Douglas & Sturgess

[Laurenr]

Do any of you have experience with the Clear Casting Resin from Douglas & Sturgess? I just received some and am experimenting with it. I could use some input.

Lauren

 

[DurocShark]

I tried it. Good. But Silmar 41 is less brittle, at least for the way I cast.

Do you have any specific questions?

 

[Old Lar]

I tried it also and found it to be more brittle than Silmar41. I used a couple gallons of it and have a number of blanks that I made. All you need to do is take your time and use sharp tools.
As far as casting go, it is pretty close to the same as the Silmar.

 

[witz1976]

If it is Castin Craft, then yes I too have used it. I found my best results when I used only 4 or 5 drops of MKEP per ounce then let it bake in the sun on a 80+degree day to cure it. It made the blanks less brittle but it took more time to cure. Oh & the surface was tacky and stayed that way, however once turned it was fine and there was no sticky feeling. I hear some people post cure them in a dedicated toaster oven set on warm (about 100 - 150 degrees) to get rid of the tacky feeling, but I am just too cheap for that.

 

[jtpalmer]

I've used a couple gallons of it and have been very pleased. Just follow the directions when casting. It was much cheaper than buying from Michael's, even with shipping costs. That company also has a huge liine of pigments that work very well.

 

[Laurenr]

I've used a couple gallons of it and have been very pleased. Just follow the directions when casting. It was much cheaper than buying from Michael's, even with shipping costs. That company also has a huge liine of pigments that work very well.

How many drops of catalyst per ounce? Nearly all of my castings are with wood, almost never do I cast solid resin blanks.

On my first, and only, casting I used 12 drops per, and had some pretty significant cracking.

 

[Brooks803]

Whether its castn craft, silmar 41, or that resin (which I think is close to castn craft) I would use 3-4 drops per oz. of resin. That'll help with the brittleness.

 

[bgio13]

I am no expert when it comes to casting but I remember reading somewhere here that PR shrinks when curing. I am not sure if you are casting along the lines of "worthless wood" type blanks but that may be the source of your cracking issues. I have since switched to Alumilite for those types of blanks. I also only used 7 drops when using Casting Craft resin and had no problems, 12 drops might be causing the brittleness. Hope this helps.

Bill

 

[ldubia]

If it is Castin Craft, then yes I too have used it. I found my best results when I used only 4 or 5 drops of MKEP per ounce then let it bake in the sun on a 80+degree day to cure it. It made the blanks less brittle but it took more time to cure. Oh & the surface was tacky and stayed that way, however once turned it was fine and there was no sticky feeling. I hear some people post cure them in a dedicated toaster oven set on warm (about 100 - 150 degrees) to get rid of the tacky feeling, but I am just too cheap for that.

To avoid that cheap feeling, visit your local thrift store and purchase (around $5) a used toaster oven. Just my $.02 worth. also what I did. Works great when it is 30 degrees outside and the sun is frozen in place or shivering. :biggrin:

 

[jtpalmer]

I've used a couple gallons of it and have been very pleased. Just follow the directions when casting. It was much cheaper than buying from Michael's, even with shipping costs. That company also has a huge liine of pigments that work very well.

How many drops of catalyst per ounce? Nearly all of my castings are with wood, almost never do I cast solid resin blanks.

On my first, and only, casting I used 12 drops per, and had some pretty significant cracking.

The catalyst/ounce is on the can...I usually do about 6 or 7 drops per ounce. I have not done any casting with wood...I've read on this forum that PR doesn't work well with wood, and that Alumilite is what should be used...I'm not at all set up for that, so I haven't tried it yet.