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Resin question

Alumilite. It's a urethane resin and has a very low shrink rate. Polyester resins shrink and will cause issues when casting around included materials. One thing about Alumilite, it is very intolerant with moisture. You'll need to bake the pine cones to make them bone dry.
 
Richard Coers said:
Alumilite. It's a urethane resin and has a very low shrink rate. Polyester resins shrink and will cause issues when casting around included materials. One thing about Alumilite, it is very intolerant with moisture. You'll need to bake the pine cones to make them bone dry.
Click to expand...
Do you have to use pressure to reduce bubbles?
 
You can also use a two part epoxy. You'll struggle with Alumilite without pressure and 0% moisture. There are now two epoxies on the market specifically formulated for turning-- Royal Palm and Liquid Diamonds. They might be the same thing, actually. Both companies offer a low viscosity formula that is truly water-thin. You can get great results without a pressure or vacuum chamber with those.

Here are a couple recommendations for getting by without pressure:
If you have a vacuum chamber, degas the mixture
Use vibration when pouring. I have a HF orbital sander that orbits your hand while the sandpaper stays stationary. Great for vibrating out bubbles in your pour.

If you're coloring the resin, a few small bubbles are less of an issue than if you do clear. I would not want to try doing 100% clear castings without a pressure pot.

EDIT: I've even had good (but not great) luck with thicker epoxies using a vacuum chamber to degas, and vibration when pouring. Here's a bottle stopper I did with cheap Clearcast 7000 resin on unstabilized Maple using Acrylic paint for color. Definitely the cheapest resin/color combo out there. I did degas and use vibration while pouring and there are still a few stray bubbles, but the glitter in the paint helps camouflage.

58679346_1413476738795454_908948167985201152_o.jpg
 
Last edited:
Davis Stevenson said:
You can also use a two part epoxy. You'll struggle with Alumilite without pressure and 0% moisture. There are now two epoxies on the market specifically formulated for turning-- Royal Palm and Liquid Diamonds. They might be the same thing, actually. Both companies offer a low viscosity formula that is truly water-thin. You can get great results without a pressure or vacuum chamber with those.

Here are a couple recommendations for getting by without pressure:
If you have a vacuum chamber, degas the mixture
Use vibration when pouring. I have a HF orbital sander that orbits your hand while the sandpaper stays stationary. Great for vibrating out bubbles in your pour.

If you're coloring the resin, a few small bubbles are less of an issue than if you do clear. I would not want to try doing 100% clear castings without a pressure pot.

EDIT: I've even had good (but not great) luck with thicker epoxies using a vacuum chamber to degas, and vibration when pouring. Here's a bottle stopper I did with cheap Clearcast 7000 resin on unstabilized Maple using Acrylic paint for color. Definitely the cheapest resin/color combo out there. I did degas and use vibration while pouring and there are still a few stray bubbles, but the glitter in the paint helps camouflage.

View attachment 29002
Click to expand...
I just ordered some Royal palm resin--I do have a pressure pot
 
Please share your progress. I've been working with System Three 15 minute and find my shop it too cold. Looks like casting up north will be a summer project.
 
Gerald Lawrence said:
A friend of mine said he has changed from Alumalite to Liquid Diamonds as it is less fussy and no vacuum chamber required.
Click to expand...

I highly recommend degassing the mix in a vacuum chamber.

I have been mixing some of the epoxies indoors lately, with some ventilation. Very little fumes in the modern casting epoxies. Royal Palm shouldn't need to be under pressure for 48 hours. I usually demold after about 30-36 hours.
 
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