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Thread: Surfacing Resin?

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
    Location
    Glendale, WI
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    107

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    Quote Originally Posted by ClayM325 View Post

    Marc what brand castable resin do you recommend? for resin river and such? Stuff I'm using seems expensive (Smooth On 690)
    It's all expensive. Take a look at Total Boat.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    iBILD Solutions - Southern NJ
    Posts
    7,986

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    FYI - When I did the 6' dia brass floor inlay (1/2" thick Naval Brass) for Christopher Newport University, I used SmoothOn Smooth Cast 325 and tinted it black using their So-Strong dye. I undercut the pocketed lettering with a Dremel by hand (so they wouldn't pop out), pre-heated the metal using a space heater and heat box (DIY Celotex/foam box) and then poured it in using a thin stream...Then post cured it @ 130F for 4 hours to make sure it was all good. This was in February...and even with the heat on 70F it was still too cold to do without preheating.

    Even though I took classes @ SmoothOn & Polytech over the years, I still called up their engineering dept to make a recommendation. I would encourage you to do the same so you get the right product for the job. ALL of the polyurethanes look like a donkey's butt when you machine them...some are slightly better than others, but they all swirl with tool marks and if you use anything but really sharp tools and adequate RPM, they can chip.

    I over-filled the letters with 325 and then machined them within about .01" from the face of the brass (to prevent gouging). IIRC I just used a sharp solid carbide 2-flute end mill and essentially just Zzeroed on the face of the brass, then stepped it up .01 and then ZZ'd again. Then just re-ran the pocketing routine but offset to the outside a bit. There were lines from the raster, but since I didn't go right flush with the top, I was able to easily get it flat using various grits with an orbital sander. I think I started @ 220 since I already took the brass from 36 all the way up to 400 grit...and I didn't want to undo my work. After all was flat, an automotive clear was added. From what I hear, it still looks good and is holding up great with foot traffic on it every day.

    More info & pics of the project from the archives here - Hopefully it helps you out some.
    High Definition 3D Laser Scanning Services - Advanced ShopBot CNC Training and Consultation - Vectric Custom Video Training IBILD.com

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    31

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    Quote Originally Posted by bking1836 View Post
    It's all expensive. Take a look at Total Boat.
    Absolute truth. There is no cheap alternative in cast-able if you want quality, whether it's epoxy, urethane or silicone.

    I use 690 as well, but I'm populating very small molds and need the thin viscosity and the work time, which I just turn around and put in my curing oven, I mean repurposed dishwasher.

    Check out also BJB, Polytek, Alumilite and ArtResin. As far as I know, ArtResin are the only ones using HALS UV stabilization, which would appear superior according to the tests. I've tried it and cant use it - too thick and doesn't degas very easily in a vacuum chamber (among the worst I've ever tried), but it's used for your type of application a lot I think - if you are open-pouring it degasses on its own with maybe some help from a heat gun or torch here and there. I think they are also FDA food-safe.

    Forget about using any sort of urethane resin matched with wood unless you can achieve zero moisture content in the wood. The aliphatic (water clear) urethanes are sensitizers anyway, so if you can avoid using them, you are better off.

    Marc

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