(Part 2) Top products from r/ResinCasting

Some suggestions from my working with Kleer Kote:

1. It's surprisingly liquid and likes to sneak out of things I thought I had sealed up. Use the heck out of tape (I've been using exterior grade plastic painters tape, but see a lot of aluminum duct tape in other people's projects, need to try that myself!) around the area you're working with an make sure it seals around and into the bumps in wood grain. Glue might help with that, but plan on lots of sanding afterwards.
   
2. Make sure you protect whatever is underneath where you are pouring in case it starts to drip, you don't want this stuff in your carpet etc.
   
3. It's been mentioned, but make the mold big and pour a bigger area than you want to end up with. It's super easy to work with and sand down with an 80 grit once it's hardened (give it several days to a week cure after the final pour with as big a piece as you're working with though). Once it's sanded, it looks rough, but clears up nicely with either another top clear coat of more epoxy or a poly.
   
4. Get a Bernz-O-Matic or similar butane torch to get air bubbles out after each pour. I babysat my pours for a couple hours checking in every 20 minutes or so to use the torch and pop new bubbles that came out of knots and cracks in the wood. All my edges where tape was ended up with a lot of bubbles, but I planned to sand those out anyway. If I had aluminum tape I probably could have used the torch to get more of them out.
   
5. What kind of photo luminescent pigment did you get? I highly recommend something like a Triple Glow Powder because it looks awesome in regular light, under a black light, and in total darkness. If it's just glow in the dark powder, those looks that sickly greenish off white that all glow in the dark products tend to look like by default.
   
6. I like the sound of the acrylic mold glued to the wood until you're ready to take it off. Might want to see more pics as you're putting it together though to make sure what I'm imagining is the same as what you have in mind?
   I'll shoot you a PM of my current epoxy resin project (not quite ready to share it with the world at large yet :)
   
   Good luck!

this respirator and these filters are what i buy for my fiance. i use this one but its excessive for the first time casting :)

basically you want to look for A2 clasification or better on your filters, these will work for woodworking as well but you may want to get seperate filters for woodworking and just swap them out when needed as the A2 filters are more expensive. a mask with replacable filters will be more costly at first but much more comfortable and cheaper to replace filters than the whole thing.

everyone likes the 3m stuff because its generally very good (i only dont use one since i like my powered unit with no belt power pack) and it is everywhere so replacements are easy to get. i find they tend to last less time than my cleanspace filters but they do have less filter area so that natural ( glassing every day 2-3 hours ill go through a 3m set in around 20 days to a month, cleanspace one has lasted about 7 months of resin work with no detrimental effects so far)

hope that helps!

https://smile.amazon.com/Flitz-BU-03515-Plastic-Fiberglass/dp/B001447VB2/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=Flitz%2BPolish&qid=1556752685&s=gateway&sr=8-6&th=1&psc=1

Here’s the link for the one I use, I use it both with a buffing bit for my dremel and manually with a microfiber cloth. I told someone else today that the dremel option is great if you’re impatient (like me.), and it will give you a beautiful shine just like that, but I personally think that rubbing it really hard on a microfiber cloth by hand makes it shinier sometimes, but even when I do use the dremel I like to give it a few rubs on the microfiber cloth afterwards as well, I feel like it helps. I’m not completely certain of how well it will “cover up” the seem in your pieces, but it does shine up the scuffs I sometimes get in my resin jewelry pieces, so I feel like it will at least help to cover it a little bit!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XAR0DM/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2P2AXN2CJW43B&coliid=I38M88LVK24A6M

This will get you 16 ounces of pieces.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IFBFXI/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2P2AXN2CJW43B&coliid=I2BQM9YBC7NEMB

100 medicine cups

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009EE2XH6/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2P2AXN2CJW43B&coliid=I3PMYD232KRJ80

Craft sticks


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A29IRMW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2P2AXN2CJW43B&coliid=I198B32Y5ZVQ1S

Nitrile gloves.

http://www.amazon.com/3M-8211-Particulate-Respirator/dp/B0056CG2S6/ref=sr_1_42?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1419877708&sr=1-42&keywords=face+mask

Respirator, I also try and work outside when possible. Resin has seriously messed up my lungs before I used a mask. Some people probably don't use them, but the things I make require me to be close to my pieces.

These are the items I use for resin, I make jewelry and cabochons. (My mask is different.)
I've read / heard that latex isn't supposed to be used as gloves as it can interact with the chemicals in the resin. You're more than likely able to find the sticks, gloves, and cups in your local area for cheaper, and you won't have to cover shipping. Dollar store cups should work.

I just realized your Amazon list is from the UK. All of the links I posted above are from the US so I'm not sure if everything is sold in your area.

Have you ever researched resin making on Youtube? There's TONS of UK Youtubers who make resin things that will post links to stores they purchase from and give great tips. I can post some if you'd like.

