Swirling PolyResin

[kenlholley]

I am trying to make a purple blank with some white swirling in it. Not having very good luck so far. I mix the purple and add the catalyst and pour it in the mold. I waited about 10 minutes or so then I mixed the white, added some pearl coloring and then added the catalyst. By the time I poured the white in, it had been close to 15 minutes since I poured the purple. As I added the white, it seemed to swirl in when I used a stirring stick. After getting what I thought was a pretty good swirl, I set the mold aside to cure. The next day when I take the blank out, all of the white has settled to the bottom.

I guess my question is, How long do I let the purple cure before I add the white? Obviously, I'm not waiting long enough. Before I make multiple blanks with white bottoms, can anyone give me an idea of the time to wait?

Thanks

 

[robutacion]

I am trying to make a purple blank with some white swirling in it. Not having very good luck so far. I mix the purple and add the catalyst and pour it in the mold. I waited about 10 minutes or so then I mixed the white, added some pearl coloring and then added the catalyst. By the time I poured the white in, it had been close to 15 minutes since I poured the purple. As I added the white, it seemed to swirl in when I used a stirring stick. After getting what I thought was a pretty good swirl, I set the mold aside to cure. The next day when I take the blank out, all of the white has settled to the bottom.

I guess my question is, How long do I let the purple cure before I add the white? Obviously, I'm not waiting long enough. Before I make multiple blanks with white bottoms, can anyone give me an idea of the time to wait?

Thanks

With Polyester resin and most other resins, the amount of time that will take to start gelling, will depend upon a number of at least 5 factors, which are, the environment temperature of the location where the resin has been worked on, the amount/% of hardener you used in the mix, thirdly, what you use as colourings and what percentages you are using, most people are unaware that, with most powders, the higher the concentration, the quicker it will set while with most liquids, the reaction is normally the opposite and finally, the amounts/volume of resin mixed, bigger mixes tend to set faster why...??? because of the fast increasing temps from the resin as it starts to set, works like a chain reaction, the higher the volume, the hotter the mold will get and faster will set.

I do have the equipment to measure these temp readings of the resin curing, I'm considering to do a thread dedicated to this issue, one day...!

White is heavier than most colours, you should obtain a fairly white mix by using only the "Pearlex Pearl White".

There is a trick to improve the colour separation within the mix, for colours that are lighter and that you want to use as the last colours to create the swirls, you can accelerate slightly the mix by using a few extra drops of the hardener, this will force that mix to start reaction first, if you had mixed all the colours at the same time.

The principal is this, to increase the "floating" time of the main colour that will be the base colour in the mix, you make it to start setting first, that will hold the next colour when poured and swirled.

If the colours are similar in weight (speed getting to the bottom), you can reverse the process, use a mild mix as a base and then make the next colour setting faster, this is particularly handy, if you are casting worthless woods with lots of tight voids...!
:wink:
Good luck...!

Cheers
George

 

[wyone]

as always.. a wealth of information.. TY George

 

[MrBassMan]

George hit the nail on the head.

Being a newbie myself, what I do is.....I mix the contrasting streak color and the base color in separate 4oz paper cups filled only to the 2oz mark (you'll need to measure this). After mixing the colors in their respective cups, I then add the catalyst (I use TAP resin and catalyst) to each cup using 11-13drops of catalyst for each 2oz cup of resin.

I mix each cup separately until both start to gel (appx 5min depending on the ambient temp), then I pour both cups into the mold at the same time (I use 3/4" PVC corked or taped at the bottom)

Once the mold is filled, I wait another 5min and stick a bent paper clip or small piece of coat hanger) into the mold and gently twirl it as I pull it out.

Let it set and cure overnight and I'm good to go.

If it's cold outside, I use a heat gun to get it started curing.

Hope this helps....and happy turning

 

[joe966]

I am trying to make a purple blank with some white swirling in it. Not having very good luck so far. I mix the purple and add the catalyst and pour it in the mold. I waited about 10 minutes or so then I mixed the white, added some pearl coloring and then added the catalyst. By the time I poured the white in, it had been close to 15 minutes since I poured the purple. As I added the white, it seemed to swirl in when I used a stirring stick. After getting what I thought was a pretty good swirl, I set the mold aside to cure. The next day when I take the blank out, all of the white has settled to the bottom.

I guess my question is, How long do I let the purple cure before I add the white? Obviously, I'm not waiting long enough. Before I make multiple blanks with white bottoms, can anyone give me an idea of the time to wait?

Thanks

With Polyester resin and most other resins, the amount of time that will take to start gelling, will depend upon a number of at least 5 factors, which are, the environment temperature of the location where the resin has been worked on, the amount/% of hardener you used in the mix, thirdly, what you use as colourings and what percentages you are using, most people are unaware that, with most powders, the higher the concentration, the quicker it will set while with most liquids, the reaction is normally the opposite and finally, the amounts/volume of resin mixed, bigger mixes tend to set faster why...??? because of the fast increasing temps from the resin as it starts to set, works like a chain reaction, the higher the volume, the hotter the mold will get and faster will set.

I do have the equipment to measure these temp readings of the resin curing, I'm considering to do a thread dedicated to this issue, one day...!

White is heavier than most colours, you should obtain a fairly white mix by using only the "Pearlex Pearl White".

There is a trick to improve the colour separation within the mix, for colours that are lighter and that you want to use as the last colours to create the swirls, you can accelerate slightly the mix by using a few extra drops of the hardener, this will force that mix to start reaction first, if you had mixed all the colours at the same time.

The principal is this, to increase the "floating" time of the main colour that will be the base colour in the mix, you make it to start setting first, that will hold the next colour when poured and swirled.

If the colours are similar in weight (speed getting to the bottom), you can reverse the process, use a mild mix as a base and then make the next colour setting faster, this is particularly handy, if you are casting worthless woods with lots of tight voids...!
:wink:
Good luck...!

Cheers
George

How do you determine the weight of the powders to determine if one is heavier than the others?