casting help

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
C

Chuck B

Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2006
Messages
280
Location
Warwick, Rhode Island.
My lovely wife wants me to make some bottle stoppers with embedded single letters in it, the capital letter M. I have this right now castin craft poly cast resin So i have a few questions.

1. what is the best type of round mold?

2. since it's a stopper I have to color the bottom what is the best thing to use?

3. I'm not to sure of the correct mixture any tips?

4. what is the difference between these two resins? besides one is epoxy.

poly cast resin

Clear Casting Epoxy Resin

Thanks for any help.

Chuck
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
Hello Chuck

You ask alot of questions that might be answered in some tutorials in the library so that maybe a good place to check out also. I will try to answer a few for you. The 2 resins you listed, the top one is the one you want. It is foe more for buidling things up that are thicker. The second is more for thinner materials such as casting jewelry. They work well if you foloow the instructions on the cans. You also must beaware of temps when doing casting and also fumes. Setup times can vary due to temps.

Anyway to cast bottle stoppers the best way and it probably was perfected and not sure on this by YO YO Spin ( Ed Davidson) he is a member and you need to check his web site out. I as well as many like to use perscription bottles. You can get them in any size and you probably have some at home now. Find ones that suit your needs. The good thing about these are the resin when cured falls put of these easily and also there is a dimple in the bottom that is perfectly centered due to manufactoring of the vial. What this does is gives you the exact center when you need to drill your holes for the stopper and also allows for the use of a mandrel to center the stopper. Works out well.

As far as coloring goes I am many others like to use PearlX or micas which we all get from www.coastalscents.com As far as how much to add is depending on your color needed. But will say this a tiny bit goes a long way. When doing any type of casting the important rule is to take notes of what you are doing so you can duplicate it in the furture.

Now a stopper with a colored base and a clear top needs to be done in 2 steps. The bottom portion and the amount is up to you needs to be poured and then let to set and when it just starts to get firm you add your embedament making sure it is sitting in the center of the mold. Now you mix your clear resin and pour this on top. Again the amount is up to you depending on the thickness of your stopper. Now to get an object to look like it is floating in the center of the clear resin you need to do a 3 step process. Basically the same thing but on top of the colored layer you pour a clear layer and let that set up and then follow with the object and another clear layer of resin. When doing these it is better to do a batch of them because you waste less resin.

Hope some of this helps and as I said check the library.
 
Last edited:
recon said:
Jt,
I have purchased a lot of Ed's BS blanks they're the best. I should have checke3d the library first.

Betty,
Thanks for the info.
Click to expand...

He does some extrodinary work for sure. I too have purchased them till I started my own which I do need to get back to. If you have any further questions don't hesitate to post here. Good luck.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom