warreng8170
Member
Went out yesterday and bought a few starter supplies. Castin' Craft and Pearl Ex from Michaels and Hobby Lobby (using the 40% off coupons). Paper cups and "popsicle" sticks from WallyWorld. I was also able to pick up a toaster oven for 3 bucks at the local Goodwill. Nobody had the mold trays in stock so I used an idea I saw here a while back. I used one of the drawers from a small parts bin.
I went out to the shop today and started to work. I used the toaster oven to heat an aluminum pan with water. I placed the cups of pure resin in the warm water to lower the viscosity. I didn't want to invest in any kind of vibrating unit just yet, so I just improvised. I used a set of hair clippers and set them on top of a box along with the warmed resin. I mixed in my pigment first and then the catalyst. The clippers did an amazingly good job of getting the bubbles to the top.
One the first pour, I was hoping to wait until they started to thicken and then pour them together, mixing them during the pour. Unfortunately, one of the colors gel'ed WAY faster than the other and it caught me off guard. I ended up trying to mix what seemed like a wad of gum with a cup of syrup. I'm pretty sure this resulted in some air pockets, since when I was trying to mix them, I had to basically "tear' the one that was already gel'ed. We'll find out how bad once I cut them down and turn them round.
Being the impatient person that I am, I couldn't wait to do another pour. The second one went better and I watched the reactions much closer. I probably ended up pouring them a little too early, but I was afraid of repeating my first mistake. They seemed to mix well and hopefully still maintained a little separation.
Both pours are curing now and I'll be going out after while to bake them a little. I'll try to post some before and after pics when they are all done.
Thanks to everyone on this forum for sharing all your experiences and knowledge. I was surprisingly confident going in to this based on the numerous posts that I have read over the last several weeks.
I went out to the shop today and started to work. I used the toaster oven to heat an aluminum pan with water. I placed the cups of pure resin in the warm water to lower the viscosity. I didn't want to invest in any kind of vibrating unit just yet, so I just improvised. I used a set of hair clippers and set them on top of a box along with the warmed resin. I mixed in my pigment first and then the catalyst. The clippers did an amazingly good job of getting the bubbles to the top.
One the first pour, I was hoping to wait until they started to thicken and then pour them together, mixing them during the pour. Unfortunately, one of the colors gel'ed WAY faster than the other and it caught me off guard. I ended up trying to mix what seemed like a wad of gum with a cup of syrup. I'm pretty sure this resulted in some air pockets, since when I was trying to mix them, I had to basically "tear' the one that was already gel'ed. We'll find out how bad once I cut them down and turn them round.
Being the impatient person that I am, I couldn't wait to do another pour. The second one went better and I watched the reactions much closer. I probably ended up pouring them a little too early, but I was afraid of repeating my first mistake. They seemed to mix well and hopefully still maintained a little separation.
Both pours are curing now and I'll be going out after while to bake them a little. I'll try to post some before and after pics when they are all done.
Thanks to everyone on this forum for sharing all your experiences and knowledge. I was surprisingly confident going in to this based on the numerous posts that I have read over the last several weeks.
