Liquid Diamonds epoxy resin

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Liquid Diamonds Resin

I did some extensive testing on the product for the distributor, Susan Putman. It threads very well and is the clearest resin I have ever used. I have done just about everything with it you could imagine. The resin is completely odor free and is very thin so it works very well when making hybrids and embedded items. It has a much longer cure time so it good for casting that need more working time. It is superior in all ways to PR.
 
Its a great resin, I have done all types of casting as tests but have really loved it for tube in clear casting. I even did a kitless in it from a rod and t worked great, Good stuff worth a try.
 
mbroberg said:
I ordered some and received it today. I'm looking forward to trying it out. I like hearing that it is odorless. I hope it works as well as I've heard it does.
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Just got some and mixed up a small 15ml batch and no odor at all not even the normal 5 min epoxy glue smell.

Also super thin like water.
 
I just turned my first LD blank I made and I found it softer than Alumilite and PR. Almost too soft. I said almost it still took a shine.
 
How much work time do you have before you need to pour with Liquid Diamonds?

Do colors stay separated with Liquid Diamonds? Or, is LD still very thin when pouring into a mold?
 
PSNCO said:
How much work time do you have before you need to pour with Liquid Diamonds?

Do colors stay separated with Liquid Diamonds? Or, is LD still very thin when pouring into a mold?
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You can wait for it to thicken up. In fact maybe better than PR since I don't think it goes from thin, to syrup, to snots, to bottle stopper blank quite so quickly. :)
 
Only thing I don't like so far is the looooooooooooong cure time, over 24 hours for a good hard blank to turn. I now wait at least 36 hours to turn it and wait 12 before de-molding it.
 
I used it to fill some cholla cactus and it worked fine, maybe better than Alumilite, as I had no "bubbles", and I might get one or two bubbles normally with Alumilite. I did put it in a pressure pot at 35 psi.

I did find an unexpected benefit in the slow cure time. After my successful test, I did a batch of 4 more cholla, each a different color. I calculated I'd need 2 oz of epoxy total, so mixed up 2.5 to make sure I had enough. Split that in fourths mixed and poured it into my cholla. I had a bit left over, of course - not enough extra to worry about throwing it away, but since the cure time is so long, I figured... hey I should think of something to do with this. So I grabbed a Sierra length piece of clear plastic tubing and stuffed some little pieces of wood from my "scrap saved for casting" tub. Then swirled my remaining epoxy in there. To my surprise, it didn't take much, so I did another. So I got two bonus "worthless wood" blanks from my cholla pours that I realistically probably wouldn't have had time to mess with if I was working with something fast curing. The worthless wood went into the pressure pot along with the cholla.

I turned one of the worthless wood blanks today and it turned and finished up fine. I think it might be a bit harder than Alumilite.

I know it's more expensive than Alumilite, but for things like cholla and worthless wood, I think I'll switch to using Liquid Diamonds, as the quantities used are small enough to make the extra cost a non-factor.
 
its_virgil said:
Epoxy resins are notorious for yellowing. Any info on LD and yellowing from sources other than the manufacturer?
Do a good turn daily!
Don
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Check out this company:
https://www.artresin.com/blogs/artr...artresin-formula-better-in-terms-of-yellowing

anti yellowing properties of resin are treated as an afterthought by resin and dye companies in my opinion which surprised me. i contacted a number of them and if they address it at all they use a UV stabilizer which helps with chalking, and other physical properties but not yellowing.
The above company is the only one I could find that addresses this and they've had some interesting tests done by a third party.
Anyway, I ordered some, cast some blocks for test machining (I don't turn things). I drilled a 1" hole with a forstner bit no problem and then cut the slices off the blocks with both a bandsaw and table saw with no issues. I dyed a block with UV stabilized artists acrylic and it worked fine. I then took a part of each block (clear and tinted) and placed them in direct sun for I guess two months now and there's no change in color when compared to the other halves which are kept in a drawer.
Food for thought.
video of test results. It looks like alumilite performs about in the middle of the pack:
https://youtu.be/MzIxcIqCNh8
 
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chunk of plum wood with termite cavities that I stabilized, filled the voids with Artresin, pressure cast, then cut to size on a bandsaw. it's about 6x5x4. sanded to 240 then coated with Artresin.
 

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triw51 said:
can you color the resin (i.e. blue, white etc.)? If so what would you use to dye the resin? Thanks William
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I've used both dye and mica with great results. Because of the long pot life, I'd recommend holding off pouring your mica casts as soon as you mix in the hardener because mica tends to settle. Give it about 30 minutes then stir the contents again before pouring.

Just my $.02.

Thanks!
 
I did some research last night and found the Technical Data Sheet on the TurnersWarehouse web site.

It stated that Liquid Diamond will enter the gel state in about 45 minutes if you are working in a room that is 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

As far as tinting goes, I am using my alumilite dyes with no issues. I know of people who are using Transtint dyes, and some who are using Mixol dyes.

I have not tried Mixol dyes with Liquid Diamond yet, however, I have used them to tint 5 minute epoxy with good results.

One thing I will say for sure, is if you remove the cast pieces from you molds to soon they can stick to whatever you lay them on and they can deform under their own weight.
 
