Hobby Lobby and casting.

[hanau]

Have to go to Hobby Lobby Tomorrow and thought I might get the stuff to try casting.
What type of resin and I am looking for and what type of color would i need to get to go with the resin?

 

[DozerMite]

Our local HL only carries epoxy now. Try Micheals if they are close. Much less expensive to order online though.

 

[Tim'sTurnings]

If you are going to Hobby Lobby or Michael's you can almost always find 40% off coupons to print out from searching the web. When my wife and I got to either, I always can find the coupons. Saves a lot of money.

 

[Drstrangefart]

Our Hobby Lobby has Castin' Craft PR (with catalyst) and a limited assortment of Pearlex mica powders. Good place to start. Also, get a silicone mold making kit.

 

[joefyffe]

I think you will find a quart of Castin Craft, at Michaels, even with the 40% coupon will still cost you approx 20 bucks plus the catalyst comes separate. US Composites, on line, will sell you a gallon of Silmar 41 Poly Resin for less than 40 bucks plus shipping and the catalyst is included. (Ordered another gallon Yesterday!) Castin Craft pigment is liquid and has been known to dry up.. I like the Pearlex from HL better, or Mica from Coastal Scents, on line. Hope this sheds some light and saves some money!

 

[Seer]

Our HB carries Alumilte and about 8 different micas but I have a local source for Silmar I use about $40 a gallon with hardener

 

[Drstrangefart]

I think you will find a quart of Castin Craft, at Michaels, even with the 40% coupon will still cost you approx 20 bucks plus the catalyst comes separate. US Composites, on line, will sell you a gallon of Silmar 41 Poly Resin for less than 40 bucks plus shipping and the catalyst is included. (Ordered another gallon Yesterday!) Castin Craft pigment is liquid and has been known to dry up.. I like the Pearlex from HL better, or Mica from Coastal Scents, on line. Hope this sheds some light and saves some money!

Yup. At Hobby Lobby it cost us about $20 after the coupon. It DID come with way more catalyst than needed for the 5 pen blanks I got. It did its job and now I know I CAN cast and it's very enjoyable.

 

[dogcatcher]

Our Hobby Lobby carries both Alumilite and Castin Craft, the Alumilite is in the model car section, the Castin Craft is near the glues and candle making supplies.

 

[Kingk0ng]

Same here, though all they had were pints. It was about $13 after the 40% coupon.

 

[hanau]

Thanks all for the input.
But I never made it to Hobby Lobby.

From the sound of it I will be better off ordering online.

 

[elody21]

I think you will find a quart of Castin Craft, at Michaels, even with the 40% coupon will still cost you approx 20 bucks plus the catalyst comes separate. US Composites, on line, will sell you a gallon of Silmar 41 Poly Resin for less than 40 bucks plus shipping and the catalyst is included. (Ordered another gallon Yesterday!) Castin Craft pigment is liquid and has been known to dry up.. I like the Pearlex from HL better, or Mica from Coastal Scents, on line. Hope this sheds some light and saves some money!

Where do you order your Similar 41?
Alice

 

[joefyffe]

http://www.uscomposites.com/index.html for SILMAR 41

I think you will find a quart of Castin Craft, at Michaels, even with the 40% coupon will still cost you approx 20 bucks plus the catalyst comes separate. US Composites, on line, will sell you a gallon of Silmar 41 Poly Resin for less than 40 bucks plus shipping and the catalyst is included. (Ordered another gallon Yesterday!) Castin Craft pigment is liquid and has been known to dry up.. I like the Pearlex from HL better, or Mica from Coastal Scents, on line. Hope this sheds some light and saves some money!

Where do you order your Similar 41?
Alice

 

[clapiana]

our 1st hobby lobby just openen up here in nh. you say they sell Alumilite ? what type? is there a type you try to avoid?

 

[navycop]

Does silmar 41 have the same properties as the cast'n craft from Michaels? I mean is there anything different I would have to do to it?

 

[sbell111]

Does silmar 41 have the same properties as the cast'n craft from Michaels? I mean is there anything different I would have to do to it?

There is no difference as far as how to make PR blanks. There may be some difference as to how chippy the resulting blanks are as you don't have any idea how long that tin of resin has been sitting around.

That being said, if someone wanted to buy some resin to see if he would like casting his own blanks, I would highly recommend buying from the local hobby store. Once you know that it is for you, you can start having the gallon containers shipped to you.

 

[navycop]

Thanks Steve.

 

[dexter0606]

It DID come with way more catalyst than needed for the 5 pen blanks I got.

Allan
Did you only get 5 blanks from one quart?? Must have been a smaller container.
There's 58 cu inches in a quart and a 1" x 1" x 6" blank is only 6 cu inches which would have gotten you almost 10
Just curious

BTW I like the Castin' Craft. Easy to get (in Canada) and it goes a long way when you're using Resin Savers

 

[Turn n Burn]

Anyone know of a supplier of similar in canada

 

[NewLondon88]

our 1st hobby lobby just openen up here in nh. you say they sell Alumilite ? what type? is there a type you try to avoid?

They have hobby kits, I saw the Clear in the Manchester store.. Look for a package with a photo of Mesquiteman's Cactus Pen on the cover. :biggrin:

 

[DozerMite]

Does silmar 41 have the same properties as the cast'n craft from Michaels? I mean is there anything different I would have to do to it?

No, they are different compositions. CC is much more brittle... nothing changes that. They gel and cure at different rates and require different amounts of catalyst. More colors affect CC negatively than Silmar.

CC works, but once one makes the Silmar leap, there is no going back.:wink:

 

[Drstrangefart]

It DID come with way more catalyst than needed for the 5 pen blanks I got.

Allan
Did you only get 5 blanks from one quart?? Must have been a smaller container.
There's 58 cu inches in a quart and a 1" x 1" x 6" blank is only 6 cu inches which would have gotten you almost 10
Just curious

BTW I like the Castin' Craft. Easy to get (in Canada) and it goes a long way when you're using Resin Savers

It was a 16 ounce can. I'm still learning and I used a rather large blank to form the mold around. Gives me room for error. I'd rather have one mildly oversize blank that forgives my mistakes than a normal sized one I have to cast again. I AM getting better blanks with less waste now.

 

[louie68]

check out www.woodnwhimsies.com has PR @ $13.00 a qt. includes hardner.
www.mudhole has pigment colors.

 

[navycop]

check out www.woodnwhimsies.com has PR @ $13.00 a qt. includes hardner.
www.mudhole has pigment colors.

www.mudhole.com

 

[kovalcik]

check out www.woodnwhimsies.com has PR @ $13.00 a qt. includes hardner.
www.mudhole has pigment colors.

Went to mudhole.com, and I cannot find colors for casting. Can you give some direction? The mudhole.com I ended up seeing was a fishing rod building site, is this correct? They do sell feathers which may be interesting for some casting.

 

[hanau]

check out www.woodnwhimsies.com has PR @ $13.00 a qt. includes hardner.
www.mudhole has pigment colors.

Went to mudhole.com, and I cannot find colors for casting. Can you give some direction? The mudhole.com I ended up seeing was a fishing rod building site, is this correct? They do sell feathers which may be interesting for some casting.

I think this is them

http://www.mudhole.com/Shop-Our-Catalog?search=pigment+color

 

[Kingk0ng]

[ They gel and cure at different rates and require different amounts of catalyst.

Sorry for the dumb question...but what is the recommended amount of catalyst for Silmar?