Mixing Resin help!

[Darkmessiah]

hiya guys, am mixing up a batch of clear resin for a project am working on but, the last effort was full of air bubbles, so whats the best way of mixing resin to avoid bubbles? how long should i mix it to make sure ready to use? and is their anythin i would be lookin at doing before i pour it on to the base? Am also mixing colour into it, anything I should know?

Any help you guys can give would really help!

 

[Donga]

Slowly and carefully!

You can pop/lift the bubbles with a tooth pick, cocktail stick, bit of wire (what-ever is lying around really...).

Only when it is still liquid though lol

Bogging, but it works

 

[Shawn R. L.]

This will cause bubbles - but it\'s cool!

A cool effect you can achieve - Lava, weird slime etc... - by adding a touch of water. Resin will really foam up. It\'s an effect that looks cool but is up to the resin how much it will do.

 

[Einion]

Obviously mixing slowly and carefully so as to incorporate as little air into the mix as possible is something to aim for but in the absence of any setup to degas the mixture pouring from high up so there\'s a very skinny stream is supposed to remove bubbles (they stretch and tear, effectively bursting because the stream is so thin). This works with coloured resins, don\'t know if it\'s as good with clear.

Einion

 

[Darkmessiah]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
This will cause bubbles - but it\'s cool!

A cool effect you can achieve - Lava, weird slime etc... - by adding a touch of water. Resin will really foam up. It\'s an effect that looks cool but is up to the resin how much it will do.

ill have to try that out, sounds like a great effect!

thanks guys, the resin has been mixed and poured all very slowly with no bubbles during, but their seems to be thousands of tiny bubbles now... its a heavily coloured mix, so its not very visible from the top (hopefully once i sand the sides it wont be either) but if i was using a clear mix id be very dissapointed. Also 36hrs later the resin hasnt fully set (its like rubber), am using \'solid water\' which is quite popular on cmon, so where am i going wrong?

Dark

 

[freakinacage]

you could construct some sort of vacuum chamber to suck it out. get some sort of big tub that seals and cut a hole in the lid. duct tape a weak vacuum cleaner to it.

also try and vibrate the mould, it should help the bubbles rise and you can pop them. you can get cheap vibrating toothbrushes or pop to a sex shop and get something on the cheap!

 

[Donga]

Originally posted by Darkmessiah
Also 36hrs later the resin hasnt fully set (its like rubber),

I\'ve had that, you sir have got your proportions wrong. There is hope, just stick it in the airing cupboard for a while (a few days) it WILL go off eventually.

The vibrating/shaking will get rid of some bubbles. I\'ve had to spend an hour with a cocktail stick poping/lifting bubbles on last years Dio. Dull but effective

 

[Darkmessiah]

Originally posted by freakinacage
you could construct some sort of vacuum chamber to suck it out. get some sort of big tub that seals and cut a hole in the lid. duct tape a weak vacuum cleaner to it.

also try and vibrate the mould, it should help the bubbles rise and you can pop them. you can get cheap vibrating toothbrushes or pop to a sex shop and get something on the cheap!

how well would a vacuum chamber like that work? any one tried mocking one up? all id need is a air tight container and a hoover....

as for the other, does it have to be ribbed for the ladies pleasure? lol

Originally posted by Donga
I\'ve had that, you sir have got your proportions wrong. There is hope, just stick it in the airing cupboard for a while (a few days) it WILL go off eventually.

last time i got the proportions wrong it took nearly 2 weeks to cure! i havnt got an airing cupboard so ill just have to lob it on the window ledge or me putty oven while am working...

Cheers for the help guys!

 

[freakinacage]

i have never used one before but the physics is sound. the -ve pressure will make the bubbles rise to the surface in order to help equalise. maybe someone has tried on here?

as for the ribbing. it\'s up to you as to whether it\'s a multi function tool or not

 

[alextheartist]

I just mixed some colour into a base.. seems ok so far (and by just, I mean two-3hrs ago)

 

[mickc22]

usually resin bubbles are removed via a pressure pot rather than a vacuum chamber, the pressure effectively crushes the bubbles

but that\'s expensive!

 

[CreganTur]

What resin are you guys using? I use Hardcast from Sil-Pak, and it has a pot life of 3 minutes and a set time of ~15 minutes.

 

[airhead]

Polyester resin? A few drops of hardener per oz. of resin?

Err toward the minimum side on hardener. Sounds like you went too lean though. Longer set time gives you more time to eliminate problems.

Pour in layers. Polyester gets hot as it sets and a large amount of it can cause internal cracking due to heat issues.

Use a pouring stick. If you are pouring into a tall container (iced tea glass, etc.), pour onto a glass rod/stirring stick and let it flow down the stick into the container. This will reduce adding air bubbles. The stick has to be taller than the mold so you can pour onto it and then just pull it out when you\'re done.

 

[nels0nmac]

I\'ve used both vacuum chambers and pressure pots in my time. Vacuum chambers are good for getting most
of the bubbles out and are pretty cheap to buy/make.
Pressure pots are a lot better and will get rid of all bubbles.... effectively squashing them down until you can\'t see them. They produce beautiful results. Problem is they are expensive to buy and you need a descent compressor to build up enough pressure inside the pot to crush the bubbles. I wouldn\'t suggest making one yourself unless you are really good at welding etc. When you get up to 40 psi, if something goes wrong it\'s going to get messy.

 

[Mr Scream]

Im not sure what others suggested (im to lazy to read all the responses ) but as a general rule smaller ammounts are more difficult to mix and keep free of air bubbles. I use a 2 pronged metal cocktail skewer (i think its for olives or something) which gives me a good mix and reduces the amount of air bubbles loads. Also pouring a bit in and waiting for the bubbles to rise before doing the next part can help.

Hope thats usefull

 

[Roy Rogers]

Resin bubbles

I use my wife\'s \" FOODSAVER\" vacuum machine. The brand is foodsaver, and you can buy one wherever pots, pans, and other kitchen appliances are sold. Or online for you guys across the pond. They are cheap, and come in a variety of models. One model ( the one I use ) come\'s with a large 6 pint cylinder with a vacuum tube that attaches to the machine. You just pour your resin, slow, fast, whatever onto, or into the piece you are working on, put the piece you are working on inside the cylinder. Put the lid on, turn on, and BINGO! the machine sucks out ALL the air bubble\'s! It works like a charm Hope that helps!

 

[Darkmessiah]

Am using (and have only ever used) solid water, id love to try a different resin but it always been a problem tracking down recommended ones here in the UK. The first pour iv done here was 4mm deep
The vacuum chamber idea is somethin ill be doin next time i work with resin (after GD) i havnt found a foodsaver vacuum machine as of yet roy, am links to it?

@Mr. Scream - ill try that next time, it seems that the bubbles have been created from the trapped air in the base, either that or the bubbles were so small i couldnt see em and then they expanded, is that possible?

 

[Chrome]

that is possible, if the resin is somewhere warmer than it was where you mixed it the air in the bubbles can expand due to the increased temperature. But there shouldn\'t be any extreme expansions, and they would (for obvious reasons) only occur before the resin is fully cured

 

[Roy Rogers]

Ooops! Sorry, the brand name is \" TILIA\"
The model # is V2490 ( this one comes with a bunch of attachments, and things. But they have a ton of different models to choose from)
Just search \"tilia foodsaver v2490\", and you should find it no problem Good luck!
www.store2home.com

 

[Darkmessiah]

thanks roy! found one