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matty18714
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2016 Posts |
 Posted - 17/04/2009 : 21:25:49
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This is my version of a guide that was posted a while ago on www.theroyalpython.com (by Anatess if I remember). It’s a guide for making a hide from Salt Dough.
You will need:
~ 2 cups of flour
~ 1 cup of salt
~ 1 cup of water
~ 1.5 tablespoons of olive/vegetable oil
~ Grease proof paper
~ Mixing bowl
~ Baking tray
~ Oven
~ Rolling pin
~ Sand paper
~ Something to use as a mould
~ Primer
~ Spray paint
~ Varnish
For my hide I used twice as much of everything.
1. Mix the flour and salt together in the bowl.
2. Add the water and oil, slowly mixing it until it holds together but isn’t sticky. It should look like this, minus the face:
That’s the dough sorted.
3. Cover the bowl with a verrrry thin layer of oil. Too much and the dough wont dry properly.
4. Roll the dough out until it’s about half an inch thick. Then place it onto the mould and trim it to the right size. Don’t forget to make the entrance.
I had this left over; I will show you what I did with it at the end.
5. Put the mould onto the baking tray lined with grease proof paper. Then put that in the oven at 100*C for the rest of time...it takes aaaaggggeeeessss. The longer you can lave it the better.
6. Check it every now and then to see if it is hard, it won’t be hot. Once it’s hard take it out of the oven and leave it to cool.
7. Take the hide off of the mould. You may need to use the sand paper to sand away any over lapping edges stopping it from moving. If the inside of the hide isn’t dry, put the hide in the oven upside down and leave it as long as possible again.
8. Once the whole thing is totally dry, sand down any rough edges. Make sure it’s clean and not dusty and give it 3 coats of primer.
This is the paint and primer I used:
3 coats of primer:
9. Then 3 coats of spray paint
10. Then 3 coats of clear varnish:
Job done 
That was the How to, this is the How not to. This is what I did with the dough left over. The instructions on the link posted on Theroyalpython said 250*C for 45 mins which seemed a bit much...
After about 8 mins...
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7384 Posts |
Posted - 28/04/2011 : 14:00:05
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Hi, this works really well.
I think I got my dough a little too wet - although solid and mouldable, when placed on the dish it sank down to the sides somewhat. I'll use a bit less water next time. However, I ended up with decent looking hides, rough-moulded and scrabbled over with fingers a bit to look like rocks - in fact the last one I just slapped the spare bits of dough over, and pressed them on roughly to give an uneven 'rustic' effect (well, I hope lol.)
I left the hides in the gas oven on the lowest setting for five hours, and could have done to leave them in longer - they came off the moulds with only a small bit of coaxing, but were damp inside; they're now back in the oven again, upside down as per instructions, drying out.
I plan to prime them with acrylic paint, simply because I've got a huge tube of it already, then mix some suitably sludgy woodland tones (again I've got acrylic and water colour paints by me already) and finish off with low-emission clear varnish.
I've made two medium/large hides and one large hide for two or three quid, excluding the cost of the gas, but that was heating the house as well as it was a trifle parky in sunny Wakefield last night.
Thanks, Matty. |
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Lotabob
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
5008 Posts |
Posted - 16/05/2011 : 23:23:43
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| HOW DID I MISS THIS POST!!! Brilliant idea and they look so well too. |
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7384 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2011 : 22:51:59
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And here is one I made earlier ... modelled by Saffy |
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Tawfik47
Fully Grown Royal
Czech Republic
1584 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2011 : 09:14:14
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| Wow, this hides looks GREAT !! |
1.0.0 Common Boa - Revo CB13
I had a royal python (Blitz) for two years for those who are wondering what I'm doing here with my boa :D |
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7384 Posts |
Posted - 10/07/2011 : 11:45:49
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Thanks, Tawfik, they really are easy to make. I don't know if they'll last as long as plastic, but with plenty of coats of varnish they should be reasonably waterproof. They're strong too - I accidentally dropped one on a hard floor and it was fine. And they're incredibly cheap - I now have a large collection - thanks again to Matty!
Off-topic, if the sight of the 'rustic' logs in the viv alarms anyone - long before I joined any forums I read in my corn snake book that handy branches and logs could be picked up in the countryside ...uh oh, I know ...Mercifully these got dried out next to a radiator for months before they went near a snake; I've now had them for nearly 2 years and reckon they should be free of any lurgies. |
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How to - Make a Hide
