Casting organic materials

[jason_r]

This weekend I took a stab at casting
some flowers (Thistles- go figure) into bottle stoppers.
I'm using Polyester Resin.

Ignoring the problems with them floating and air bubbles,
the one thing I didn't expect was that they basically
got bleached. The color was gone, where their tops
had been purple was white.

Anyone got a trick for preserving the color? So far I've got a few
I've covered with lacquer to try out.

Thanks

 

[rincewind03060]

Keeping in mind that I don't know what I'm talking about, Craft stores sell powders made specifically for the purpose of drying flowers. I don't think you lose much color in the process, but ask at the store. That would probably help with the air bubbles too.

Anyway, that's what I would do if I were going to cast a flower.

Disclaimer: I have never dried any flowers and I haven't cast anything in about 50 years (It was a butterfly cocoon and it worked out OK but there were a few bubbles).

 

[armchi]

Never done it, but what about spraying or brushing it with Minwax wood hardener. It might seal it enough so that the PR does not leach it.

 

[MDWine]

I would think you'd want to dry it first. In drying, it will loose a bit of the color, but should stay purple at least.

I have to dodge dried flower bundles when I go through our basement to my shop!

 

[jason_r]

So far the next test (about 5 days of drying in AZ and lacquer coated)
showed a very slight improvement, but not near enough. It's still badly bleached.

Maybe I'll airbrush the color onto it then cast it.

 

[Glass Scratcher]

Have you tried sealing the flowers with something like Hodge-Podge decoupage glue before casting???

Not to sound flippant but have you called the techs at the company you acquired your resin from? Alumilite, USC, Tap, Eager, Smooth-on(regional tech), all have great people to help you use their products successfully. They are just a phone-call away.

 

[Jarheaded]

Curtis might be willing to share his way of casting the Texas Blue Bonnets.

 

[MesquiteMan]

Sorry I did not see this sooner. I have cast all kinds of different flowers with success but have not found a way to keep the color of the fresh flowers. Dried flowers just fade in color. That said, what I do with the bluebonnets is to pluch the individual flower from the stem and place it in my food dehydrator overnight. The next day I just mix up Alumilite Clear and gently mix in the flowers and pour in my mold.

Sorry I can not help more.

 

[tishtigger]

Try using elmer school glue (white glue) mix half glue and half water then coat the flowers and let it dry but it dose take a while to dry

 

[workinforwood]

There is the option of using fake flowers. I've seen some darn good man made flowers in plastic and especially in cloth. Just a thought.

 

[redfishsc]

I think part of what's killing the color is the PR itself (chemical alteration) and the heat it generates. If that is he case, you probably won't overcome this issue with PR.


MesquiteMan uses Alumalite to cast the flowers, and it's quite different chemically and probably isn't as harsh. I don't know if it generates heat or not, but if not, that's part of the reason for his success.