I've been working with Magic Sculpt for a few years now, it is wonderful stuff. Here's a few tips to make your experience with it more rewarding.
0. Wet your finger in water to smoothe it, you don't need to use alchohol. If you use wax carving tools, wet the tip first so the epoxy doesn't stick to it. (I hope this stuff really is non-toxic, as I lick my tools and smooth my work with a finger I've licked.) I also sometimes smooth small areas with a wetted tool.
1. Use waxed paper to sculpt on, it will not stick to it. If the wax paper moves around too much, tape it to the table.
2. If you get interrupted and don't have time to finish your work before the epoxy is going to set up, throw it in the freezer. It will last about a day in there, and you'll be able to pull it out, warm it up a bit, and continue working. Two days is too long.
3. Right after you mix it, it may be very warm and too soft to sculpt easily. Pop it in the fridge for 5 or 10 minutes to cool it off, it will firm up nicely. Any time it gets too warm & soft in the first hour, chill it again. This has the added bonus of extending your working time a bit.
4. You can add very tiny and thin pieces to your work, but if you're applying to an already cured piece, scratch the surface in a cross-hatch pattern where you're going to add fresh epoxy, this will greatly improve the strength of the bond.
5. If you're sculpting miniatures, go slow. Do one detail at a time and let it cure. If you get too ambitious, you'll mangle the area you just worked on while you're focusing on another area. Work on several pieces at a time, add one or two details to each, then let them cure.
6. The hardener starts getting a yellow, kinda crusty coat to it after a few months in the container. Don't fret, just remove it from the container and knead it liberally like bread dough. Keep kneading it until the yellow has blended back into the mass and it is once again a uniform grey. Then put it back in the container.
7. Print these tips out and leave 'em with your Magic Sculpt.
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