Poly/ Acrylic

[toyotaman]

I guess for some reason I thought both poly and acrylic was the same but I was reading in a magazine today and it said they were different.I've not done any casting so far but how are these two items different? Which one turns easier?
Donny

 

[ldb2000]

Poly and Acrylic are both catch-all names for different types of plastic . Poly can be Polyester or Polyurethane other wise known as Alumilite . Acrylic can be Lucite or Acrylic Acetate or Plexiglas or ....others .
They are all plastics and each has it's advantages . Polyurethane is easy to cast and is less brittle then Polyester but don't shine up as well . Acrylic Acetate and the other Acrylics require special equipment to cast that is beyond the home caster , it turns easily but tends to melt if overheated during turning .
They all turn well with sharp tools and a light touch . Which is better ?.... you are looking to start a fight by asking that question . Everyone has their own favorite and the best way to decide is to try turning them and decide for yourself .

 

[Craftdiggity]

I went with Polyester Resin because it seemed to be the easiest and least expensive way to give casting a try. I love working with it and have not tried any other products as yet, so I can't give you any comparisons.

 

[Glass Scratcher]

Poly can also mean PMMA or Polymethyl methacrylate. Which is acrylic.

 

[bruce119]

which one is better.

As Butch said everyone is going to have a different answer. That all depends what you are planing on doing. Like Butch said the blanks you buy from major suppliers turn very easy but they are beyond our home abilities. We for the most part are divided between Polyester (Silmar 41) & Polyurethane (Alumilite). They both have pros and cons depending on what you are doing. I have been playing with them for over 3 years now and every project takes a different method. I am still tweaking my process . What we are doing with resins are pushing beyond the limits of what the resins are made for. It's one big experiment at least for me always looking for something new. Oh and just about everything effects resin air temp., humidity, moisture in whatever your casting, temp of resin, pressure, vibration, ultrasonic, vacuum.

Ahh so much fun.

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