Help for the new guy

[Larry Johnson]

Hi all, I'm hoping someone can help me with a problem I'm having with the curing of the water clear and clear. after demolding I'm finding that the resin is still very tacky and in some cases not cured at all. I've been leaving them in the molds over night to set up. Also, I added microballons to the mix and the resin would not set up. I followed the suggested mix ratios and still have problems. Any help would be great.

Thanks,

Larry

[Mike - Alumilite]

In thin or small castings, we highly recommend preheating the mold to assist the cure. All of Alumilite's casting resins are considered exothermic (generate heat when they cure) ... so larger areas/casts generate more heat and cure faster. Thin sections take a long time to cure ... especially with the winter we have experienced.

Try exposing some of you cast pieces that you've cast to some warm temperatures ... 120-140F for a couple hours, then allow them to cool. They should harden up. 1:1 by wt is what you would have done which is good. The smaller the amount you are mixing, the more careful you have to be in measuring as a small differential can mean a big % of being off ratio.

Preheating your molds prior to pouring will greatly help the resin cure better as well. Same temp 120-140F in a designated oven, hot plate, or microwave.

Mike
Alumilite