Many types of resin?

[Wongster]

Hello folks,

Pardon me if my questions sound silly. I'm still rather new to turning pens and so far made only about 10 odd pens with blanks and kits bought from psi. I'm now exploring making my own blanks.

It started with me watching a few YouTube videos (the poisons...) about the topic and ended up trying to get my hand on some resin and pigments to start. I've just returned from a chemical factory locally and bought myself their minimum order quantity of 5kg of what they termed as "casting resin". This company came up in the search when I keyed in "polyester resin".

I was given the mixing proportion of hardened and resin, and an advice that the resin will bond to pvc pipe (I mentioned to him that I'll be using pvc pipe as mold). He told me that I'll need a release agent, which I later bought a tin to avoid having to go back to the industrial area.

I'm wondering if they are the same type of resin for casting blanks. Also, what kind of pigment should I buy?

Regards,
Kyle

 

[Mrbbcrafting]

I am no expert by any means I am learning myself how to cast, but I have found a few articles that I was reading this morning. The links are below. I do not know the full amount of information is valid as I haven't checked the websites for the dyes but I plan on that this afternoon. I know in my area the local art store had very small amount of pearl ex products so I am still trying to find powder pigments locally.. but alas here are the links.. Also here if you click on library, look at the options you will see a lot of information on casting there as well. The hardest part I think is getting the right amount of PR poured into the molds correctly..

http://www.penmakersguild.com/articles/prinstructions.pdf

http://content.penturners.org/library/techniques/casting_polyester_resin.pdf

http://www.jaxturners.org/tech/casting_with_polyester_resin.pdf

 

[Eldermike]

I go to Michaels Craft store and buy Polyster Resin. They have a downloadable coupon most of the time for 40-60% off. HObby Lobby also has a similar coupon for 50% off on a single item. Not sure about the pigments at either of the craft stores.


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[jttheclockman]

Kyle the problem of trying to help you is a tough one because of where you live and not knowing what is available to you. But the articles that were linked for you are good ones. There are plenty others here too. There are a few different casting resins out there. Each has a set of do's and don'ts. You may want to add Alumilite to your search parameters too. It is a different type of casting resin. hate to be so vague but again it is where you live that is a problem to help at least for me. Maybe some from your area can jump in and add locations and more help. Good luck.

 

[BeeAMaker]

I prefer Alumilite wood turning resin, https://www.alumilite.com/wood-turning-resin (it's odorless also)
Polyester can be very brittle.

 

[Curly]

Kyle
The polyester casting resin would come with a small bottle of MEKP (methyl ethyl ketone peroxide) that you add to the resin to make it cure. Usually 4 to 7 drops per ounce (28.3 grams) of resin. The ratio depends on the manufacturer, the colours you add to it and the temperature. Less is usually better as it isn't as brittle when it cured. You may need a small toaster oven at its lowest setting to post cure the resin for an hour or two. You will find the casting resin smells like fibreglass and if you are in an apartment, your neighbours might complain. Can't help you with the colouring as we don't do that.

 

[thewishman]

Please experiment with the ratio of polyester to hardener before you try to cast something special. The resin I use (Silmar 41) recommends way too much hardener than I actually use (3.5 drops per ounce/30ml.)

 

[Wongster]

Folks,

Thanks for the information. I'll take the time to go through them.

Actually, I was concerned that I bought the wrong kind of resin for casting pen blanks. The 5kg tin I bought did come with a small bottle of hardener. No label on the 2 and so I'm not sure I got the right thing for the job.

As for the dye or pigment, is there a specific name I should look for? The seller just told me not to use any water based paint. He sells the paste type but in bigger quantity. They don't usually deal with individual.

I bought some acrylic paint for painting of brass tubes. Can this be use?

Regards
Kyle

 

[jttheclockman]

There are a lot of good videos on utube that very informative you may want to check out. The same thing for using dyes. Need to be careful with the dyes used. Paints are not good dyes but can be used. I use them to color epoxy sometimes when gluing with it. Would not use it for casting. You want powders such as PearlX or other deep concentrated materials. Trans tint dyes are such dyes. Alumilite has their own set of dyes. Good luck with your quest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ63Fky5ca4

 

[chartle]

You are going to see a lot of "alternative" colorants and almost all of them give terrible to lackluster results. I tried chalk, various paint and other things and they just don't give you the look you want.

A few that do work that are outside the norm are powder coat paint and alcohol inks. Powder coat paint will give you a nice opaque look and the inks with their pearl mixed in can give you some nice looks but nothing beats pearlex.

If its not available to you I think some makeup powders are like if not exactly the same.

 

[JohnU]

Lots of good advice above. I would just add that in my experience, you can use alumilite dyes (sold from their website) with both Alumilite and Polyresin like Silmar41, but I would not use polyresin dyes in Alumilte. I've used paint, nailpolish, makeup, jello and everything else I could think of to color resin. The problem is the resin smells bad enough but you will get odor from the paint and polish for days after they are cured, and they are often full of added material that may cause color or contamination problems. I would suggest sticking with dyes and pearlex that are made specifically for resins. You will definitely be more pleased with the finished product if you do.

Also, you will here people tell you what resins to use and what not to use. All I can say is they all have their advantages and some are better than others depending on what you are casting, and for what its worth, I only use 2-3 drops of catalyst per ounce in my polyresin. They get brittle if you get them too hot curing. Start out with small pour until you find what works for you. Take lots of notes so you can be consistent with what works, and Keep it fun!

Good Luck and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

 

[Poonam0407]

I don't use resin to make pen blanks but use it all the time to make jewellery items.. Anything water based impacts curing of resin. I like to use mica powderd(pearlex from jacquard or eye shadow from dollar store) for solid coloring. I experimented with embossing powders.. Very cool and different effect it gives. Alcohol inks too give good colour with a hint of transparency