Thread: Resin Coloring

Ian with resin it takes so long to set the colours mix to much I have been told that alumilite can set in about 90 sec's which would give you the nice mix between colours. But the down fall is that it is about twice the price. Best of luck.
David

Thanks Russell for your reply to my problems. I am using a self made silicone mould which I am having no problems with. The problems begin when I am colouring my blank.Not meaning to bore you to tears but it may help if i list my process step by step.

1 I pour the resin into a cup to the required level

2 then add some liquid pigment that I have purchased from a fibreglass shop (no problems yet) single colours are fine

3 Here is where it goes astray I am not sure how to make swirls and the sorts stay in the blank without it blending into the prime colour and disapearing.

I do have some of the pearlex colours but up untill now i have then mixed then pearlex in resin to give me a liquid. Is this where i am going wrong should i leave it as a powder or as i stated in earlier threads should i use the barnes pigment (which i believe is a paste not a powder)
any help would be appreciated and I know practice makes perfect but i want to practice the right way

Cheers Ian

That's similar to what I do. Say for a two-colour swirl.

1. Mix colour #1 in one cup (80% of the total volume)
2. Mix colour #2 is another cup (20% of the total volume)
3. Put catalyst in cup #1 & cup #2
4. Here's the trick - wait until the resin almost gels. Get it wrong, too early, colours separate, get it wrong, too late. You end up with a set mess that you have to throw away. Window of opportunity to get it right, about 10 seconds.

I always go early since I don't want a lumpy mess.

4a. I pour a little from cup #1 in the bottom, then driblle some of cup #2 across the surface
4b. Pour more of cup #1 in, dribble more of cup #2
4c. Repeat 4b until cups empty and mould full

5 (optional) - use a toothpick/paddlepop stick or some other thin disposable item and GENTLY drag it through the filled mould once or twice.

6. Wait for it to set and hope that colour #2 hasn't all sunk to the bottom of the mould in a single layer.

Also, search Youtube for Resin casting, I think there's some sample videos.

Hope this helps. Russell.

I like Russell's answer, but I'll add just a little bit to it.

You can usually tell before the resin is about to gel because it will start getting warm
and thicker. With Pearl-Ex, your two colors should 'go off' at about the same time.
With pigments or dyes .. that may not happen. Makes it a bit more difficult. Some colors
make the resin gel faster, and some slow down the reaction.

If you're mixing your colors in small cups, you can feel the warmth through the cup and
you'll start to notice it thickening a little bit. That means it's getting ready to gel.

When the resins get thicker, they're less likely to separate or sink.. and more likely
to hold any pattern you move them into. I glued a bunch of toothpicks to a stick to make
a comb. I can drag that through the resin to twist, swirl, pick, poke etc.. to get texture.

If you mix the Pearl-Ex with the resin first (even before the catalyst) you can make
sure that it mixes well so you don't get any hidden clumps. That's harder to see once
you've put in any dyes. That gives you time to mix it in without 'watching the clock'.

Clear as mud?

Thanks to you both .You have no idea how much you have helped me.

Cheers Ian

I make resins and colours for all types of resins.....

including PSTF
polyester colours
Epoxy colours
Rubber colours
Ureathane colours
Silicone colours
etc.

Much cheaper and higher quality then anything else on the market.


Regards,

Luke.

I am by no means an expert in this field or any pen field come to think of it but When I started attempting to do resins I bought some resin tint from a local fibreglass shop at about 8 bucks for a small jar. So i purchased about 5 primary colours and then purchased a pearlex starter kit and have just got bits an pieces from there and it all seems to be working fine although I am still looking for something to do the main solid colours that works best with the perlex.

Cheers Ian