BoomerangInfo
20th October 2008, 12:59 PM
Alrighty, here's my first efforts in Label Casting.
Note no actual "label" was used, it was Photo Gloss inkjet paper + various glues. Pictures are an Aussie flag warped & backgrounded in Photoshop, and a Hubble image, which I will definitely be doing more of. I wrecked all my Saturn images before I got something to stick, hence the couple of galaxies I ended up with.
First the Lessons learned:-
1. Spray adhesive doesn't work, it separates from the paper after casting
2. Trying to turn an 8mm dowel into a 6.5mm plug on a sander doesn't work. End result - a tube full of resin.
3. If the chances are you WILL end up with a tube full of resin - DON'T fill the tube with nails - makes it hard to drill out afterwards
4. Drilling out anything clogging up the tube is likely to wreck your tube to one degree or other.
5. Re-gluing the tube after it comes out is a PITA, as the residue on the back of the label makes it hard to get the tube in again
6. Colouring in the seam with a sharpie is worse than leaving the seam as it is
7. The clip ALMOST hides the seam...
8. Everything has to be perfect, any flaws are magnified by the clear resin
9. Make sure your mould is clean before pouring the resin in - you don't want any floaties.
10. Discovering a leak in your home-made mould after you've poured the resin in is not a good thing.
11. Despite any imperfections, to the non-discerning eye, the impact of label cast pens is quite dramatic.
And just a few other notes.
I realised at the outset that starting with a 7mm tube was making it tough for myself, but my kit supplies are limited at the moment, so I worked with what I have. I'm surprised I actually got an OK result out of it when all was said and done, given the number of attempts I had to glue the pictures on in the first place.
I ended up with a couple of small fractures in the resin. I'm not sure if this occured during the cast, while I was drilling the garbage out of the tube, or during turning. As you can only see it once you've got a final polished surface, there's not much you can do about it.
The seam - the darn seam, how to make it invisible?? No idea yet. The black turned out fairly well, the green is a mess. White would be the best choice to start with, as you don;t have random bits of paper showing through a colour in thatc ase, but I like a challenge :)
I think I just about got my best finish yet on this pen, for fit to the kit, and smoothness. I found a small buffing wheel and buffing paste in my dremel kit, which I used after the final MM, and it seems to have come out pretty blemish free and clear, although I need to do some work around the ends of the turning it seems.
Finally, there seems to be a flaw on the middle edge of the flag label. It's at the tube interface, so I'm not sure whether something got in, something sepearated, or just a mess from my re-gluing the tube attempt.
Oh, and I got a sample kit of labels from a local company in the mail today. Pretty slick considering I only talked to them on Friday. Just a simgle sheet each of their different label types, but enough to try them out. Now if only I had sprae tubes & kits to try them out on...
Lots of work in this stuff, but lots of fun if the end result turns out well. I'll cerainly be trying more when I can.
Russell.
Note no actual "label" was used, it was Photo Gloss inkjet paper + various glues. Pictures are an Aussie flag warped & backgrounded in Photoshop, and a Hubble image, which I will definitely be doing more of. I wrecked all my Saturn images before I got something to stick, hence the couple of galaxies I ended up with.
First the Lessons learned:-
1. Spray adhesive doesn't work, it separates from the paper after casting
2. Trying to turn an 8mm dowel into a 6.5mm plug on a sander doesn't work. End result - a tube full of resin.
3. If the chances are you WILL end up with a tube full of resin - DON'T fill the tube with nails - makes it hard to drill out afterwards
4. Drilling out anything clogging up the tube is likely to wreck your tube to one degree or other.
5. Re-gluing the tube after it comes out is a PITA, as the residue on the back of the label makes it hard to get the tube in again
6. Colouring in the seam with a sharpie is worse than leaving the seam as it is
7. The clip ALMOST hides the seam...
8. Everything has to be perfect, any flaws are magnified by the clear resin
9. Make sure your mould is clean before pouring the resin in - you don't want any floaties.
10. Discovering a leak in your home-made mould after you've poured the resin in is not a good thing.
11. Despite any imperfections, to the non-discerning eye, the impact of label cast pens is quite dramatic.
And just a few other notes.
I realised at the outset that starting with a 7mm tube was making it tough for myself, but my kit supplies are limited at the moment, so I worked with what I have. I'm surprised I actually got an OK result out of it when all was said and done, given the number of attempts I had to glue the pictures on in the first place.
I ended up with a couple of small fractures in the resin. I'm not sure if this occured during the cast, while I was drilling the garbage out of the tube, or during turning. As you can only see it once you've got a final polished surface, there's not much you can do about it.
The seam - the darn seam, how to make it invisible?? No idea yet. The black turned out fairly well, the green is a mess. White would be the best choice to start with, as you don;t have random bits of paper showing through a colour in thatc ase, but I like a challenge :)
I think I just about got my best finish yet on this pen, for fit to the kit, and smoothness. I found a small buffing wheel and buffing paste in my dremel kit, which I used after the final MM, and it seems to have come out pretty blemish free and clear, although I need to do some work around the ends of the turning it seems.
Finally, there seems to be a flaw on the middle edge of the flag label. It's at the tube interface, so I'm not sure whether something got in, something sepearated, or just a mess from my re-gluing the tube attempt.
Oh, and I got a sample kit of labels from a local company in the mail today. Pretty slick considering I only talked to them on Friday. Just a simgle sheet each of their different label types, but enough to try them out. Now if only I had sprae tubes & kits to try them out on...
Lots of work in this stuff, but lots of fun if the end result turns out well. I'll cerainly be trying more when I can.
Russell.