New to casting, need advice

[Eddie123]

Hello.

I need help from some of the experts here, since I have never done any casting before, and I have been asked to help set up a casting system for a charity organisation, that works with people with a various problems.
They want to do castings, for art, pen making, knife making, etc.

I have been told, that a pressure pot is not an option, so I guess it will have to be a vacuum table of some sort.

Which type of resins should I get ? Poly urethane, PR, or something else ?

We probably dont have the same make of resins here in Norway, so if someone has advice on which properties I should look for in a resin ?

Thanks for listening, and answering.

Vegard

 

[Jim Burr]

Everything you want to know about casting is in the Library. YouTube also has tons of videos on how and what to do

 

[seamus7227]

hey Vegard,
there a few different types of casting resins to choose from: Alumilite,Polyresin(Silmar 41), and Epoxy. Most affordable is generally the Polyresin and the epoxy type resins. But i think it depends on the type of castings you are interested in.

 

[Ed McDonnell]

Hi Vegard - It's hard to fully respond to your questions because there is so many things we don't know about your situation. But I'll offer some thoughts anyway.

Most resins have vary degrees of toxicity associated with them. Depending on the "problems" the individuals have, resins may not be a suitable choice for a work medium. Have you investigated polymer clay as an alternative to resins? There is quite a bit that can be done with polymer clay and you would not require expensive equipment (e.g. pressure pots, vacuum chambers, safety gear). Just a thought.

As far as resins:

Polyester Resin would likely be the easiest and least expensive to work with, but the styrene fumes and the toxicity of the catalyst may make it unsuitable for use in a group setting of challenged individuals. You could get by without a pressure pot / vacuum chamber with careful use.

Urethane Resin is expensive and may be somewhat difficult for your group to work with given the short pot life after mixing. Lack of a pressure pot would be a sizeable obstacle. A vacuum chamber would not be of much use in my opinion with urethane resin.

Epoxy resins tend to be expensive and harder to cast bubble free due to their viscosity. At least the ones I've worked with. In my opinion, epoxy is a great adhesive, but a difficult casting medium. But that's just my opinion.

I really think polymer clay may be a good alternative to investigate. If not, then polyester resin in a highly ventilated environment, with a responsible individual controlling use of the catalyst, with everyone in the work environment equipped with adequate safety gear (organic vapor masks, googles...) might work. Good luck.

There are a lot of different typs of polyester resin available. You would likely find a clear casting resin to be most useful.

All just my opinion and there's nothing magic about my opinions.....

Ed

 

[Russianwolf]

As was said, the type of casting will drive all your answers.

If you are looking at embedded item casting, then you will need a clear resin. If you are going to be coloring the resin, then clear may not be needed.

The different resins have different working qualities that you need to keep in mind. Urathanes cure quickly. PR has a strong odor and needs more ventilation. Epoxy can not be put under vacuum (it will boil). So it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish.

The thickness of the items you are casting will also be a factor. Pouring an inch thick cast in some resins will cause it to crack. Others are okay. So you have to select a resin based on your needs.

So you need to gather as much info as you can on what you/they want to do.

 

[BSea]

Also, a pressure pot is not required for all resins. Generally I don't use pressure for silmar 41(polyester resin), although others do. Alumilite does require pressure.

Alumilite is roughly twice the expense of silmar 41. And has a different learning curve. It's not necessarily harder, just different, and cost more.

 

[Eddie123]

Hello.

Thanks for your replies.

So, basically, besides polymer clay, the easiest and cheapest would be to go for Polyresin ?

Vegard

 

[Russianwolf]

cheapest? yes

easiest? depends on what you mean by easy. Its messy, smells horribad, is toxic, can be finicky with getting the right amount of catalyst for your ambient temp/dye/color socks you are wearing, etc.

Not trying to dissuade you, but want you to know how complex this area of the "craft" can be.

The picture below represents about 6 months of experimenting and about $1000 in materials. They are all failures. Polyresin, Alumilite and Epoxy. And the box keep getting more tossed in as I try new things, and sometimes just have a bad day.

 

[Turned Around]

cheapest? yes

easiest? depends on what you mean by easy. Its messy, smells horribad, is toxic, can be finicky with getting the right amount of catalyst for your ambient temp/dye/color socks you are wearing, etc.

Not trying to dissuade you, but want you to know how complex this area of the "craft" can be.

The picture below represents about 6 months of experimenting and about $1000 in materials. They are all failures. Polyresin, Alumilite and Epoxy. And the box keep getting more tossed in as I try new things, and sometimes just have a bad day.

Failures? Care to explain. I see a few in there I'd liek to call dibs on, if not all

 

[Russianwolf]

cheapest? yes

easiest? depends on what you mean by easy. Its messy, smells horribad, is toxic, can be finicky with getting the right amount of catalyst for your ambient temp/dye/color socks you are wearing, etc.

Not trying to dissuade you, but want you to know how complex this area of the "craft" can be.

The picture below represents about 6 months of experimenting and about $1000 in materials. They are all failures. Polyresin, Alumilite and Epoxy. And the box keep getting more tossed in as I try new things, and sometimes just have a bad day.

