Discovered something last weekend

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DurocShark

DurocShark

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Alumilite Red Dye and CC PR. When too much of the dye is used, the PR becomes rubber. Kind of cool in a way, but useless for pens. :rolleyes:



(Yes, I know the Alumilite dyes contain part A, and if I mix with other materials, unpredictable results occur. So I thought I'd share this little experiment.)
 
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LOL .. (ahem.. I mean.. gee..)

Learning is fun, isn't it?

speaking of alumilite dyes, has anyone else tried them with the Crystal Clear?
I just cast several blocks of CC with the dyes and none of them are setting up on
the top. The ones I cast with powdered pigments are OK, but not with the liquid
dyes.
Could there be some difference in compatibility with CC? Or did I make the same
mistake on every batch with liquid dyes and not on the ones with powders?
(this is within the realm of possibility, just seems unlikely from here..)
I think I just wasted about half of my CC :eek:
 
I bought the white dye (which is newer) so that I could get some cloudy effects in the CC. I read on a thread a while back that the white dye plus some pearlex would get you the shimmery pearl effect. Which the white alumilite can't.

Works well. No curing problems.

Did you mix really well? I had an issue the other day where I didn't mix completely and it did not cure.

Manny
 
Yeah, mixed fine. Just way too much. I tried to squeeze a couple of drops out and ended up with a squirt. More than I'm willing to admit my reflexes would allow.
 
I have a bottle of the orange alumilite dye. I wasn't happy with the translucence. I put in quite a bit but no matter what, I could see right through it. I haven't tried the alumlite dye in the crystal clear. I just use enamel oil paints. Some of my paint is so old I have to stir it for half an hour to get it mixed, but it works great. I'm slowly learning how much paint to add. It is difficult because it might look nice in the cup, but turned in a pen is completely different because it is so thin. If there isn't enough color, when spun down it looks clear with random blue see through splotches. I don't like too much color either, because I don't want it to be 100% solid. What I want is to be able to see in the cast, but only a tiny bit..so I just keep taking tabs comparing how much paint and how much resin. I do find too much color is a better mistake than not enough though. Never had a problem with the casting being sticky by using paint. I've gone pretty crazy with the amount of paint and it still holds strong and fast with no stickyness. I'd say I've put as much as 3 ounces of paint in 14 ounces of alumlite with no problems curing or turning.

I assume your first sentence in your first post is cc alumilite, not cc PR.
 
I use Alumilite dyes exclusively and used them for all of my testing when we were creating the Crystal Clear. I have not had any problems at all. There is not a compatability issue since Crystal Clear uses the same Part A as Water Clear. Only the Part B is different. Not sure what your problem is but in my experience, it is not the dye.
 
I have gone through a gallon of the Crystal Clear and haven't had any problems with any of my usual dyes or powders. I have to order some mor eof it, it goes fast around here.
 
Put the rubbery Casting Craft polyester resin blanks in a warm toaster over (I preheat to 150, then turn off, then insert blanks). It should help them firm up to a usable state. Use a dedicated oven for this or your next meal may be in the dog house.
 
Thanks. I tried that. No difference at all. I did it again at 180. Same results.

What's funny is I did a two cup mix, one with just aztec gold pearlex and one with the red, and slightly mixed them before pouring. They separated in the mold and the gold pearlex half is rock hard. Only the red half turned rubbery.
 
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