Casting Clear Alumilite Resin For Turning Blanks

[@zendesal4283]

Zac, thanks for your reply! I did wrap the tubes in a decorative paper using a 3m adhesive spray. I will make sure it's completely attached next time. Thanks for your help.

[@ZacHiggins]

+Suzen D Yeah, there may have been some air bubbles trapped under the paper. You may want to seal the paper with CA glue, mod podge, or a spray sealer in the future. Again, you'll want to let that dry very well, probably wait a few days to a week before casting just to make sure everything has cured and off-gassed fully. I haven't done a lot of image casting like that myself though, so I don't know all the ins and outs of it.

[@ZacHiggins]

+Suzen D Oh, and Happy New Year!! Sorry about that, forgot to mention that in the first reply. Hope 2016 is fun and prosperous for you :-)

[@geoffnoll7706]

Try (1) inserting a plug into your Blank, Pour paint into Blank, filling to the Top,... (2) Remove Plug, Draining paint back into container, ...(3) Rock or Flip Blank to Even Out Paint Coverage until Dry.!! ... If you like, Scratch off some Paint, repeat 1,2,&3 using another Coloured Paint, i like Auto Paints & Lacquers for quick drying.!! ...You may choose your Wife's Nail Varnish, & cleanup with Acetone.!! Makeing Shure she's out for the day...Cheers from Downunder.

[@jeneiferthomas1036]

Is it possible to use an ammo casing for the pen barrel?

[@ronkerpsack4195]

Yes

[@NicholasGomez]

Great vid - thanks for sharing.

[@ZacHiggins]

Thanks Nicholas

[@Tsunamiguitars]

Here's an accident I ran across - I was watching Dema using water clear with banksia pod. He indicated that he pulled his pour out of the pressure pot at the four hour mark. So did I, but my banksia was heat cured to 3% moisture, and his might have been vacuum cured to 0% moisture. With the 3% moisture, it started to evacuate into the pour. In any case, when I pulled mine, the water clear was not quite cured, and the bubbles started emitting from the banksia pod until I could actually see the amount of bubbles around the edges of the banksia wood in my pour. It started expanding in the mold, actually trying to climb out over the edge of the mold. (The mold is essentially the same as yours.) Also, I kept my pressure pot at 60PSI for the four hours. I had colored my pour with blue and yellow Behlen dies, but not that much. Mostly a swirling clear blue and yellow, much like your semi-clear yellow and red you have here. I left the brass tubes uncolored since the banksia covered most, and the blue and yellows did the rest. There are some spots that reveal the brass, but it only enhances the cloud effect. (See below) I arrested the reaction by throwing the whole pour, mold and all into a convection oven for 60 minutes at about 125-140F. I then cut up the blanks, although I lost a couple to too much air. The result has been a pen that when finished, looks amazingly like a nebula, which is a gaseous cloud in outer space, with the brown banksia, and yellow and blue swirls surrounding the bubbles. It is like holding a bit of outer space in your hand. It is hard to do, and takes a couple hours on the lathe to fill the bubbles that show up, and get that final super smooth finish. But the end result if just so dramatic I have built five to date, in about a week around all my other projects. I've also done this with snakewood, using red and yellow. You can see some examples at Tsunami Woodworking on Etsy. Good luck, it is hard to get the timing just right so not too many bubbles, not too few!

[@ZacHiggins]

+Tsunamiguitars Wow, that's a whirlwind!! I've tried doing the thin swirls of dye, but I keep having issues where the dye doesn't cure and causes a big mess when I cut into it. It's an awesome effect though! Thanks for sharing your experience, and good call baking it to cure it, I wouldn't have thought to do that.

[@zendesal4283]

Zac, thank you! I have Modge Podge so I will try that!

[@jackdevarona3938]

Zag where do you get those pump for your two galons

[@mikewetzel3737]

Cool video,is there any way you could do a video on how to get the different colour swirls when casting blanks.Thanks

[@ZacHiggins]

Hey Mike, that's definitely on the list of videos to make soon

[@ericrehm1584]

At what PSI do you fill your pressure pot to while casting your Blanks?

[@curtishaughton2105]

what about the dyes,,,,in acyrlic resin can you just use the cheap hobby lobby acrylic paints or make your own ink dyes, absolute best tutorial vid on youtube i have found so far

[@ZacHiggins]

+curtis haughton Thanks Curtis!! I'm glad it was helpful. I recommend just sticking with Alumilite dyes, they're available on the Alumilite website. Acrylic paints typically wont work at all and cause curing issues because they are water based. Water and Alumilite don't play well together. There are some other dyes out there that will work, but so far nothing I've tried worked as well as the Alumilite brand dyes.

[@dalejones4186]

Got it. I'm looking forward to trying it. Thanks Dale

[@zendesal4283]

Zac, hi and Happy New Year! I have a question. Sorry it's a bit long. I tried casting two pen tubes in the Alumilite Water Clear. I put them in a pressure pot 40psi and left them in the pot for 4 or 5 hours. When they came out of the pot they looked perfect, not a bubble in sight! I brought the resin blanks upstairs and left them in the silicone mold. The next morning there were some midsized bubbles and strange warping/bubbling on the ends. Should I have left them in the pressure pot for a few days? They looked so great at first I don't understand what happened.