Of course as the previous commenter posted, you'll need to grab molds, which can be found pretty decently priced on eBay.

I haven't been using resin for a super long time (maybe a year?) so there might be more experiences people who can give better advice, but this is what I use and my experience.

Easy cast is very good for transparent projects. I love going to Michael's and getting 40-50% off one of those.

For white casts, I use Alumilite RC-3. I got an entire kit from Hobby lobby for like $35 with a half off code. It's a lot more reactive though. It gets blisteringly hot after you mix it up and sets in less than a minute.

I tried mixing paint with it(like I did the Easy Cast), and it bubbled and boiled up all over my desk, ruining the wood.

And I used a Silicone based ice cube tray too.

I used this one that came with a loot crate.

I love resin casting.

u/BadenBadenGinsburg

It was a 16 ounce bottle, and it was marketed for special effect makeup application. This was the exact one https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004WCMKA0?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

When I first used it, it definitely smelled like fish, but when working with resin you should be in a well ventilated room at least, ideally with a mask on, so considering those two things, the smell wasn't hard to get over or work around.

However if you're extremely sensitive, I can see the problem. Good luck!

Something like 2-3 cfm (55-85 l/m) is a good starting point for smaller vacuum chambers, like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Bel-Art-420430000-Vacuum-Chamber-Polycarbonate/dp/B002VBW9VO/

...but you're getting a big one, though, so you may want to aim at 6-9 cfm (or get a smaller chamber).

You don't really need a vacuum gauge; a chamber with a transparent lid is a lot more useful, because it lets you diagnose problems and time the process more easily.

I like Oom-Moo 30 and SmoothCast or CastingClear for starters. That is if you are going for repeatable results.

You could also simply start with some plaster of paris or algaenate from your local art supply for single casts.

Good luck and post pics of your experience!

I looked into making a silicone mold, but it would have cost me more like 80-100 bucks with the size and I don't have that kind of money to spare on the project.

I'll try the floor paste to seal the mold.

So this epoxy? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0018N7M9U/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER


Why would it be best to add a pigment? I'm just gonna paint over it? And googling what VM&P is... would any paint thinner work or any other alternatives I might already have lying around the house?

I would try something like this. You can also get it from Home Improvement stores, or Walmart/target/wherever.

I've been using this one: https://www.artmolds.com/vacuum-chamber.html with a vacuum pump I got off Amazon (they didn't have the bundle when I purchased, I got this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XQ2S4M/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and it works fine. It just fits a 10 qt bucket if you take the handle off, so that's nice. That is about half the size you're talking about, though...

This might be the best idea for my specific needs, when you say packing tape is there a specific type, my concern is not being able to take off the hardened resin afterwards,

Will this Do?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CDBBY8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MT86XCI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

was what I bought. Don't mix silicone mold in it if you want it to remain unblemished on the inside. Mine looks like a pepto-bismol monster exploded. Still, the good news is that it's still silicone, it's just going to throw off the ratio by a miniscule amount.

Try to avoid eyeballing your mixtures. Weight it or mark it out in two separate containers if there aren't any volume indications on the vessel. Since the volume graduates in tapered containers you'll end up using more of one or the other 1:1 ingredients, and the way your resin cures will vary from rock hard in 10 minutes to a bendiness that never goes away. (Quite a few of my first batches were duds when I threw caution to the wind and said, "Why not 9 colors all mixed individually just by guessing?")

Do you think this will do the job? http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-593Oc-Window-Scraper-590/dp/B0001IWDBK/ref=sr_1_5?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1406124660&sr=1-5&keywords=razors

https://www.amazon.com/Alja-Safe-Alginate-3-lb-Box/dp/B000KVSU60/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1497491586&sr=8-1&keywords=alginate

This is one of the most common kinds.


https://www.amazon.com/Jacquard-Jac-JPX1672-Powdered-Pigment-Interference/dp/B000AP6OG4?crid=ML73818XHU18&keywords=pearl+ex+interference+green&qid=1536628125&sprefix=pearl+ex+in&sr=8-1&ref=mp_s_a_1_1

honestly i think there is a big difference bt mod podge and using resin spray. but some colors do just degrade faster than other. Purple, for example, seems to be the enemy of millions. Here's a spray; it's spendy but works: https://www.amazon.com/Environmental-Technology-4-Ounce-Castin-Surface/dp/B002AG0OQ2/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2JYJPKURIB01V&keywords=resin+spray&qid=1573450764&s=arts-crafts&sprefix=resin+spra%2Caps%2C249&sr=1-2

also, though, if you look at this sub and elsewhere, many people are happy enough with hairspray. if you do use the resin spray though, you are simultaneously avoiding some bubbles, so that's a benefit, as well.