how much perl ex should I use

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

pssherman

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2006
Messages
839
Location
Paragould, Arkansas, USA.
I am going to make sets of cornhole boards that have led lights in them. The leds will be in a channel that is 3/8 inch deep, 3/4 inch wide and require about 16 feet per board. I figure this will reguire about 1/2 gal of resin. How much perl ex silver should I use to make the channels have an irridescent glow?
 

jttheclockman

Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
19,082
Location
NJ, USA.
Wow I do not have an answer and bet that would be a tough one to guess but you have to show the end results here. That sounds like a cool project.
 

JohnU

Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
4,924
Location
Ottawa, Illinois
It's really going to be matter of personal preference, depending on the outcome you want. The more mica, the more the light will be obstructed. I would suggest starting with a little and adding as needed. When I pour blanks I want there to be enough mica to hide the brass tube when the resin is turned thin. I check this by holding a stirring stick (chop stick) against the inside of the cup wall after the mica is mixed in the resin. I want the stick to disappear in the mica as I move it away from the cup. That might give you a base line as to how much you have mixed. I'm guessing the lights will shine through the resin at that point as long as it's not too deep in the channel. If you have extra lights you might want to make a test pour. Sounds like a cool idea. Good luck!
 

pssherman

Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2006
Messages
839
Location
Paragould, Arkansas, USA.
I've completed some test pours with the extra lights at the end of the LED strings. Here are the results:
1) The adhesive on the back of the strings comes loose and the LED string floats to the top of the epoxy. So I am pouring the epoxy in 2 layers. The first is clear and will hold the LED string in place for the second pour. The second layer will contain the pearl ex.
2) The amount of pearl ex needed is very small. My inital test showed that the pearl ex is very good at blocking the LED light. I got the desired glowing effect when I used 0.002 oz of pearl ex for each fl oz of epoxy.
 
Top Bottom