Originally posted by Glass Scratcher
Originally posted by jason_r
Mostly because:
1) It was among the very first things I'd cast,
so I wasn't sure how it'd go.
2) I had pearl white, gold, silver, and bronze and
a dozen translucent dyes. Didn't have a better
option.
Snip
Which was kind of the reason I asked if anyone had a
library of color recipes. Kind of like cooking-
you may want it spicier, or more of a certain spice,
but a recipe provides a nice starting point. They also
provide you a list of ingredients to buy, so
you get what you need and don't get what you don't need.
Well fair enough, you have to use what you have.
I am not trying to be flippant or insulting but very few people will give out their recipes. Many are trying to sell their casts and don't want competition.
On the technical side... Some people are casting by the seat of their pants. Some people are meticulously analytical about casting and record every casting. I set up a spreadsheet to record my progress. I have sometimes printed a blank form and just started writing what I want to attempt using my notes from previous casts and make notes based on the out-comes.
This was just a down and dirty what do they look like test, but one can expound on it and make some color cards. I just took an exacto blade to pick up some Pearl-ex and dropped it on a note pad then using some cheap dollar store CA glue dripped it on, then using a HDPE dowel I had laying on my table, started to mix at the interfaces to see what colors I got from mixing or overlapping the Pearl-ex pigments. I apologise for it not being the best of pictures.
I understand the issues with selling them, which was why I
prefaced my recipe request with "If I may ask". There may be
a time when I try to sell some of mine (why not, I seem to have tried selling most of the other stuff I've made)
The other side of that coin is this.
I once ordered some PR items from a well known caster.
He had some items on his site that I thought hit the colors
I wanted pretty well. However, getting a good description
of what I wanted proved so difficult that we almost scratched
the deal. There were 2 problems:
1) In looking at his existing pieces, I was ID'ing more than 2 colors. I now know it was pearl/etc in the swirl, but as an ignorant customer I didn't know that. So when I started mentioning 3 or 4 colors, he started to get real wary.
2) One of the colors came back different than I expected. Not bad, definately acceptable (especially considering it was a rush order), but about 2 shades lighter. This, despite my taking a picture
*off his site* for my color sample.
Had he had a defined library of colors, I could have said:
"I want X and Y"
I've also seen discussions here where someone asks about "Color X"
(I know there's one on pink). A nice library would give them a reference to say "A little darker than F, but lighter than G".
The other advantages are more for newbies, like:
1) How much pearl is enough to do the job?. Any extra is just wasted, or worse, weakens the part.
2) How well named are the dyes, and how does Vendor X's "red" compare to Vendor Y's?
3) How well does their mix appearance match their cured appearance.
(ArtStuf Aztec Gold has a green tint when mixing but cures a nice yellow)
4) As we've discussed here, how do colors interact.
BTW- thanks for the pointer on macroperl/microperl and their properties.
Finally, since I'm not one to just say "Why don't you do XXX",
here's my start at a library.
http://www.rziha.net/woodworking/experiments/resin_color_library/
