Clear spots

[Wagner11]

Alright casting experts I've run in to a little issue. Lots of different resin blanks can be a little translucent, so paint the inside of the blank. My problem is I have cast some blanks that seem basically clear.

The photo of this pencil isn't very good but I cast the blank with silmar 41 and pearl ex powders and castncraft dyes. The colors were gold, silver, and a reddish copper. I painted the inside a dark red and turned the blank. What I have noticed is a lot of red color that is paint showing through completly. The copper seems okay, the gold shows a little, and the silver has completely disappeared or is clear.

Wondering if I somehow didn't mix well enough, used too much catalyst, or if I'm being to cheap and not using enough pigment. I also noticed this once In a blank I made that i couldn't see through except one little area which was perfectly clear.

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[jttheclockman]

pen body is very thin so the colors need to be opaque and not transparent or this will show through. My opinion. Not a casting expert though.

 

[mark james]

If you can see the brass tube through the blank, the painting of the inside of the blank was possibly not adequate. Maybe when you inserted the tube you scraped the paint off (as I have done), or the paint had not cured solid. Easy solutions to each - Patience and a slightly larger drill bit/sanding the hole a bit larger. Painting BOTH the inside of the blank, and the tube.

I also use 2 part epoxy for my tube glue-ups and use just a tiny drop of paint to give a tint to the epoxy. I have never had an epoxy failure with tinting, and it usually assists to give a more complete paint coverage inside the blank.

Just brainstorming, and my thoughts only.

EDIT: And yes, I didn't address your casting.

 

[Wagner11]

Thank you both,

John, I agree opaque colors would be best but I'm hesitant to make them opaque because I feel like the depth of the colors may change. I've tried but for some reason I can't get my colors opaque enough.

Mark, I appreciate your brainstorming. I usually paint the blank and color the epoxy as well though I will admit I did not color the epoxy this time. If I could simply see the tube I'd agree however my issue is that parts of the blank seem to be almost transparent. Seeing the shade of the tube or glue is one thing but I feel there are spots that are far too clear. I would think some color should still be present.

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[More4dan]

Paint with a color that better matches the colors in the blank. I went to Hobby Lobby and found an acrylic paint with an almost perfect match for $0.97. While not the best paint for painting blanks it works for hard to match colors. Here is an example.




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[1080Wayne]

If silver is the colour that has disappeared , it might be best to paint the inside of the blank that colour . The other approach would be to increase the silver content , leaving the others alone . Have never played with your problem , so those are just my best guesses .