Tints, dyes, and powders...oh my....

[Rojo22]

Hey everyone. I have bought some polyester resin, and am ready to make a "first" poor (pun intended), and am really confused about the tints and stuff to make the resin look good. I have carefully read the "how to article" on pouring the resins, and where to go to get the tints. My question is when I go to Artstuf.com, there are many different types of stuff to buy. Should I get the polyester dyes, the Powdered Pigments, or the Mixol tints?

I realize nothing with water in it will work well, but I would like to make some polyester "not poor" pours....and getting the dyes and stuff right would help me out....Any and all advice is welcome. I realize it is a "learning" process, but hey I would at least like to use the right stuff first....

 

[Dario]

I feel your pain Robert and will be watching for the input as well. []

I also tried visiting ArtStuff and got trigger shy because I don't know which ones to buy. [B)]

 

[btboone]

I have a bunch of the liquid dyes and a few of the powder pigments including pearl white powder too. In my opinion the powder pigments seem to do a little better. I stopped my experiments a while back though. It all takes up a lot of time. I must say that I'm not a fan of polyester in general. Back in winter, I could never seem to get it to cure properly and consistantly. For me, the colors and richness don't compare to those of acrylic blanks. I've actually gotten better results with tinting CA for filling engraved areas in pens.

 

[bca1313]

Here here on this one. I wanted to venture into casitng some of my own, but there was a ton of stuff on the website.

 

[Draken]

I just purchased the master set of powdered pigments from artstuf.com. I must say I'm impressed with the range of colors, but there are some similar colors as well, such as two whites (one a bit offwhite) three blacks, etc. They are good for giving the PR color, but won't give it the shimmering swirls. For that you need Pearl EX powders, which you can find at Michaels or ACMoore. They can be added to the powdered pigments to jazz them up a bit, or can be used alone to add color and shimmer.

The PR needs heat to cure, and the catalyst provides that. You will need more in the cold of winter, and less in the heat of summer. Generally 3 drops in summer and 6 in fall/spring (per ounce) work well for me in Northern Virgina.

Hope this helps,
Draken

 

[Fangar]

Originally posted by btboone
<br />I have a bunch of the liquid dyes and a few of the powder pigments including pearl white powder too. In my opinion the powder pigments seem to do a little better. I stopped my experiments a while back though. It all takes up a lot of time. I must say that I'm not a fan of polyester in general. Back in winter, I could never seem to get it to cure properly and consistantly. For me, the colors and richness don't compare to those of acrylic blanks. I've actually gotten better results with tinting CA for filling engraved areas in pens.

I am glad that I am not the only one Bruce!

I have tried my hand at it, ended up with mediocre results, but nothing near the acetate, acrylester, etc. available for sale on the market. It is also hard for me to get a consistent result as far as brittleness or stickyness. And lastly, the stuff is not cheap. It was fun to try though.

Fangar

 

[DWK5150]

I use the powdered pigments and luster pigments and the resin dyes. I actually just by the 3 pack of dye from michaels most the time. I have had very very good lucking using that stuff but its still experiment to see how much works best for you. I am currently experimenting with some new stuff from the automotive market as I still get test products from when I was a PPG rep.

 

[btboone]

I agree Fangar, it's something to definitely try. There were several times when I stirred for 20 minutes only to have the batch cure too sticky or in a mediocre color. That's fine for experimenting or hobby type stuff, but not so good trying to make money at it. I think I got results comparable to other casting folks, but it just didn't look "high end" enough for what I was looking for.

 

[Rojo22]

Well, I didnt expect to see so many people in the same boat. I am always up for a challenge, but I like to do as much homework as possible, before I try something.

Fangar, you bring up another point and that is why do I want to do Polyester resin, if the acetate, acrylester, etc. is better? Anyone do any casting with this stuff? I dont mind doing the plastic stuff, for my customers, but the blanks are very expensive compared to some of the wood blanks. I would like to come up with something unique, but also would like to see if the cost could be reduced as well....

Thanks for the comments so far, I would really like to see some more advice and technical information. The heat is not a problem here in middle georgia right now....Yesterday the heat index at my house was 110 before a brief shower dropped it down to 101.....

 

[mrplace]

Just my two cents worth;

For a beginning, try these. They work well and are a little forgiving of mistakes. I also have a full set of Mixol, which is a pasty liquid. The paste liquids will cover up your pearl if you are not careful. http://www.artstuf.com/DStockNEW.fm$FIND?subcategory=Resin%20Dyes&header=SubHead&footer=CatFoot&html=subshelf&sort=SKU

I do you some of the powders and luster pigment, but prefer the ones linked above. The mixol is really great for when you need to mix a custom color like for football teams or school colors.

Also know that there is a big learning curve if you want to pour anything more than a single color with pearl in it like the "How to" describes.

I dont worry with heat. I have poured on days when it was 104 degrees. I only use about 2 drops per ounce of catalyst. The cure time is longer, but you are rewarded with a better turning experience. I also "pop" my rods out of the mold while they are still rubbery and lay them out on the bench to finish curing.

If you want unique blanks, that everyone isn't turning and selling, pouring your own is the way to go. I currently pay about $24-$26 a gallon for my resin and catalyst, and $2.00 worth of liquid pigment lasts forever. I have very little in my blanks, and can usually sell a few to cover the costs of my supplies to boot.

It is a lot of fun, and the variations are limitless.

 

[alamocdc]

Originally posted by btboone
<br />There were several times when I stirred for 20 minutes only to have the batch cure too sticky or in a mediocre color.

That was likely part of the problem, Bruce. In a little tip from Ryan at Woodturningz (the makers of Inlace Acrylester), he told me to mix only until it looked like the color was not quite mixed enough, and maybe even a little translucent. It made a world of difference in the appearance of my homebrew.

 

[btboone]

I tried lots of variables with my stirring technique. Stirring the whole time, stirring just a little, stirring only at the start, lots of catalyst, little bit of catalyst, etc. My original trials were for forming polyester around lasered wood pen halves in cylindrical molds, and I never did get those to work well. The idea was to have some pens in half wood and half plastic with intricate designs. Part of the issue might have been that some metal rods I used to mount the pen halves brass tubes onto might have acted like a heat sink. I even tried preheating those. The other issue might be the "tar" created by the laser when vaporizing the wood. It may have had some effect on curing. The mix always seemed rubbery and/or brittle. As I mentioned, I had better results with CA than the polyester, and it was a lot quicker.