[@ZacHiggins]

+Suzen D I'm not sure what went wrong Suzen. Did you cast something like a sticker, stamps, or something else under the clear resin? If so, you need to make sure that it is fully sealed, even the ends, and that you let the sealeant dry fully. Most people wait a few days before casting anything after sealing. Other than that, I'm not really sure what could have happened. I don't work with Water Clear resin myself, but I do know that a lot of people have had problems with it. Both turning it and curing issues.

[@marcycooper6930]

zac question for you.... instead of painting the inside of the blank why not use a more solid dye or white. black seems so heavy on a yellow or bright orange blank. do they make a silver insert like the brass?

[@ZacHiggins]

+Marcy Cooper Hey Marcy, both are good options. Sometimes you don't get the choice of more opaque resin though. You can use any color you like to paint the inside of the blank, and they do have different plated tubes and even powder coated ones. If the resin is more opaque, you don't have to worry as much about it, and the main thing is just covering up the bright brass. If it's very transparent resin, you really need to paint the inside of the blank or you will see glue splotches all over.

[@marcycooper6930]

+Zac Higgins oh okay so if you had a clear and yellow blank its better to paint the inside of the blank in black to avoid unsightly glue marks 😁. Hmmm I guess I'll only ask for solid blanks instead of clear.

[@ZacHiggins]

+Marcy Cooper Yeah, painting the inside of the blank is the only way to hide the tube and glue with totally clear parts. I agree, it's a total pain. I usually stick to opaque blanks whenever I can... but some blanks are totally worth the extra effort.

[@CadillacMan2000]

hey Zac love your videos, can I use pearl ex powder to mix into aluminite

[@ZacHiggins]

+Calvin Flood Thanks Calvin!! I'm glad you're enjoying them :-) You can definitely use Pearl Ex powders with Alumilite Clear resin. It's totally compatible, and I use it all the time for blanks. It doesn't work so well with the Alumilite White resin since it's an opaque resin. The powders need light transmission to work correctly.

[@dalejones4186]

Hi Zac. Where can I buy the Alumilite Clear resin and hardner in gallon jugs like you are using in this video. I cant seem to fond it. Thanks

[@ZacHiggins]

Hey Dale, You can get all their products on their website: www.alumilite.com. They have a bunch of different types of resins there, which can be confusing since they all kind of sound the same, so here's a link to the clear product that I use: www.alumilite.com/store/p/933-Alumilite-Clear.aspx In case anyone is looking for Alumilite White, here's a link to the one I use: www.alumilite.com/store/p/934-Alumilite-White-Amazing-Casting-Resin.aspx They also have all the dyes, powders, release agents, and even mold making stuff there too.

[@Uncle_Buzz]

Great video Zac. I was just watching more Alumilite videos today, then yours came up...weird. Anyway, you mentioned that there's no difference between white and clear, but isn't the clear like double the working time or more than the white?

[@ZacHiggins]

Yeah, thanks for bringing that up Chris. That was extremely ineffective communication on my part! What I should have said was that I'm not going to show the entire mixing process in this video because it's the same process as the white. I video taped the mixing process in the previous video using the white resin. The clear resin does have a longer working time, depending on your climate and the amount you're mixing at a time. I'd say it's about double the working time.

[@chootrain57]

hey Zac, what kind of paint, water or oil? Like your vids!

[@ZacHiggins]

Thanks lionel wainford! I use Alumilite dyes for casting (and I also use mica powders sometimes with the clear resin). To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what it is made up of, but it's a little different than regular oil or water base paint. The Alumilite dye actually "cures" with the resin. You have to watch what you use for dyes, and anything with water in it will not work with Alumilite. It's best to stick with a dye that is meant to be used with resin to ensure that you don't have any issues with compatibility and curing. Alumilite sells the dyes on their website: www.alumilite.com

[@chootrain57]

Zac Higgins sorry I wasn't clear on the question, but I watched the vid again and got my answer.what is the paint in the blank hole, it is water base.going to try it today, will keep ya posted

[@ZacHiggins]

lionel wainford Sorry bout that Lionel, yeah let me know how it goes.

[@rockhead390]

if i am not mistaken, i think i saw somewhere that "testors" mode paint can be used on the inside of the blank. is that right? is there a particular type that can or cannot be used for that?

[@ZacHiggins]

You can use pretty much any paint that you want on it. Some people use the model paints, some use spray paint too. I've started using the heavy body acrylics that can be purchased at hobby stores, but I've used the Testors one, and a few others as well in the past. The issues is getting the paint to stick to plastic. In some cases, you might have to apply multiple coats. The nice thing about the heavy body acrylics is they are super thick and concentrated, but you can also thin it out to any consistency with some water.

[@JensWoodworkingThings]

I gotta know what fell in the beginning.... ?