Plasticine and Fingerprints

This is a quick technical note for people working with small plasticine models and having trouble removing fingerprints and other surface defects. I found that flame polishing works very well especially before making plaster molds. Brush a flame gently, back and forth over the target area and the plasticine will melt, removing the prints. Be careful as you can also deform your target if you heat for too long. You can also do a bit of flame molding too. If you make a mistake the plasticine is still workable - so don’t worry.

If you are doing stop motion animation you might not want to do this as the model surface becomes fairly reflective and will affect your camera lighting balance. However, it seems like it would still be good for metallic or shiny objects.

- Just a peasant