Hints on casting resins?

[NewLondon88]

Hey kids..
I've picked up some casting resins and powders to try my hand at making some 'other-than-wood' blanks. I haven't gotten started yet, so I figured I'd check in here first because there's so many people who have tried so many things.. that someone could probably point out some good and bad things about casting.

I got a gallon of room temp casting resin from Douglas & Sturgess and another two quarts from a craft store . Both use an MEK peroxide catalyst. I got a pound of white pearl powder and some other white and black powders and some dyes.

I tried one pour just to try things out. I got a beautiful white pearl swirl so I tired adding a drop of red Mixol dye. I got a beautiful pink pearl swirk. I mixed another small batch of iron oxide black and swirled this into the pink.
Since it was just a small pour for testing, it wouldn't be thick enough to turn, but I was looking forward to making another one, since it looked so nice.

Once dry, I got a solid black top, solid white bottom and on the very bottom 1/64th of an inch you could see some red flecks if you looked
VERY closely. Everything seems to have settled out, much like a bowl of miso soup.

Does anyone know a good place to find hints/tips or recipies? Any preferences for making molds? Anyone know if there's a high or low limit for adding powders to the resin?

I have some alginate dental impression material (great for copying parts of broken frame edges to reproduce in plaster) but it dries very fast and would probably be good for only one casting before drying out and distorting (if not melting out of shape by the heat cure of the resin) Should I go for an RTV rubber for molds? Just use some old baking pans?

Hints, tips or links would be appreciated, but remember I'm not even a beginner yet..

I'm also imagining that I could learn to use the resin as a liquid inlay material, but I haven't gotten that far yet..

Happy Holidays everyone ..

[Woodturnerjosh]

While I haven't done a lot of resin casting, the ones I have done have worked out well. For starters i use the Environmental Technology Resin Molds (I can't figure out how to link but if you put that into a search engine that company should come up, they are an American group). To mix them up I:
1. Measure out enough resin for the whole pen, add MEKP and mix thoroughly.
2. Pour out about 1/3 into a separate container.
3. I add a solid colour powder pigment to the large quantity and mix in throughly, then pour this into the mold.
4. I then use the pearl luster pigment in the smaller quantity and mix in.
5. Pour the pearl in to the mold (with the other colour already in it) and mix around with something thin like a opened out paper clip.
6. I then keep returning to the mold every twenty minutes or so and stir with the paper clip until the resin starts to thicken. When it has started to thicken I leave it for a couple of days before removing.
Basically you need to experiment and find out what works for you. The pigments that I use I purchased from an art supplies store and are used by painters to mix up their own paints and were dreadfully expensive. The pearl luster powder i used cost about $50 (AUD) for about 50grams:o so you will be able to add more than me!
Cheers
Josh

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

I agree with Josh: if you want to persist in using the resin you've got, you 'll have to do some experimenting.

Try making two or three batches of different colours and leave them 'til they start to thicken up, but before they gel. Then do a pour into a fresh mould and lightly add swirls with a stick or whatever.

The timing is pretty critical... the resin would need to be thin enough to still be workable, while being thick enough to prevent settling of the oxides and yet not so thick that it's "lumping."

Good luck, hope you don't waste to much in getting it right.

[NewLondon88]

I

The timing is pretty critical... the resin would need to be thin enough to still be workable, while being thick enough to prevent settling of the oxides and yet not so thick that it's "lumping."

Good luck, hope you don't waste to much in getting it right.

Thanks Skew , Josh ..
I think you've pointed out the main flaw in my 'technique'
(I don't have one, but it sounds cool to say I have a 'technique' )

I wasn't waiting long enough before pouring , and I was afraid of stirring
too much, lest I lose that pearl/swirl effect. That gave the pigments time
to settle to the bottom before the resin started to 'set-up' I think..

I'll be trying this again, with the wait this time.

Has anyone tried other additives to the resin? My dad used to have a little business in the garage making trophy bases and other assorted things out of styrene poured into molds. He used to go through a lot of powdered marble, which made the synthetic marble look very realistic. But that was cured with MEK and cobalt. Don't know if anything like that would work here. (But I'll try, and post results anyway) Just wondered if anyone else
has tried.

Thanks again, folks. I'm glad this forum is here

[Pat]

Environmental Technology (http://www.eti-usa.com/)

[NewLondon88]

Environmental Technology (http://www.eti-usa.com/)

Hmm... granite powders ...:question: