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Post by Stephanie R on Sept 27, 2020 6:52:51 GMT -5
Hello:
Two months ago I made a beautiful resin serving tray with a silicon mold I purchased and it lays flat, but the minute I pick it up or put in on an uneven surface it starts to become super flexible and bendy. I made it in July and plan on making others for my business but don't want this to happen in the future. Please let me know what the problem can be and how to prevent moving forward?
Also, if I take an item that was poured 24 hours ago out of the silicone mold and see it is not fully cured, is it possible to put it back into the mold and let it sit longer or is it too late at that point?
Thank you!
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Post by notoes on Sept 28, 2020 6:49:38 GMT -5
How thin is the tray? And which resin did you use? Did you color it and if so, what did you use to color it with?
If you want to, I don't see why not. Is it not hard enough to hold its shape when demolding? If it's hard, or even mostly hard I'd go ahead and leave it out to finish curing as it won't hurt a thing to do so.
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Post by Stephanie on Sept 29, 2020 7:39:43 GMT -5
I poured three layers of Alumilite. I added either acrylic paint or mica powder depending on the color (there are 4 in the tray).
i tried putting the wine caddy back in the mold but it is still flexible and bends downward when I put wine glasses on either side.
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Post by notoes on Oct 8, 2020 5:28:16 GMT -5
Which resin product is it? You might need to add another clear layer to get it to stay rigid depending on which resin it is.
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bill
New Member
Posts: 18 
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Post by bill on Oct 19, 2020 13:34:53 GMT -5
I have surface pin holes in Alumilite White castings. I use a mold release product called Mann 400 to get a gloss finish which is applied to the mold about 20 hours before casting. The casting is in a large mold 20 inches in diameter for a steering wheel, standing the wheel in a vertical position. I degas before mixing, and the amount is 490 grams total with 5 grams of Alumilite Black dye. Pour time is about 1.5 minutes using a funnel with 20 seconds wait to fill the funnel so there is enough to fill the mold. Demold is about 40 minutes to ensure full cure. I find very small pin holes at the top of the casting. Any suggestions?
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Post by notoes on Oct 26, 2020 6:52:56 GMT -5
Alumilite White has a 2 minute open time frame and it sounds like you're getting air in there as it doesn't have enough open time to get into all the nooks and crannies it needs to before it sets up. For something that large you will need to either switch to one of the slower curing resins or switch to a one piece mold with an open back so the bubbles can go to the backside to come out.
You can also fix the pin holes by applying a little extra to them after you have demolded but you'll need to do a little sanding/smoothing to make it match. I do this myself (sometimes) when I get them as long as the area isn't detailed. If it's a mostly flat area (or rounded as in the case of a steering wheel) then you shouldn't have a problem fixing it this way.
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