Intense dyes?

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NewLondon88

NewLondon88

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Joined
May 15, 2008
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I'm having trouble with translucent colors and PR .. I can get opaque just
fine, but when I want intense colors, the translucent dyes just get muddy
or even opaque.

Has anyone found good, intense, clear dyes for PR?

I can get the colors I want with Alumilite, but I've had terrible luck
with it turning to "egg whites" and won't come out of the bottle.

Wondered if anyone knew of similar colors for PR?
 
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NewLondon88 said:
I'm having trouble with translucent colors and PR .. I can get opaque just
fine, but when I want intense colors, the translucent dyes just get muddy
or even opaque.

Has anyone found good, intense, clear dyes for PR?

I can get the colors I want with Alumilite, but I've had terrible luck
with it turning to "egg whites" and won't come out of the bottle.

Wondered if anyone knew of similar colors for PR?
Click to expand...

Charlie check with U.S. Composites they offer transparent PR dyes
 
Charlie,

Are you saying the Alumilite dyes "turns to egg whites"? If so, I assume you mean they get too thick? If so, buy some Odorless Mineral Spirits and thin the dye. It will not hurt the mix and will help the dye flow out easier. BTW, Mike, the vp at Alumilite told me to do this.
 
Ken .. the dyes just aren't vibrant.. and if you use too much they turn opaque
instead of translucent.

Curtis .. no, they dyes are fine. It's the Part B that thickened up so much that it
wouldn't come out of the bottle anymore. Did this on the last two batches, so I
gave up.

Now, if I could find dyes just like the Alumilites only for PR, that would be ideal. You
can get some intense color with the Alumilite dyes, I just haven't found anything
similar for PR.
 
I use just powdered pigents in clear resin to get the transparent/translucent look depending on the amount of pigent I use (using alumilite BTW). I like the depth it gives with a painted tube/hole.
 
I didn't really get translucent colors though. They were cloudy.
With the Alum dyes, a lot of red dye will make it look like
cranberry juice. With the powders or PR dyes, it looks like someone
dumped cranberry juice in dishwater..
 
Charlie,

Call Alumilite and they will send you some new stuff. I talked to Mike recently and they think the problem is fixed on the Crystal Clear. If you don't want to take a chance, then at least call them and tell them you want to water clear as a replacement for your crystal clear that is bad. I am sure they will work with you. Talk to Carol or Mike and tell them I told you to call and what to ask for.
 
MesquiteMan said:
Charlie,

Call Alumilite and they will send you some new stuff. I talked to Mike recently and they think the problem is fixed on the Crystal Clear. If you don't want to take a chance, then at least call them and tell them you want to water clear as a replacement for your crystal clear that is bad. I am sure they will work with you. Talk to Carol or Mike and tell them I told you to call and what to ask for.
Click to expand...

I talked to Mike and he sounded as if it was new to him. No offer of
replacement, as I threw out about half of one batch and then about 2/3
of another batch. I figured I must have done something wrong ,so I pitched
it in the trash. But after the second time, I emailed them.
They did offer to pay for shipping on the next order.

I'll just stick with the PR. I don't really need to cast at home, it was
just more convenient.

BTW .. I just tried the Alum dyes with PR. I mixed a bright tangerine
pearl with a deep royal purple and pearl. What I got was a sort of rust/gold
colored pearl. Very nice, don't get me wrong.. but the red and blue just
disappeared.. as did most of the orange.

I still gotta find some similar dyes though. I can get great color with
the ones from Alumilite.
 
OK.. here's a couple of photos to show what I've run into.
This is PR with Alumilite dyes. I'd like to get some translucent
dyes with similar color saturation .. but all the PR dyes I've tried
seem to go cloudy or opaque when used in concentration.
The Alumilite dyes give me the colors I want, but bleach out
when used with PR. (the heat, maybe?)

