WW Casting Question

[PTownSubbie]

I have been trying some castings with WW lately but the last one I did was a real bugger to save. I had to put it back together a couple of times but I was able to make it work.

The question I have is how do you guys prep the surface of the wood. I think the Chechen Burl I used was not clean enough on the exterior which caused the resin to not adhear very well. I did nothing but blow it clean with compressed air.

What do you do?

 

[Druid]

IMHO I would wipe it down with acetone, that should remove any oil, residue, & other particles.

 

[PTownSubbie]

IMHO I would wipe it down with acetone, that should remove any oil, residue, & other particles.

How long does it take for acetone to dry? The reason I ask is that acetone eats plastic (at least plexiglass) and that is all the casting is is plastic.

Won't that be worse? Or does it evaporate fast enough to not worry about?

 

[Wheaties]

The acetone will evaporate in a matter of seconds

 

[Druid]

If you dont submerse the acrylic it drys very fast, I use it frequently. You can also try denatured alchohol but IMHO I do not believe it is as effective.

 

[ElMostro]

It depends what is coating the piece. If it's just dirt you can blow it off with high pressure air. If it has any "waxy" coating then you either have to burn it off or boil the pieces.

Eugene.

 

[PTownSubbie]

What I am currently using is Chechen Burl. These are the exterior pieces so they are full of dirt and bark that I clean off. Is Chechen considered a waxy wood?

Is there a good site that shows what is considered waxy and what is not?

 

[BigguyZ]

What I am currently using is Chechen Burl. These are the exterior pieces so they are full of dirt and bark that I clean off. Is Chechen considered a waxy wood?

Is there a good site that shows what is considered waxy and what is not?

I think what he meant by a waxy coating is anything used to seal the wood to slow/ control the drying process. If there's no additional such coating, you should be fine.

 

[PTownSubbie]

I think what he meant by a waxy coating is anything used to seal the wood to slow/ control the drying process. If there's no additional such coating, you should be fine.

Well Duh!!! The light just came on and I can see now.....LOL!

 

[MesquiteMan]

Also, you do not say what resin you are using. PR has more of a problem sticking to WW than does Alumilite.

 

[PTownSubbie]

It is PR. I have heard that before but the difference in price is pretty high. I have the PR thing down finally (I think) and changing at this point may be difficult.

I was looking for other changes that may work.

 

[Druid]

Also, you do not say what resin you are using. PR has more of a problem sticking to WW than does Alumilite.

Good question, I agree with Curtis here. I forgot about asking if you were using PR. This is a project Alumilite does very well with. I tend to stay away from using PR with WW due to bonding issues.

 

[Dai Sensei]

I use PR and just ensure the timber is clean and free of dust and dirt. I often use a small wire brush attachment on the dremmel to clean them, then wipe with spirit. The main thing is to ensure the pressure whilst casting is the max your pot can take and retained until resin is completely set (I leave overnight).