Turning Amazing Clear Cast - How do you do it?

[CabinetMaker]

This is my first time working with Amazing Clear Cast. I recently cast a blank and put it on the lathe. The main problem I encountered is that I could not sand it to a clear and glossy finish. Try as I might, I couldn't get the scratches out. I started with a very gentle hand on my tools to minimize chip out. That part went well. Then I started sanding using the Plastic Finishing Kit for Pen Turners from PSI. I have worked with various acrylic blanks in the past and this system has always produced a nice glossy finish. This time it did not work at all.

I would appreciate any tips/tricks/traps for producing a nice clear glossy finish with the Amazing Clear Cast.

Thank you.

 

[PBorowick]

I think it is because the amazing clear cast doesn't become as hard as the alumilite clear. That is if I remember previous conversations I have read correctly.

 

[Chippa]

This is correct but you can still get a mirror polish, just takes much longer. You can heat up amazing clear pretty easily.

what is your sanding procedure?

a microfine paste also helps

 

[Kenny Durrant]

Donn I'm not familiar with the product you mentioned. I tried to research it and found that Alumilite carries something by that name. If it's their product try calling them and they will try to answer your questions. I use their Alumilite Slow resin a lot. Just off the top of my head here are some possibilities in my opinion. How long did you let the blank cure? Not counting the time in the pressure pot the resin needs time to cure. That can take several hours to days to happen. If it's an epoxy resin they're not very tolerant of heat. So when sanding any heat buildup will cause it to soften and will give you all kinds of problems. Not all resins polish and shine as well as the others. Alumilite doesn't shine as well as P.R. When I finish sanding and polishing an Alumilite blank I put a coat of carnauba wax, stick form, and that bring out a really nice shine. Good Luck

 

[JoeCallahan]

Amazing clear cast is Alumilite's epoxy resin. I've used it for a few years now. It sounds to me that you didn't mix your parts A and B well enough. I agree with Chippa that it's very easy to heat up the resin if you press too hard during sanding. But if changing your sanding technique doesn't resolve the problem, then your mixing is the problem. Try putting the bottles in a warm water bath prior to casting. The heat will thin the liquids.