You can see in the orange one that it is a deep color, but still
crystal clear all the way through. The purple is too, but there's
already pearl mixed in the purple in this photo. orange.jpg

purple.jpg

I mixed them in the mold ,stirred ,poked, etc. and everything looked great.
C22.jpg

But when they were done, most of the color was gone.
final.jpg

Any ideas? I've gotten a few thoughts via PM ,and I thank you for
letting me pick your brains.
 
Charlie, thanks for the pics! It looks like the purple color all but disappeared with the Alumilite dyes..:confused::frown:

If I am reading correctly, you said that the transparent dyes from other sources were either too diluted (I hear ya) or turned the PR opaque (?).

First, this seems to be a consistent issue no matter the dye, so try using a different base. Maybe you happened to get an old or off batch of PR???:confused: If you want, I can send you some of the stuff that I use.

You could also try letting the other dyes become more concentrated. Simple evaporation will work. But unless you want a workshop that looks like it went though some sort of bad tie-dye experiment from Hell, becareful NOT to knock over the open containers...... DAMHIKT!! :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
PR_Princess said:
Charlie, thanks for the pics! It looks like the purple color all but disappeared with the Alumilite dyes..:confused::frown:
Click to expand...

Yep .. and most of the orange, too. I wanted a really bright, vibrant
tangerine pearl, which I get before it cures. Wonderful colors.. and
the purple was a deep royal color, looked like velvet.. maybe a king's robe
or something the pope would wear. As you can see, the color didn't hold
up.

PR_Princess said:
If I am reading correctly, you said that the transparent dyes from other sources were either too diluted (I hear ya) or turned the PR opaque (?).
Click to expand...

They give a tinge of color or they get milky. You can see from the orange
dye, that the color is deep, but still very clear. Some of the blanks I want
to do need this depth and clarity. For instance, if I mix part of it just
color and part of it color with pearl and then swirl the two, I get a deep
color, but a 3-D effect at the same time.

I need a dye that can give me a deep color, but I can still read through it.

The opaque PR dyes I have work fine (colors aren't great, but not terrible)
but to custom mix colors, I need translucent dyes that won't change
the opacity. The ones I get look like I'm seeing the suspended solids in
the dye.

PR_Princess said:
First, this seems to be a consistent issue no matter the dye, so try using a different base. Maybe you happened to get an old or off batch of PR???:confused: If you want, I can send you some of the stuff that I use.
Click to expand...

This is many batches of Silmar 41 and Cast'n Craft. But it isn't the resin,
you can tell by looking at the dyes right in the bottle.. they're not clear.

PR_Princess said:
You could also try letting the other dyes become more concentrated. Simple evaporation will work. But unless you want a workshop that looks like it went though some sort of bad tie-dye experiment from Hell, becareful NOT to knock over the open containers...... DAMHIKT!! :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Wait .. you mean .. there's workshops that DON'T look like this? :confused:
 
NewLondon88 said:
I need translucent dyes that won't change
the opacity. The ones I get look like I'm seeing the suspended solids in
the dye.....But it isn't the resin,you can tell by looking at the dyes right in the bottle.. they're not clear.
Click to expand...

No, no now that just ain't right. Transparent dyes should be...well, transparent! Even in the bottle.

Except for the darker colours, I can see though all mine. There are no precipitates or suspended solids in the bottle. LOL what generation are those dyes from??:tongue::biggrin: I have some little sample bottles of dye, I'll put them in the mail to you on Monday. They won't color a lot resin, but if you don't like them, then you won't waste much either.
 
PR_Princess said:
No, no now that just ain't right. Transparent dyes should be...well, transparent! Even in the bottle.

Except for the darker colours, I can see though all mine. There are no precipitates or suspended solids in the bottle. LOL what generation are those dyes from??:tongue::biggrin: I have some little sample bottles of dye, I'll put them in the mail to you on Monday. They won't color a lot resin, but if you don't like them, then you won't waste much either.
Click to expand...

Cool!

I got these from US Composites, two batches. I've got both translucent and
opaque, but one is more opaque than the other :tongue:
 
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