1 gallon of PR later...

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mike4066

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Sep 24, 2014
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Akron, Ohio
I spent a few days last week consuming a gallon of Silmar 41 that I've had for too long. I figured I better get it consumed before it got too cold for me to cast in Ohio.

Most of them were done in 3/4 PVC with PearlEx powders. There is one "1/2" blank because I forgot to tape up the bottom of one of the tubes so it leaked out :)


The ones on the right are Stabilized Pinecones, and a 4 mix of the Fluorescent Alumilite Dyes.

Fun stuff, still have 1 gallon to go!
 

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mike4066 said:
mark james said:
Very nice Mike. But where are the kits to go with them :befuddled:
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That's the next step that I'm calling "Pen Kit Zero". I plan to turn every pen kit I have on hand.

Then when I don't have any left I'll have an excuse to buy more :)
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I can relate! I am only purchasing kits as my relatives/friends request, so I am slowly working my stock down as I include a few give-aways."

I have noticed that my choices in kits is much more costly than when I started 4 years ago, so I hesitate to make large orders without any known recipient. But, I do like my kits purchases better now than then.

But, my blanks are not a colorful as yours! You did a great job with that batch.
 
I do all my turning in my basement. It isn't heated so I rarely do any turning in the winter. I was hoping to do some casting this winter and wait until spring to turn. Is there a low temperature to avoid casting?

Seven
 
Those are some great looking blanks. I'm guessing this wasn't your 1st gallon of pr.



studioseven said:
I do all my turning in my basement. It isn't heated so I rarely do any turning in the winter. I was hoping to do some casting this winter and wait until spring to turn. Is there a low temperature to avoid casting?

Seven
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I don't ever cast when it's below 70 in my garage. When it's cold, I heat my garage.
 
I am just starting to figure out the casting in the PVC tubes. My first attempt was a slimy gooey mess. 2nd attempt I got 1 blank but after about 18 hours it is more rubber than hard when it come out of the tube. I am hoping it will air dry.
I used craft paint to color my resin. Wonder if that could be my problem.


I love how yours turned out. I am excited to figure out casting for myself.
 
bmcclellan said:
I used craft paint to color my resin. Wonder if that could be my problem.
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Yes, most likely. You're adding water.

If you're just starting out, find one of the 50% off one item coupons for Michaels, or 40% off at Hobby Lobby, and purchase a sampler of Pearl Ex powders to experiment.
 
When I started I tried to do it on the cheap with paints and other things I had on hand to color my blanks. It just caused more failures and I spent more time and money with bad casts trying to figure out why it failed rather than just following the advice on here and using the things that are know to work well.

I tried "acrylic" craft paint and had similar results to you. The results were inconsistent, long cure times, failed cures, and soft/flexible blanks. I no longer use acrylic paints because of that.

I stick with three things for coloring my blanks, which you can actually see in photo 3.
1) PearlEx Powders: These can work in Polyester Resin and Alumilite
2) Alumilite Dyes: These can work in Polyester Resin and Alumilite
3) Casting Craft Color Pigments: These CAN NOT be used with Alumilte. (Water based, and water + Alumilite = bad casts)

I have the best/most consistent results with PearlEx powders.


Check out the library here, there are tons of great articles on casting.
 
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