Artstuf Pigments

I ordered several of the powdered colors from artstuf and have had an awful time with them. They just don't mix. I've stirred, squished, poked and squashed the stuff around but still have a goodly amount that just floats around as large specs. Most of this settles to the bottom as it cures (that mess is a another story)but there are still large flakes in the finished blank. In desperation I tried to liquify the stuff in a small amount of DNA hoping to disolve it but no luck. Is this a common feature of the powdered pigments? and how do you guys get around it? Oh and by the way, medium light red is orange no matter how ya look at it

I've used several of their powdered dyes in some of my Color library samples.

Yes, I had clumping problems.
No, I haven't solved it.

My immediate thought is to try mixing the dye in with a tiny
amount of resin- kind of like making gravy when you don't get
enough flour in up front.

And if you want a red, try the carmine red. See recipes #39/40.

Originally posted by Sawdustier

I ordered several of the powdered colors from artstuf and have had an awful time with them. They just don't mix. I've stirred, squished, poked and squashed the stuff around but still have a goodly amount that just floats around as large specs. Most of this settles to the bottom as it cures (that mess is a another story)but there are still large flakes in the finished blank. In desperation I tried to liquify the stuff in a small amount of DNA hoping to disolve it but no luck. Is this a common feature of the powdered pigments? and how do you guys get around it? Oh and by the way, medium light red is orange no matter how ya look at it

Click to expand...

A possible cause of clumping in powdered pigments is that they have absorbed some moisture from the atmosphere. Transfer the amount you are going to use or all of said pigment to a heat safe canister and put in your toaster oven at 100-125deg F for a few minutes, then cover when you remove.

If you have a color formula: A solution for keeping the powdered pigment suspended in your resin is to mix in the MEKp first and wait a "FEW" (totally dependant on how much MEKp you use) minutes, then add your pigments.

If you are not working from a color formula: you are just experimenting with making color combo then you may want to mix your pigments first, but then you will need to continue mixing on and off till you reach gel stage and pour your resin.

Pinks and light reds often go to the orange range. Sometimes that is an indicator that you are using too much pigment sometimes that is just that particular pigment and you need to augment it, or find another pigment. The reason is because many pinks and light reds have yellow mixed into them. If all else fails you need to add a bit of pure red into your color formula.

I haven't had much problem with their pigments, but I have been mixing them in pearlescent powder first which seems to help break the clumps apart. I do mix the powders in a small cup first and it sometimes takes a while to get them to mix well. I have switched to using a small condiment container with a lid-(bought at a resturaunt supplier) and shaking it up. I also think it may help to maybe stick a ball bearing in the cup as a "mixing beater".....Takes me back to the mister chemestry days, when we used to try to make stuff that burns pretty or blows up.

I've found that it works best for me if I mix the pigments with the resin before I add the catalyst. This allows me to take my time mixing and mixing amd mixing without worry of the resin gelling. Usually, I'll also let it sit for a few minutes before giving it a final mix and adding the catalyst (and mixing again).

I've had the same issue on a few of their pigments, especially titanium white.


I haven't tried this yet, but I've considered using acetone as a "premix" item. I've used acetone-based dyes in PR resin with good success, so I'm sure the acetone is PR-compatible. Start with as little acetone as you can, or perhaps mix some acetone and PR together to make your "gravy", then add the rest of the PR and catalyst.

Thanks for the suggestions! I had a request for an orange and blue pen (I know sounds awful) and figured that since my light red was really orange I was set and proceeded to try mixing with acetone. I used just enough to make a thick paste and then blended into the PR. Bingo! no floaters at all. It mixed like a dream, just like using a liquid pigment and since it all mixed I now have a red and blue pen yup that's what it took to get the color to come through. I'm going to try this on the other colors but after seeing what this one did, I have no doubt they will work also.