Thread: Conduit

No.
David

I'm not sure about international shipping (but you can ask) but I've been getting
mica powders from coastalscents.com and they look great. They're very fine, mix in
with resin easily and there's tons of colors.

As for mixing colors, I do a couple of things that help me. After mixing the resins I put
the main color into a cheap plastic pitcher (2 for $1) and then take my second color
and drizzle it over the main color. Then I pour. This pulls out both colors at once, and
the motion of the pour tends to swirl the colors. If I use three colors, I'll drizzle one and
then stir gently with a stick before drizzling the third color on top. Then pour.
You can also try rotating the pitcher as you pour .. that makes the resin spread out
in different directions.

I've also been able to make 'split color' blanks using three containers. I pick up the
'take-out' containers from the grocery store.. the ones they might sell potato salad in.
I get a sleeve of containers for about $.05 ea. Use once, then throw them away unless
you're making the same colors again.

I find that if I make two colors, each in separate containers, and then pour both of them
into the third container at equal speed, I will get a clean division in the container . .one
color on each side and they don't mix. I can then pour this into the mold, and if you do
it carefully it will stay divided in the mold. Then you can use a popsicle stick to move
the resin around and mix the colors.

If I'm pouring into a single blank mold, the stick is almost as wide as the mold cavity.
So I stand the stick up in the resin and turn 180 degrees to put a 'twist' in the resin.
Looks kinda cool! That's good for making something like a 'Molten Metal' blank where
each side is one color but you want a little bit of mix in the middle.

Damm you NL88 now I will have to try your way Thursady
David

thanks NL88

i have been baned from the shed at the minute by the doc, eyes are playing up and i am not allowed to play with glue

nothing was said about resin and all the bits have just arrived so technically i wouldn't have to go in the shed, but SWMBO has put her foot down, i knew i shouldn't have told her what the doc said

it gives me more time for research into different things

thanks again for all the ideas

MIK

Originally Posted by MBUMIK

thanks NL88

i have been baned from the shed at the minute by the doc, eyes are playing up and i am not allowed to play with glue

ouch! . .then I wouldn't mess with the resin for a while. Eyes are nothing to mess with.

Keep in mind, these are only things I've tried .. someone else may come in and say
"Hey dummy, that's the hard way! Here's how you REALLY do it" .. and then I'll
try that, too.

I've also tried making a second color and injecting that into the poured resin with a
small plunger (glue injector, turkey injector, baby cough medicine dispenser etc) but
those tend to cost more money than the resin. But it's fun..

mate i get called dummy all the time, married, says it all

just had an idea, probably get called dummy but still

i know air in the mould is the enemy but has anyone - yes someone would have - tried putting one color in the mould then another on top. place a straw into the mould and blow some bubles GENTLY, could give a strange mix, need a vacuum after though i would guess to get rid of any small bubbles created.

OK there it is go on hit me with it someone will

MIK

hmm... it's an interesting idea.

If the resin is warm, it's thin enough for the air bubbles to clear, so that shouldn't
be a problem .. and if you get the air down to the bottom, the rising bubbles should push
the bottom color up toward the top as the bubbles rise..

.. could be a nice effect!

back to being a kid drinking a milkshake

but that was the effect i was thinking of

even pouring on multiple layers should bring the lower colrs up into the upper colors

1 week until i am allowed to give it a burl and probably an extra week before i get the basics down pat to even try something like this

don't you hate that

well its nice outside, slight breeze, dam i just had to get it a go

they are sitting in the sun curing at the moment

had a bit of a prob woking out the MEKP but i think i got it right, 125mils of resin - 2.5mils MEKP

i guess i will find out soon enough

how long should it take to cure??

MIK

Originally Posted by MBUMIK

well its nice outside, slight breeze, dam i just had to get it a go

they are sitting in the sun curing at the moment

had a bit of a prob woking out the MEKP but i think i got it right, 125mils of resin - 2.5mils MEKP

i guess i will find out soon enough

how long should it take to cure??

MIK

That's a 2% vol/vol catalyst addition, which is twice as much as I normally use, so should be quite quick. A few hours at most and they could come out of the mould.

I do all my measuring by weight, cheap set of digital scales, except for the MEKP. For that I use the little 3ml plastic pipettes, 200 gr resin, 2ml MEKP.

11.00am start time
2.30pm still a bit tacky on the top
3.25pm got the first out of the mould - still a bit on the tacky side
6.00pm got the rest out of the mould - just a bit sticky, picks up the dust of the bench, best to leave over night i am guessing

be in teresting to see if the extra MEKP makes them more brittle than yours Big Shed

did pink/purple combination

one of the moulds was leaking at the bottom so i poured it into another tube which mixed the colors, well thats what it looks like from the outside, might keep that one to break up into a number of pieces

all in all it was rather good except for the waiting part

just thought i would give you all a run down on how it went,if i can steel the daughters camera after i will post a pickie of the results

MIK

here they are, all the females in my house like pink and purple, and the males are out voted by miles, so to keep them happy pink/purple was the answer

Aaaahh.. looks good!

Tacky is normal, and it helps another layer bond to the previous one if you need to do
that. If you want to get rid of the tacky, you can pop them in a toaster oven on warm
for an hour or so. That will get rid of the tacky surface.

Don't let that voting thing get out of hand.. Nice job

thanks, off to the opp shop tomorrow to find a second hand toaster oven

i am not worried about the tacky though as it would be very rare that i would turn it the same day that i made it, i am sure it will loose the tackyness with time

mate there are 3 females and 2 males in my house so the son and i are way way way out voted, BUT THE SHED IS MINE