Need help... with Alumilite...

[woodtreker]

Wow... I had planned to do my first casting tonight... but all did not go well...Using Alumilite White and wanted to split into red and blue to dye into white... Followed YouTube video and was planning to add color to 1/3 mix of mixed resin....Drops refused to come out freely... so... you guessed it... the resin harden almost immediately. Not happy... put the resin in the pot anyway and will use it as filler later... Brought resin into the shop from the house and the shop was 55... Thought it was cool enough to slow the process... guess not...

 

[BSea]

I know how it says to color the resin, but I mix the dye with part A. Now I don't use white, I use clear. Doing it this way, I can get the color the way I want it without having to worry about the clock. When I get the colors right, then I mix the part A with the part B.

Hope this helps.

 

[Brooks803]

I doubt you'll be able to get it cold enough to slow it down much.

With the white version it's pretty much mix and pour. Like Bob mentioned, go ahead and mix in all your color in the A side and then go back and mix in the B side. Since this is the white version you'll need to add quite a bit of pigment to get it to cure a true red and blue. BC of the white already a part of it if you don't do enough pigment your blanks will end up pastel.

 

[TimS124]

If your dye bottles are brand new, you need to pierce the tips in order to get the dye to flow. I use a tiny drill bit in a cordless drill...probably overkill, but a simple straight pin seemed too skinny.

For first timers, the Clear is a better choice as you get longer open time and the color is more predictable. The white lightens the color quite a bit when it goes off so it takes more experimenting to get the final shade of color you wanted.

Also for starting out, adding the dye into just Part A is reasonable, but before you do that, mix a batch or two without yet adding dye to Part A so you get a first hand idea of how long you'll need to mix to get A & B completely mixed.

Lately, I add the drops of dye I want to EMPTY cups (one cup for each color I want in the final pour). Mix all of the A & B you'll need for call colors with NO dye and then pour some of that into each cup of waiting dye.

That lets you get the exact amount of dye ready in advance. Be certain to scrape the sides of each cup thoroughly as the dye will tend to stick a bit (but comes off if you try).

You could put a tiny bit of Part A in each cup along with the dye and stir well to get the dye in suspension before adding the mixed A&B. Then mix all the rest of the A&B together, and add to the dye cups...but, odds are, you'll be slightly off with the ratio of A to B so you'd want to experiment first to see if that will affect your final results.

 

[efrulla]

BTDT

I am new to casting as well. I had the same exact problem on my first cast using White. My second cast went alot smoother because I mixed the dyes with Part A as was suggested in an earlier post here. It is a learning thing and a timing thing. After you do a couple you will get the feel for it.

 

[Bob Roehrig]

Alumilite Dye tips

What works for me is taking the sharp end of my awl, which is tapered, and just enlarging the dye tip hole till you can a nice drip which your happy with. Not sure why Alumilite has the holes so small with all the complaints they receive about this.

 

[MesquiteMan]

Not sure why Alumilite has the holes so small with all the complaints they receive about this.

The "hole" is not intended to be used as is. It is there to allow the bottle to vent a little with changes in pressure. Their website specifically states in bold yellow background to cut the tip of the dropper before use!

 

[robertkulp]

The "hole" is not intended to be used as is. It is there to allow the bottle to vent a little with changes in pressure. Their website specifically states in bold yellow background to cut the tip of the dropper before use!

Come on, Curtis. You mean we're supposed to read the instructions?

 

[DLGunn]

I know how it says to color the resin, but I mix the dye with part A. Now I don't use white, I use clear. Doing it this way, I can get the color the way I want it without having to worry about the clock. When I get the colors right, then I mix the part A with the part B.

Hope this helps.

This is what I do also. Clear is easier to learn on, in my opinion, because of the open time. Keep trying and have fun. This casting stuff can (will) be addicting.

 

[efrulla]

Must be I am fast. I mix and dye white all the time. I have always been able to mix the A & B, split the AB mix, dye 2 colors and get all 3 swirled into a mold and into the pot before it sets. Practice makes perfect and before I got the process down I destroyed a bunch of white.