Failures? Care to explain. I see a few in there I'd liek to call dibs on, if not all

Bubbles
Delaminations
Melting (PR will eat some materials, including base paint coats)
Bad Resin
Wrong Resin (I tried several other types other than the standards we use)
Seams peeling up
etc.

They look great from afar, not so much when you have one in your hand.

I have another box of seconds that don't quite pass inspection but aren't bad enough to toss. I have maybe a dozen blanks in it. I toss them in as freebies to let people see what something looks like.

For some of the things I cast, PR wouldn't work, so I had to find a resin that would. That's how I wound up where I am now using the West Systems Epoxy. And I still have an occasional failure on the stuff I KNOW how to do.

 

[Turned Around]

cheapest? yes

easiest? depends on what you mean by easy. Its messy, smells horribad, is toxic, can be finicky with getting the right amount of catalyst for your ambient temp/dye/color socks you are wearing, etc.

Not trying to dissuade you, but want you to know how complex this area of the "craft" can be.

The picture below represents about 6 months of experimenting and about $1000 in materials. They are all failures. Polyresin, Alumilite and Epoxy. And the box keep getting more tossed in as I try new things, and sometimes just have a bad day.

Failures? Care to explain. I see a few in there I'd liek to call dibs on, if not all

Bubbles
Delaminations
Melting (PR will eat some materials, including base paint coats)
Bad Resin
Wrong Resin (I tried several other types other than the standards we use)
Seams peeling up
etc.

They look great from afar, not so much when you have one in your hand.

I have another box of seconds that don't quite pass inspection but aren't bad enough to toss. I have maybe a dozen blanks in it. I toss them in as freebies to let people see what something looks like.

For some of the things I cast, PR wouldn't work, so I had to find a resin that would. That's how I wound up where I am now using the West Systems Epoxy. And I still have an occasional failure on the stuff I KNOW how to do.

I'd still take some. Just sayin'.....

 

[Russianwolf]

cheapest? yes

easiest? depends on what you mean by easy. Its messy, smells horribad, is toxic, can be finicky with getting the right amount of catalyst for your ambient temp/dye/color socks you are wearing, etc.

Not trying to dissuade you, but want you to know how complex this area of the "craft" can be.

The picture below represents about 6 months of experimenting and about $1000 in materials. They are all failures. Polyresin, Alumilite and Epoxy. And the box keep getting more tossed in as I try new things, and sometimes just have a bad day.

Failures? Care to explain. I see a few in there I'd liek to call dibs on, if not all

Bubbles
Delaminations
Melting (PR will eat some materials, including base paint coats)
Bad Resin
Wrong Resin (I tried several other types other than the standards we use)
Seams peeling up
etc.

They look great from afar, not so much when you have one in your hand.

I have another box of seconds that don't quite pass inspection but aren't bad enough to toss. I have maybe a dozen blanks in it. I toss them in as freebies to let people see what something looks like.

For some of the things I cast, PR wouldn't work, so I had to find a resin that would. That's how I wound up where I am now using the West Systems Epoxy. And I still have an occasional failure on the stuff I KNOW how to do.

I'd still take some. Just sayin'.....

PM me your address. I'll send you some to play with. Granted, I can't tell you which kits they are tubed for anymore.

 

[Turned Around]

cheapest? yes

easiest? depends on what you mean by easy. Its messy, smells horribad, is toxic, can be finicky with getting the right amount of catalyst for your ambient temp/dye/color socks you are wearing, etc.

Not trying to dissuade you, but want you to know how complex this area of the "craft" can be.

The picture below represents about 6 months of experimenting and about $1000 in materials. They are all failures. Polyresin, Alumilite and Epoxy. And the box keep getting more tossed in as I try new things, and sometimes just have a bad day.

Failures? Care to explain. I see a few in there I'd liek to call dibs on, if not all

Bubbles
Delaminations
Melting (PR will eat some materials, including base paint coats)
Bad Resin
Wrong Resin (I tried several other types other than the standards we use)
Seams peeling up
etc.

They look great from afar, not so much when you have one in your hand.

I have another box of seconds that don't quite pass inspection but aren't bad enough to toss. I have maybe a dozen blanks in it. I toss them in as freebies to let people see what something looks like.

For some of the things I cast, PR wouldn't work, so I had to find a resin that would. That's how I wound up where I am now using the West Systems Epoxy. And I still have an occasional failure on the stuff I KNOW how to do.

I'd still take some. Just sayin'.....

PM me your address. I'll send you some to play with. Granted, I can't tell you which kits they are tubed for anymore.

I like a challenge, PM sent

 

[Eddie123]

Hello.

Thanks so far for all the advice, maybe I should try something
different than casting, it sounds like there is too many things that can go wrong ...


Vegard

 

[Turned Around]

I started off with the simple stuff from Hobby Lobby that you add a few drops of catylist to. Kept it simple, clear. Everything's come out great so far. I've had a lot of fun with casting embedded object into my pens, but no solid blanks of my own yet. Go small scale, don't invest too much to begin with and see how you like it. Personally, I wish I had done it sooner.