HELP! When to Add Colors/Dye

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
A

andyk

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2008
Messages
239
Location
Toledo, OH
At what point in the process does everybody add the dye/pigment or your medium of choice for color. What is everybody's choice for color, ie: powder, dye, or what and where from. I mixed up my first cast of Alumilite using their dyes. It is currently in the PP under 50 psi to get rid of air bubbles. I mixed two different dyes into each part and poured them in the mold simultaneously, then mixed in the mold before putting on the lid. From what I saw before putting on the lid I was not impressed. Help! this is to expensive to have many mistakes (design opportunities). Any info is greatly appreciated.

TIA!!!
andyk
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad
You will most likely have a failure if you mixed part A and Part B while in the mold. Alumilite has to be mixed thoroughly to work properly. I HIGHLY suggest, especially starting out, that you buy some clear plastic cups to mix in. Then put your cup on your scale and zero it out. Then if you are needing 10 ounces of mixed resin, pour in 5 ounces of A, then continue filling to the 10 ounce mark with B. Now mix VERY thoroughly. When you pour the first 2 together, they will look cloudy. Once completely mixed, it will be totally clear with no streaks. Thus the reason for the clear cups so you can see the streaks.

Now add the dye and mix thoroughly again and pour into your mold. This is the most sure-fire way to insure perfect results every time.
 
Yep..not only that what Curtis said, but also you mix each color by itself. If you pour 5 ounces of A and 5 ounces of B into a cup and mix in some orange dye, that is fine, but then you want purple swirls with your orange, you don't put the purple in the same cup as the orange or you end up with mud. You have to seperate your colors all by themselves, so maybe you have 6 ounces combined A&B in one cup and add orange to that. Another cup you pour 4 ounces of combined A&B in cup and add the purple to that cup. Each of the cups stirred up super good, then you pour both cups into the mold. You can pour them both at the same time, or pour some of one and then pour some of the other in a zig zaggy fashion and some more of the first..whatever..as the colors land in the mold, they will swirl around on their own because liquid flows, but the colors themselves will remain mostly seperate. So you can have a 50/50 color mix, or you can have 90% orange, 10% purple, or 60% orange with 30% purple and 10% white which would be a triple color pour..and so on.
 
OK. My first attempt was an utter failure due to various reasons that have been corrected. I mixed another batch, mixed correctly in one container then poured an amount into another container to try and get two colors. This was Alumilite CC using their dyes. I poured both simultaneously into the mold and still did not get the color seperation that everyone else does. The only way to see the different colors is to hold it up to the light. One color is pretty opaque and one is pretty translucent. Anymore suggestions on what I am doing wrong?
 
Did you cut up the blanks and spin them? What is on top is not what is inside. Sounds like you did everything perfect the second time around. If you wait just a bit longer before you pour the two different batches into the mold, the colors will not blend as much. You feel the cups start getting hot, that's the product starting to set up, so wait till the cups get warm and then pour. The longer you wait, the more defined the colors will be, but wait too long and you won't have enough time to pour, close the lid and pressurize. I would prefer a bit of color blending over losing the pour due to waiting too long. Bottom line though..what you see on the outside of a blank is not necessarily what is inside! You might be amazed at what you just did. If you used some translucent colors, be sure you paint your tubes.
 
If you're looking for distinct color separations you might try this. Pour the alumilite with your main color into your mold first and then pour your accent color slowly while moving the streaming alumilite around the mold.

