Luffa Casting

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homemade

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I have a luffa that I want to cast. I was wondering if I should stabilize it first or just cast it in resin. Should I dye it first, then move onto the next step.
 
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google images helped me out.

I don't have experience here, but I think stabilization would be a good idea.
 
That is a really cool idea, it could look a lot like the cactus blanks that Curtis makes. You are really going to cast with pressure to get it to go into all the nooks and crannys. You might PM Curtis and see if he stabilizes the cactus he uses.

Mike
 
As thin as those are, I'm not sure stabilizing will help much. Resin will suck into those fibers in a New York minute. Like the idea...have a lash at it!
 
I have cast Luffa using Alumilite with good success, no stabilization was required. If you search the forum for "Luffa" you will get several others that have cast it as well. Makes some beautiful pen blanks and pens BTW.
 
Several years ago I cast luffa in clear PR. No stabilization. I painted the inside of the blank when I got ready to turn them. Painted one red and one black. They both turned out just fine. Sold both pens quickly. I like the clear because I can have any color pen I want by using different color paints. They look similar to the clear cactus blanks that Curtis sells although they are not as dense as the cactus skeleton. I would continue to cast if I had the space but have had to let that go for awhile. Go for it!
 
You don't need to stabilize if you are casting in Resin. It's the same thing basically.
Lin.
 
as said before. you should cast with clear resin, otherwise there is a risk that you cant see the structure. I did it with Alumilite and a pressure pot. No stabilization is necessary. at this point. I thank Curtis who gave me valuable advices to do this.
greetings from austria
otto
 

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From the look of the pens posted to (or linked to) in this thread, I think it's worth experimenting with dyed Cactus Juice before casting. You should be able to get the strands of luffa to suck up dye via the Cactus Juice, then use a contrasting color on the tube and cast in clear resin.

Given how thin the strands of luffa are, you might not even need to put it under vacuum. If so, you can potentially dye different sections of the luffa in different colors to create multicolor/rainbow/etc effects in the luffa in addition to picking up whatever color you want under it via a painted tube…

Dang it, now I need to track down some luffa…already have everything else to try this…
 
I did lots of Luffah....
Just cast it in clear or colored PR pressure is recommened.
Like others said it's just like cactus real easy to work with...
You can die the luffah with regular Rit Dye
Just follow instructions heat die soak luffah let dry...


have fun
 
wanted to add this photo of some I did a wile ago...Loffah.jpg



edit: I will add these were dyed, cast with clear PR, with a bit of sparkle/glitter added and back painted white...


.
 
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