Experimenting with PR coloring...will it hold up

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armyturner

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I started playing around with PR and I tried coloring a little bit with some with opaque acrylic paint. The colors came out really well, but will it hold up? Has anyone tried this with luck or failure?

I have not been able to find anything on any forum that says that you can or can't use acrylic paint to color PR. When I first popped them out of the tubes they fell a little tacky and would stick to each other a little. After sitting out in the air at room temp for an hour or so they lost thier tackiness and when touched do not even show a fingerprint.
 
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mrplace

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There are lots of colorants you can use. I use alot of make-up base colors for my pens, you get a trash bag full of the stuff for little of nothing. Plus there are so many colors.

Thanks for the paint tip, I didn't think of that one.
 

alamocdc

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Originally posted by mrplace
<br />There are lost of colorants you can use. I use alot of make-up base colors for my pens, you get a trash bag full of the stuff for little of nothing. Plus there are so many colors.

Thanks for the paint tip, I didn't think of that one.

And thanks for yours. I'm just mad that I didn't think of it.[;)]
 

Draken

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I tried acrylic paint one time for coloring PR. It clumped out as the resin cured. The blank as a whole looked great, but once turned down to final size, you would see little clumps of color, and areas of clear PR. I'd suggest you try turning a few before going crazy with the casting. I finally bought the master set of PR colors from artstuf.com and have been happy with those so far.

Cheers,
Draken
 

schellfarms

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I tried water based acrylic, and it took forever to dry. I haven't turned it yet, but it doesn't look quite the same as a blank using powdered pigments. I can't however seem to find a black powdered pigment that seems to cure well. I've tried bone black and iron oxide black. Any ideas??

Also, I tried enamel (oil based, i guess) model car paint like what you get at hobby lobby. It went right into the PR in a very small test amount. It works well in epoxy too.
 

Draken

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How does the black not cure well? I've used both colors you mentioned (from artstuf.com) and didn't notice any problems. They came out of the molds a bit flexible, but after letting them set for another week or so, are just as solid and hard (I just know someone is going to make a comment on this wording...) as any others. One of the tricks is to use the least amount of colorant you need in order to get the color saturation that you desire.

Cheers,
Draken
 

wood-of-1kind

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Originally posted by Draken
<br />another week or so, are just as solid and hard (I just know someone is going to make a comment on this wording...) as any others.
Cheers,
Draken

Are you saying that we're that predictable.[:D][?]

-Peter-
 

Draken

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Originally posted by wood-of-1kind
<br />
Originally posted by Draken
<br />another week or so, are just as solid and hard (I just know someone is going to make a comment on this wording...) as any others.
Cheers,
Draken

Are you saying that we're that predictable.[:D][?]

-Peter-

Ahh, man, I was really hoping it would be Angboy to be the first to comment on that. [}:)] And yes, I've been here <s>long</s>...er, for enough time to know you guys/gals quite well. [:D]

Cheers,
Draken
 

schellfarms

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maybe i'm just using too much pigment. i talked to artie at artstuf, though, and he said that other people also told him the bone black didn't cure well. the stuff i have cast using the black (either one) seems to eventually harden, but doesn't look the same (as smooth as) other castings using the pearl white powder. the white seems "smooth" and consistent throughout--almost a silky smooth kind of texture, but the black--for lack of a better description, looks almost gritty or slightly lumpy.
 

Draken

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The blacks do take a lot of time to incorporate into the resin. I've noticed the same on some of the reds and purples as well. Try to remove clumps before adding to the PR, add just enough to get the color you want, then carefully mix the heck out of it to get it incorporated. Mix carefully to avoid adding too many air bubbles. I've had to mix for 5 to 10 minutes to get some colors to disperse into the PR to my satisfaction. Then I add the catalyst and stir for at least another 5 minutes. What few clumps which do remain usually settle to the bottom of the mold, where they don't pose a problem for me. Don't go overboard on the catalyst trying to get it to cure faster, you'll end up with brittle PR. Just try to plan things out better so you can allow more time for blanks with black in them to cure properly and fully before they are needed.

Cheers,
Draken
 

gothycdesigns

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I too am looking into starting to create my own blanks. But was curious as to what molds are being used for it most commonly. Is there any supplier that sell molds specifially for penturners? I have an idea for making some molds and will post once it works out. I have heard some use tin foil and or a soap making mold. I guess just about anything could work...

Thanks,

Gothyc Designs
 

Jerryconn

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I just finished a PR pen last night that I used MIXOL as the colorant, bought the stuff at Woodcraft, Just tried one color right now to get a feel, it mixed in very easily and provided a lot of opaque color to the blank, better than the colors available form Michaels for the resin, It did take a longer period of time to harden like draken says his take. But overall I am very happy with the results, there are lot of colors available from WC I plan on buying more and trying them. I will post a couple of pics tonight to show blanks and the finished pen.
 

Jerryconn

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Originally posted by gothycdesigns
<br />I too am looking into starting to create my own blanks. But was curious as to what molds are being used for it most commonly. Is there any supplier that sell molds specifially for penturners? I have an idea for making some molds and will post once it works out. I have heard some use tin foil and or a soap making mold. I guess just about anything could work...

Thanks,

Gothyc Designs

I just went to Wally World a brought a ice cube tray that makes ice sticks to fit in water bottles (in the $3 range), you have to make two blanks for a pen (except for a Sierra) and they are about 3" long 3/4" diameter. Just pop them out of the tray square the ends and drill, works great for me!
 

its_virgil

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mrplace,
I went by Composite One on Friday as I passed through and they were out of PR. None in any of their offices and they did not know when they would be getting more in. OH Yea, I could have bought a tanker truck full and they would have delivered it to my house[:D]

Guess I'm back to mrfiberglass.com[:(] or look for another cheaper place.

Do a good turn daily!
Don

Originally posted by mrplace
<br />There are lots of colorants you can use. I use alot of make-up base colors for my pens, you get a trash bag full of the stuff for little of nothing. Plus there are so many colors.

Thanks for the paint tip, I didn't think of that one.
 

Jerryconn

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As I posted earlier, here are pics of the MIXOL colored blanks and the finished pen



200611161449_PB140015a.jpg
<br />


2006111614428_PB150016a.jpg
<br />

pics aren't the greatest, but hopefully it will show how well this stuff seemed to work. I'm going to keep spermint'n with this stuff. [;)]
 

samuel07

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Purcellville, Va, USA.
I just finished a couple of blanks that I added a little Testor's model paint for color. It only took about 1/4 teaspoon of paint and the color looks really good. I've got it drilled and glued up and I will turn it tonight.
 
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There was a thread along somewhere where a guy took one of the plastic cutting boards from WW and cut into strips that he put togehter with screws to make his own molds.. don't remember who or where the post is.
 
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