Alumilite coloring question

[RIPPIN45]

I am just getting started with casting and am using Alumilite. So far I have used the white, Crystal Clear, and black. Using these has brought up some questions, failures, and some success.

1. WHITE; I bought some white from the hobby store and was going to do a camo type and used some RIT Dye. the stuff cured while I was still mixing it!. So I now have parts to do segments! I called Curtis and he gave me some help and I Purchased some Crystal Clear and Black from Alumilite.

2. CRYSTAL CLEAR; I opened the bottles & poured this last night. I noticed the B part was almost like a soft jello. Is that normal for the clear? I added some flourescent orange embossing powder. The cast came out great but after turning a blank it is too clear. Question I have is mixing some alumilite dye with the clear, how many drops per oz. do you use to get it a solid and will less dye leave it opaque? The Crystal Clear took alot longer to cure. I was also adding some turquoise nuggets which all settled to the bottom. How would you add the nuggets and is it a timing thing to get them dispersed somewhat evenly thruought the cast.

3. BLACK; I did a black casting and simply added Pearl Ex to it. I added what I thought was alot of pearl, but after curing and turning a blank you could harldy see the pearl. Also, the black came out somewhat gray/black in color. could I add black dye to get the alumilite to come out with a sharp black?

Any comments would be appreciated. thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!

 

[JayDevin]

heat the B and it will thin out....if you use it warm it speeds up the set time.....

 

[ElMostro]

[I am just getting started with casting and am using Alumilite. So far I have used the white, Crystal Clear, and black. Using these has brought up some questions, failures, and some success.

1. WHITE; I bought some white from the hobby store and was going to do a camo type and used some RIT Dye. the stuff cured while I was still mixing it!.
Yep, you only have have 90 seconds with the white, cooling in may give you and extra 30 seconds.

So I now have parts to do segments! I called Curtis and he gave me some help and I Purchased some Crystal Clear and Black from Alumilite.

2. CRYSTAL CLEAR; I opened the bottles & poured this last night. I noticed the B part was almost like a soft jello. Is that normal for the clear?

Just heat the part B, it will flow better.

I added some flourescent orange embossing powder. The cast came out great but after turning a blank it is too clear.
You can paint the inside of the blank hole and the tube for a better appearance.

Question I have is mixing some alumilite dye with the clear, how many drops per oz. do you use to get it a solid and will less dye leave it opaque?
If you are using the CC you can use the Alumilite White Dye to make it opaque then use some other dye for the color, just have in mind that you may not see any swirls just a flat color and that the final resuld will likely be less intense than what it looks like while you are mixing it.

It depends on a lot of things like which brand of tint you use, the color of the tint, is it powder or liquid and many more. The best way to figure it out is to experiment and take good notes, of course that can get expensive but for me even after having worked with alumilite for almost 2 years I still have to experiment...it is not an exact science.

The Crystal Clear took alot longer to cure.
The slower setting is one of the advantages of the CC. Unfortunately, the stuff you put in it either sinks or floats there is no middle ground.

I was also adding some turquoise nuggets which all settled to the bottom. How would you add the nuggets and is it a timing thing to get them dispersed somewhat evenly thruought the cast.

3. BLACK; I did a black casting and simply added Pearl Ex to it. I added what I thought was alot of pearl, but after curing and turning a blank you could harldy see the pearl. Also, the black came out somewhat gray/black in color. could I add black dye to get the alumilite to come out with a sharp black?

With the black...pretty much anything you put in it will end up BLACK, even wood blanks when put under pressure will absorb the blackness. The only materials that will show up are non porous materials (plastics or solid resin pieces) or very dense woods, but the dyes will just give you a different hue of black.

Any comments would be appreciated. thanks!
Happy Thanksgiving to all!