PatrickR said:
Does LD get as hard as acrylic? Hard enough that you can not dent it with a fingernail?
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After about 72 hours it is very hard, at least comparable to acrylic and you can not dent it with your finger nail. Within that first 24 hours however it is very soft and as mentioned it can deform under it's own weight. I have had that happen to me once, being to impatient.
 
Thanks! I just need to wait longer then. I completed my first two sets of castings over the last two days. Just 24 hrs since the last one.
 
The technical data sheet said that it could take as long as 7 days to reach maximum hardness if left in a room at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit, or maybe it was 77 degrees. It is terrible what happens to your mind as you get older.

I have four blanks and one tube that I cast and it was fairly hard after 36 hours. I have not tried to turn it yet, too many other things going on.
 
I've seen some comments, Not about LD, but other resins. Note, I'm a true noob at this.. so be kind :) The question I have has to do with wrapping items around the brass tube and casting only to find there is a 'bubble' interface between the item and the tube. Let's say snake skin or a feather.

So, the question is..other than pressure potting.. can this be done in a vacuum to suck all air out of that interface area? Sounds like the cure time is pretty long.
 
Custom fishing rod builders put one or two coats of color preserver over a feather or snakeskin. This eliminates any irregularities that would result in air bubbles.
 
I'm curious what everyone's average pressure pot time and de-mold times are? (I know it highly variable)
Ive been using 7 hrs under pressure and 8-9 for de-mold with good results. It's still soft but past the point of deforming.
I'm using lecithin release. I don't like using silicone on anything that will get a finish.
 
PatrickR said:
I'm curious what everyone's average pressure pot time and de-mold times are? (I know it highly variable)
Ive been using 7 hrs under pressure and 8-9 for de-mold with good results. It's still soft but past the point of deforming.
I'm using lecithin release. I don't like using silicone on anything that will get a finish.
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If I use a PP on LD, I put it in at 60psi and leave it over night.

I recently disassembled a pen I put together about 4 weeks ago. A blank I made with LD. I noticed a nice little dent where the Pen clip was resting. The blank sat for a week before I turned it, so even after all that time it is still soft enough to dent with a bit of persistent pressure. Not that big of a deal I guess, but shows the softness of the product.
 
Has anyone used the weatherproof labels when doing tube-in casting with liquid diamonds?

I prefer the weatherproof labels over typical mailing labels for the deeper colors I get with the weatherproof labels. They work great with alumilite, but I don't know if they work with PR and others.
 
PatrickR said:
I'm curious what everyone's average pressure pot time and de-mold times are?
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I took this one out after 12 hours. IT was perfect, no bubbles. Then about an hour later I notice this bubble working it's way out - I will be increasing my pot time to 24 hours. It was still really soft at this stage.
Bubble.jpg
 
stuckinohio said:
Has anyone used the weatherproof labels when doing tube-in casting with liquid diamonds?

I prefer the weatherproof labels over typical mailing labels for the deeper colors I get with the weatherproof labels. They work great with alumilite, but I don't know if they work with PR and others.
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LD sticks to more things (or better than) than Alumilite does, so I would think it would be fine.
 
stuckinohio said:
Has anyone used the weatherproof labels when doing tube-in casting with liquid diamonds?

I prefer the weatherproof labels over typical mailing labels for the deeper colors I get with the weatherproof labels. They work great with alumilite, but I don't know if they work with PR and others.
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I am using liquid diamond with weatherproof label some and they work very good. I have them in the pot 12hrs, there still soft when I take them out but not to soft to demold.
I couldn't get weatherproof labels to work with pr and I even sealed the labels.
 
Perfect. Thank you.

m4skinner said:
stuckinohio said:
Has anyone used the weatherproof labels when doing tube-in casting with liquid diamonds?

I prefer the weatherproof labels over typical mailing labels for the deeper colors I get with the weatherproof labels. They work great with alumilite, but I don't know if they work with PR and others.
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I am using liquid diamond with weatherproof label some and they work very good. I have them in the pot 12hrs, there still soft when I take them out but not to soft to demold.
I couldn't get weatherproof labels to work with pr and I even sealed the labels.
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m4skinner said:
I couldn't get weatherproof labels to work with pr and I even sealed the labels.
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What wasn't working? I'm asking because I used Avery Trueblock labels, and had horrible results after sealing the label with CA. It looked like the CA flaked/crackled.

I didn't have that problem when I used "regular" labels. I haven't done much label casting, so I don't know if I messed up in process, or if it's something about the Trueblock.

Thanks in advance.
 
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Brian G said:
m4skinner said:
I couldn't get weatherproof labels to work with pr and I even sealed the labels.
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What wasn't working? I'm asking because I used Avery Trueblock labels, and had horrible results after sealing the label with CA. It looked like the CA flaked/crackled.

I didn't have that problem when I used "regular" labels. I haven't done much label casting, so I don't know if I messed up in process, or if it's something about the Trueblock.

Thanks in advance.
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I use avery trueblock labels with pr with no trouble and seal them with ca. when I used weatherproof labels with pr and sealed with ca the label would wrinkle while casting.
 
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