Ok I’ve made some moldes. Made some parts. Enjoyed doing so. I now want to move up a level. I am going to get a pressure pot and try pressure casting. I’ve read enough to know that going to harbor frieght and buying one is most likely easier and safer than trying to make one.
My Question. How can I slow down the setting time of the resin. I can cast but I’m not real fast (no rhyme intended). So, I would like something that sets a little slower. I did see that Micro Mark has some that sets in 20 Min. but I want to know if there are more options out there.
I’ve never tried it but, I was told chilling the resin will add to the curing time. You could try leaving your resin in the refrigerator to make it cold before mixing it. I know pre-heating the molds makes the resin cure faster so chilling it to extend your working time makes sense to me.
My experience using 2 part resin straight from the refrigerator was that the material was more viscous than usual and that it did not mix as well as when at room temperature. Because it did not mix well the resulting mix did not solidify. In fact it never fully solidified even after overnight – it was a gooey mess pulling it out of the mold. The gooey stuff even remained in some of the details such that a subsequent pour of room temperature resin did not fill the details - and didn’t really bind to it to pull it out. I pitched the RTV mold and started over.
You might want to check with the Technical Assistance people at Smooth-On via the website above and see what they recommend. They are quite helpful on these sorts of questions.
You can also look for a brand of resin that also sells a retarder to slow down the set time. In the past working with casting epoxy I have used various retarders. As for cooling the resin this only works for certain resins so as the previous poster said checking technical assistance is best. Refrigeration works the same way for all resins by slowing down the exothermic reaction that infact cures the part. But cooling can also as said before cause the parts to become more viscous which doesn’t allow them to have the chemicla reaction needed for curing.
I have tried chilling the resin and it does slow down some. I never had problems with it not setting and someone else told me that the resin keeps longer in the frig. I will have to look into the retarter. Any idea’s?
Yea that’s it. I looked at several different companies and they all had basically the same thing as Harbor Frieght, it’s just that they wanted US $170.00 or more for them.
Although I still need some more fittings but, I don’t think it will cost me more than US $10.00 or so.
Can anyone reccomend a product for clear casting? i used crystalclear (with a catalyst) and had terrible results. are there are any 2-equal-part clear casting resins?
I have only started casting but I have looked at severl sites both manufacturers and site about it. I like the alumilite site http://www.alumilite.com/ they have several good howto’s, and yes they want to sell you there product but take a look they have some articles about casting clear resins.
No I take no offense. Most of the time I use what I can find locally and alumite is what I can find. If there are better products out there I don’t mind someone letting me know. Do you have a web site for this product?
This site listed below is located in Atlanta, Ga. I just bought over $250.00 worth of mold and casting supplies. I am very happy with the Sommth on prducts. The range of materials is far mor extensive than other vendors I have used.
Don’t know how far Santee, SC is from you in the Red Hills of SC, but Smooth On’s distributor list identifies a distributor in Santee. My local distributor in Dallas is able to supply my needs via over-the-counter sales. They are also a local source of knowledge - instead of having to go to Smooth On’s tech support people, and they regularly host open houses and seminars to demonstrate their products. Get in touch with them & get on their mailing list.
Well Santee is actually about 4 hrs away but Atlanta is about 2. I looked at the site in Atlanta. I may have to change who I get my stuff from after talking to y’all. Thanks again for the advice.
I use alumalite’s clear resin, it’s not as easy to use as white or tan resin but is much better than the other stuff I’ve tried. The working time is decent, it actually gives a little longer time than the white resin I use (5-6 minutes?), the only down side is it smells alot worse and takes hours to cure, I don’t even mess with it for 4-6 hours and even then it is often sort of soft so for more complicated parts I just leave it over night. It does actually harden though, the other stuff I tried stayed slightly tacky and it had to be sprayed with a clear coat.
Grizz I used paint pot from harbor frieght too, it has worked pretty well, I just need to work out a good vacuum chamber for the silicone.