Materials cheap resin! + a question!

You'll need to buy specific pigments for resin. Gauche, acrylic, and food coloring are all water-based and will make your resin foam. You can buy them from various places, such a http://www.smoothon.com or http://www.alumilite.com. you may also be able to find some Castin' Craft resin pigments at Michaels or another local craft store.

 

the second linkd you gave armeleia has been hacked

 

How much resin is it for 31? Could be a deal or not...

And crap... Alumilite has one of the best sites for resin information, can't believe it was hacked. some people are just... arg.

 

you can color it with pastel dust. :3 or like armleia linked, smooth-on and allumilite carry a great range of colors.

 

It works from where I sit. You're supposed to go to Alumilite Corporation.

Also, Joanne's sells a low-quality clear resin in smaller quantities. It's made for putting in the base of fake flower arrangements. It's not going to make a great doll, but it's nice for trying out casting techniques and testing your methods before starting in with the more expensive stuff. Also, if you have a business licence, I know that Alumilite at least will sell to you directly. The silicon price is about the same as their suppliers carry, but the resin price is about half.

 

I believe the resin used for fiberglass is polyester resin...bjd's are made using polyurethane resin (as far as I know...aumilite is polyurethane).

All fiberglass resin is not the same, you need to be sure it is casting resin. (The stuff for the flower arrangements is for casting, but I am not sure if the stuff used to paint on fiberglass will set properly if cast. I could be wrong, but you should check first)

 

you can either pour the dust into the clear half of the resin or you can dust your mold with it. :3

be careful with the clear resin that comes in the big tin with a little dropper for the catalyst. It is common to have allergic reactions to clear resin but I'm not sure there's a warning on the bottle! It usually manifests in breaking out in hives. This is an allergic reaction to any resin(I break out from even the regular opaque kind) but it's much more common with clear resins. I know Kaye started breaking out too and glyndon also had an allergic reaction. If you're gonna cast with it anyway, wear a respirator and gloves and you should have a lot more protection from it. :3

 

If you wish to use gloves, make sure to use gloves that actually will protect you.

Rubber gloves, a.k.a. latex, are fine for protection for water-based chemicals, up to and including mineral acids and bases. Not so good for organics, such as, for example, resin components.

Nitrile is much better protection against organic chemicals, and still can be used in water.

I have seen nitrile gloves in a grocery dishwashing gloves section, so they are fairly readily available, and not too expensive.
Particularly not too expensive if you do end up with an unfortunate sensitivity to resin.

This information may also be found in Chemical Safety Supply catalogs; that is where I originally found the comparisons. Looked them up for a portion of the safety manual when I was a research chemist, and using toluene as my main solvent.


Ann in CT

 

OOo~ that could explain why I still break out! Maybe if I get those kind I can get away with just a mask and gloves instead of extra work pants and a hoodie. x_x I'll look for them! I've been using non-latex beautician's gloves since the latex will keep the silicone from curing.

 

oh ... Hives, been there,... besides the precautions ( gloves, clothes & resperator ) you might try taking 1 or a half a benedryl capsule/pill ahead of time so if you are senesitive. It should lessen the effects of any breakout. Benedryl does make people sleepy or hyper most sleepy though. So you should be well rested if you take it. I'm pretty sure a regular dose of Benedryl is 2 capsules.

 

I just got really dizzy from being around the clear resin for the first time.
After then it hasnt bothered me a bit.
But this is weird! I cannot get it to set up! I used the recommended amount of catalyst, let it sit for HOURS when the requirement is mere minutes, No luck at all! It had hardly formed a crust on the inner mould! I tried again, remixing it and adding more catalyst, let it sit AGAIN, STILL no luck. I then said screw it and put in almost twice the amount it said, I did that like 20 minutes ago and havent checked on it yet.


Needless to say I am rather angry, I was looking forward to doing this and wanted to get a lot done tonight as far as casting goes and now I cannot get my stupid resin to harden! I followed the instructions and it is in cool, dry conditions. The catalyst and resin are the same brand. I do not get why it will not set up! They said too much catalyst would make it set up fast, and very hard. But it hasnt even gotten GUMMY yet. It is still the same vomit/boogery consitancy as it was when I poured it out of the tin.

Help?

 

The resin requires catalyst, or else it stays in it runny form forever.
It is the same brand, the kind I am supposed to use. It DID finally set, but took about a day ;.;
If it keeps going like this I will need multiple cans of mould putty and multiple casts setting just to get any results.

 

Thread necro to say some things:

The clear casting resin is NASTY. I firmly recommend using the 'fiberglass resin' thats intended for car/boat repair for test runs, because the clear stuff will continue to stink for days afterwards, even after you've taken it out of the mold. The amber stuff doesn't smell for quite as long, and it's far more reasonably priced.

Secondly, if you're getting dizzy from the resin, it means you're not using the proper safety precautions. You should have an asbestos/mold abatement quality rubber mask with cartridges, and you should have it fit-tested to you before use. Regular painting masks/no masks won't do it. Resin fumes cause short-term memory loss and other permanent brain damage. It should also not be used indoors, or around people without proper safety masks.

You don't have to use catalyst if you're using two-part resin, where you mix two parts equally. This is the preferrable type of resin for your final cast.

 

http://alumilite.com/checkout/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=52

Is that what you were saying not to use? I found this casting brand at HobbyLobby, near where I live and was going to test it out. I don't know if it's a resin that cures clear or white. Has anyone tried it?

 

Alumilite casting resin is good, but in my experience it's not clear (amber-brown like the fiberglass stuff).

I'm saying to avoid the 'Castin Crafts' clear resin or the clear resins intended for table coverings and such. They will stink forever and a half. [I made my first resin masks with that, and they can't be worn because the smell hasn't left them three years later.]

ETA: I don't know about the AMAZING casting stuff, because I haven't used that. The stuff that comes in the super-kit below it, however, is deffinately brown.

 

Thanks! ^__^ Guess I'll just have to buy it and report on it. XP

 

yes it does dry white. i have some, and plan to use it soon. but i still have some sanding to do first.

if you buy it at hobbylobby, wait until they have a coupon on their internet site for any regular priced item. i got mine 40% off with a coupon.

 

It looks like it's this resin but in a smaller amount, if that's the case then I cast my whole doll in it and it worked really wonderfully, if you throw in a little if their skin tone pigments it's perfect.

 

The stuff from Lowes is for fixing boats and "painting" it on to harden surfaces. I have worked with it before, and I would not recomend it for doll casting, or any casting for that matter. Sanding it is horrid, the smell is horrid, texture can be nasty. All in all..if you are just starting out go with the Clear Cast method to test your molds and such.