[Farquarl]

There is your answer

 

[jameswalker]

Good evening,

I just made my first shells and this is how they came out. They are between 1.2mm and 1.8mm. I am pleased with the results! I think? I will elaborate.

I tried a pair to see how they fit. Very good; at first. Total seal. Amazed that the process worked. But if I move my mouth a bit or look around etc, they loosen ever so slightly. Not enough to break the seal; far from, but enough that I can tell that the seal is not as good as first insertion. Quickly corrected by a gentle press on the shell. Its still sealed after I move my jaw or whatever, just not 100% perfect. Perhaps only 80%.

Is this normal? If so, fine. If not, should I start again?

I had the impressions done professionally, with a somewhat closed jaw. Just biting my tongue gently. My use case is at a PC so my jaw is basically always closed like that so I wanted maximum comfort and not an open mouth impression.

Should I look to getting a partially open jaw impression done instead? Will this offer worse comfort while my jaw is closed?

Should the final lacquer coats be sufficient to offer a slightly improved seal if I move? How much thickness does 1 coat add? Does anyone ever do multiple?

I dipped my impressions wax just 1 time before the casting process.

Any guidance appreciated. Here are some pictures of tonight's progress. Straight out of the UV lamp then cleaned, nothing else done:

 

[HenacanPodwell]

Good evening,

I just made my first shells and this is how they came out. They are between 1.2mm and 1.8mm. I am pleased with the results! I think? I will elaborate.

I tried a pair to see how they fit. Very good; at first. Total seal. Amazed that the process worked. But if I move my mouth a bit or look around etc, they loosen ever so slightly. Not enough to break the seal; far from, but enough that I can tell that the seal is not as good as first insertion. Quickly corrected by a gentle press on the shell. Its still sealed after I move my jaw or whatever, just not 100% perfect. Perhaps only 80%.

Is this normal? If so, fine. If not, should I start again?

I had the impressions done professionally, with a somewhat closed jaw. Just biting my tongue gently. My use case is at a PC so my jaw is basically always closed like that so I wanted maximum comfort and not an open mouth impression.

Should I look to getting a partially open jaw impression done instead? Will this offer worse comfort while my jaw is closed?

Should the final lacquer coats be sufficient to offer a slightly improved seal if I move? How much thickness does 1 coat add? Does anyone ever do multiple?

I dipped my impressions wax just 1 time before the casting process.

Any guidance appreciated. Here are some pictures of tonight's progress. Straight out of the UV lamp then cleaned, nothing else done:

I believe that is normal, it depends when and what you are doing when you are listening to the pairs when picking between closed jaw / open jaw. I believe people like musician usually take open jaw impression.

 

[HenacanPodwell]

Thats a question no on can answer since tastes are very different. My guess would be a RAB/RAF or ED, dynamic driver combination.

Thank you! I will do some trials and errors until I get them right!

 

[jameswalker]

OK so you suggest I continue as I am, rather than get an open jaw which may be more forgiving for movements? I certainly don't want to compromise comfort while just sat (jaw closed) all day in front of the PC. They are in for hours at a time.

 

[Farquarl]

OK so you suggest I continue as I am, rather than get an open jaw which may be more forgiving for movements? I certainly don't want to compromise comfort while just sat (jaw closed) all day in front of the PC. They are in for hours at a time.

What you can do is to add some material (wax) where the tragus is. This will apply a little pressure into your canal. The tissue at the tragus is soft and you will not notice a bit more material there.

 

[jameswalker]

Could I apply lacquer and cure it that way, thereby using the shells I already have? Its a good idea, keeps it a little better held into the canal.

 

[Farquarl]

Could I apply lacquer and cure it that way, thereby using the shells I already have? Its a good idea, keeps it a little better held into the canal.

I don't see a reason why not.

 

[jameswalker]

I will do it and see how it turns out! Thanks

Edit: How much thinner is a lacquer layer compared with a wax layer when say dipping in paraffin?

 

[Farquarl]

Hmm my guess is that the wax is around 3 times as thick. So the lacquer will be 0,1mm and the wax 0,3mm

 

[musmecca]

I try to do as much with the waxing of the impressions as I can, as any fit or finish issues will have to be addressed later by either buffing, sanding, or dipping as you and Farquari suggest and it tends to be more time consuming. Jameswalker, what wax did you use? I use the dent-rite red wax as suggested elsewhere in this thread as it has a very controlled melt point (190 F) and a very controlled cool down. The target is (120 F), but I found that I could achieve a thinner layer at 128F, or thicker by two coats. You have to be carefull as two coats can make a HUGE oversize in your iem. I have completely dipped my IEM's into a shotglass filled with Lac3....it did give a very slight additional fit, but I did it primarily for the finish which is much better than brushing. My first thought is that lac 3 can de-laminate, so if I was going to build up I would use my normal dreve photoplast and not the lac.

 

[jameswalker]

I dipped in paraffin and used fotoplast to form the shell, will be using the fotoplast lacquer too.

Had I known I would have had to adjust the shell at the tragus, I would have done it with paraffin just as I did to touch up tiny imperfections in the original silicone.

 

[musmecca]

The biggest difference between paraffin and the dent-rite...the dent rite is almost like a vinyl layer...it is very cohesive, while paraffin is very soft and can smear and crumble. I actually take the waxed impression and carefully put it in my ear to check the seal before I cast and it doesn't come off, smear, or de-laminate. Useless if doing an impression for someone else, but handy for me!

 

[topito]

Hi guys,

After building a CIEM last year and losing it while moving to another country, I wanted to try my luck on some GV-32830 's. I was wondering what dampers and cable length you lot recommend. The GV's featured in my build last year as well but with reds and greens, and I did not uncover the bass ports, something I intend to do now.

Also, if you have any tips on how to cut the tubes at the nozzle and how to finish the nozzle off so you can't see the tube outline, I would be extremely grateful. I remember this being a pain last year.

Finally, I was looking for input on how you make faceplate art. Do you use decals covered with fotoplast for the logos and graphics?

So far I have found this thread to be extremely useful, and wish to thank all contributors for sharing their knowledge.

 

[jameswalker]

Where are you sourcing dent-rite? And how do you apply? Use a hot air station with a metal implement?