretty strongly and didn't knock this over, but it did move the back piece. The wind was strong enough, if this piece would have been facing the south, it may have been knocked over, but it is pretty much due west towards the lower sun.

If I try to make another version of this, I will add more of an angle so that the face of the solar charger will be about a 45 degree angle to the ground. This charger came with 4 metal hooks so it could be secured to a flat wall or secured to a back pack while hiking, but there isn't really any way to give it an angle for optimal sun exposure on its own, and I didn't see any supports for this similar ipad holders that appeared large enough.

I'd probably try to roll out the pieces and maybe make them a bit thicker than about 1/4 inch, make a template from cardboard and just cut out the pieces based on that shape. Maybe make notches where the brace attachments would go.

Here's just a little tube form knitted from Lion's Brand Jean yarn. I did a knit 1 purl 1 tube and will try to add some MS to part of the interior. You should be able to see from the photo how stretchy this particular knit is. I'd guess it can flex to be twice as wide when stretched as it is when resting.

For the purposes for this, I didn't really finish the knitting other than just casting off.

I mixed the MS, and made a small slab and put it around the small spray bottle and pressed the knitting into it. I left it on the bottle to cure.

The knit is well attached to the MS, but the MS doesn't really show too much from the fabric side. I think if I try to pull it away, it would probably rip the knitting. I will have to investigate this for pvc joints, and folding the knit over really looks fun.

The second to the last photo shows how the tube appears after the MS cured for several hours. The MS is very thin, but more could be added easily if needed. Since this was just a theory and a test, I am now thinking of several applications for this method.

For anyone interested in the knitting needles, these are from Knitpicks Caspian Wood needle sets.

I thought I might show a few of the little hooks made the leftover amounts. The larger hook appears to be easily able to support the 5 16 ounce bottles just to demonstrate how sturdy and durable MS is. I should try to do a more comprehensive weight test. I have yet to see any of these hooks break.

At least this might be a good introduction into how you can use Magic Sculpt for some projects. I thought about hardening knitted items to connect pvc tubes or bamboo pieces and thought I could make them look like socks and mittens and how cute and fun those might be for furniture making. Denim material would look great like that especially maybe old pieces of jeans like pockets or belt loops. For fabrics, you could probably roll out an amount of the MS to a uniform thickness, and then probably use that to press into one side of the fabric. Magic Smooth could probably be painted on one side as well.

MS could probably be rolled like pie dough between two silicone sheets or possibly wax paper. Probably about 1/4 inch thickness would be a good starting amount, and MS seems very strong and durable when cured. It also sticks to most other materials easily. Just as an example, I saw a footstool on the curb with one broken leg. I salvaged it, and created a fix using MS. It also accepts most paint easily.

Another use of MS is when you're making silicone molds and it can be used as a "mother" to be a hard support on the exterior.

Hope this may help and gives you incredible ideas for your own projects with these amazing materials. We are all awesome! Follow your dreams and reach for the stars! Nothing is impossible!