first casting

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jack barnes

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Joined
Aug 5, 2005
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371
Location
Springfield, Ma.
I just did my first pour tonight. I'll be real surprised if it turns out the way I hope for. the white I mixed in clouded the base color, so I'll see in the morning what I'll use it for maybe a paper weight.

Jack
 
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This one was a compete failure. I had put 5 drops of mekp for every ounce and it didn't even start to set up. I know I mixed it every well. Any ideas on what went wrong?

Jack
 
Jack, Help us out here bubba, which guide did you follow? what was the temp in the area where you cured? something to go on.
 
My shop temp was about 55. I mixed 60 drops of MEKP into 12 ounces resin for 2 min. add dark blue acrylic paint for base color, it mixed in very well. I tried to just streak in white acrylic paint, that just clouded up.

Jack
 
Paint? Will paint work? Maybe, but I didn't think it would.

55 degrees is pretty cool.. it might take days to set up, I guess it would
depend on how thick. Thinner castings don't hold heat as well, so they take
more catalyst to cure. The catalyst generates the heat needed for curing,
but that might just be too cool for even 5 drops per ounce. Especially for a
flat, thin cast. (don't know what you cast ,so I'm not saying that is it)

Any chance of getting your casting someplace warmer? Like a toaster oven?

I'm still not sure about the paint, though. Most everyone recommends their
own particular pigments for coloring, and even pigments for some products
will stop a different product from curing.
 
If your paint is oil based acrylic you should be ok. I've used them with no problem, I think your shop is too cold. I'm in So Ca and while my cast will set up over night here, it takes a couple of days before it hardens enough to do any thing with. As NewLondon said get yourself a toaster oven and warm it up, it should harden eventually.
 
I put it in toaster oven at 125 degrees over night and this morning it had set up, but was tacky. After sitting all day it is not tacky at all. The color from what I can tell is good and the cloudiness is gone. I'll cut it up wed. and see how it turns.
So now I know my shop is to cold.

Jack
 
Water based acrylic paint will work. Although too much will make it dull and a little harder to turn.
 
Sounds good .. just remember that 125 isn't very warm, really.
Your shower is probably around 115 to 120.
at 150 it would probably set in under an hour..
 
Jack, your shop is definetly too cold for a quick set up. At that temp it could take a couple of weeks. For the winter, you might want to try your hand with Alumilite, it isn't as sensitive to the temperature as PR is. Also, make sure that the toaster oven is not going to be used for food anymore or it may make you a bit sick. If you need a hand with any of the mixes, let me know and I will try to help you out.
 
Neil I'm going to order Alumilite and when in arrives I'll have allot of questions.
I turned some of the stuff I poured, good color and shined up good, but full of air bubbles.
My wife came down to the shop and to see what was stinking so much and said no more, it smells up the hole house.

Jack
 
jack barnes said:
Neil I'm going to order Alumilite and when in arrives I'll have allot of questions.
I turned some of the stuff I poured, good color and shined up good, but full of air bubbles.
My wife came down to the shop and to see what was stinking so much and said no more, it smells up the hole house.

Jack
Click to expand...
I'm a recent alumilite convert myself. I just had too many issues with PR b/c I live in central VA where the humidity can swing 30-40% in a day and I could never the the catalyst right for what I was trying to do. Plus I want to do worthless wood casting mainly, so alumilite works best. The great thing about it is that it's much faster to work with, and you don't wear hazmat gear like you do with PR. Alumilite has almost no smell at all and is much easier to mix imho. The disadvantage is that it's not as hard as PR, so it doesn't polish as well. I've only used it with worthless casting and I've done CA finishes on all of them, so it's been a non-issue.
 
How To?

I have been thinking of purchasing a Pressure pot to do some stabilization and maybe some casting later on. Are there any instructions as to how to do these things after you get your pot? I am looking for things like how much pressure you put on the pot and what do you stabilize with? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
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