If you wait until the resin starts to thicken you will have more distinct separations with a minimum amount of color mixing.
 
workinforwood said:
Yep..not only that what Curtis said, but also you mix each color by itself. If you pour 5 ounces of A and 5 ounces of B into a cup and mix in some orange dye, that is fine, but then you want purple swirls with your orange, you don't put the purple in the same cup as the orange or you end up with mud. You have to seperate your colors all by themselves, so maybe you have 6 ounces combined A&B in one cup and add orange to that. Another cup you pour 4 ounces of combined A&B in cup and add the purple to that cup. Each of the cups stirred up super good, then you pour both cups into the mold. You can pour them both at the same time, or pour some of one and then pour some of the other in a zig zaggy fashion and some more of the first..whatever..as the colors land in the mold, they will swirl around on their own because liquid flows, but the colors themselves will remain mostly seperate. So you can have a 50/50 color mix, or you can have 90% orange, 10% purple, or 60% orange with 30% purple and 10% white which would be a triple color pour..and so on.
Click to expand...
wao,that was a good advice here.thank you.would putting the resing cups in a hot water bowl to get the heat to thin it helps to realease the bubbles faster?
 
You lost me surffy. Alumilite has a fast set rate. It has to be used in a pressure pot. You don't have time to worry about air bubbles. There is no time to get rid of them and if you put the cups in a bowl of hot water you are asking for trouble..the heat will make the resin set even faster and if any of the water drips off the cup into the resin as you pour it, then the resin will become a foam reaction. Air pressure will crush any bubbles into non-existance. It's like being a deep sea diver. the bubbles come out of your mouth real tiny and as they head to the surface they get bigger and bigger. So you are taking tiny bubbles and putting them at the bottom of the sea where they will always still exist but they will be so microscopic you can not see them.
 
workinforwood said:
You lost me surffy. Alumilite has a fast set rate. It has to be used in a pressure pot. You don't have time to worry about air bubbles. There is no time to get rid of them and if you put the cups in a bowl of hot water you are asking for trouble..the heat will make the resin set even faster and if any of the water drips off the cup into the resin as you pour it, then the resin will become a foam reaction. Air pressure will crush any bubbles into non-existance. It's like being a deep sea diver. the bubbles come out of your mouth real tiny and as they head to the surface they get bigger and bigger. So you are taking tiny bubbles and putting them at the bottom of the sea where they will always still exist but they will be so microscopic you can not see them.
Click to expand...
sorry for what i said. i work with etex as a finish coat on my lures and before i mix them together i put the cups in warm water to thin it down and the bubbles come to surface without problem.i see i can't do that with polyester resins. i need to start a thread to clear myself into some questions i have also.
 
surfflyfish4stripers said:
i put the cups in warm water to thin it down and the bubbles come to surface without problem.i see i can't do that with polyester resins. i need to start a thread to clear myself into some questions i have also.
Click to expand...

Actually, you can do that with polyester resins.

You don't want to do it with polyurethane resins, which includes alumilite.
Just use cool water in your ultrasonic cleaner, and don't drip.
 
Last edited:
I've noticed some acrylics with what seems a paper-thin color. Does anyone know how that is done, as that is something I'd like to add to some of my own material, if possible.

The info I've seen here regarding mixing colors has been greatly helpful. Thanks all.
 
Silverscout said:
I've noticed some acrylics with what seems a paper-thin color. Does anyone know how that is done, as that is something I'd like to add to some of my own material, if possible.

The info I've seen here regarding mixing colors has been greatly helpful. Thanks all.
Click to expand...

I haven't tried that with Alumilite, and I'm not sure if it could be done or not. It's fickle in some ways, and alumilite doesn't stick to itself super good. From what I'm thinking your are talking about would be ribbons. PR is really great for ribbons. You pour the PR nice and thin on some glass and let it start to set up. While it is still a little bit soft, you can cut it up into strips, peal it off the glass, bend it up into any odd ribbony shapes you might like and place it into molds then pour over it. It will bond to itself perfectly.
 
workinforwood said:
pour the PR nice and thin on some glass and let it start to set up. While it is still a little bit soft, you can cut it up into strips, peal it off the glass, bend it up into any odd ribbony shapes you might like and place it into molds then pour over it. It will bond to itself perfectly.
Click to expand...

Excellent! I'll definitely give it a try. Thx for the info!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom