Alumidust alternative

[Fomen38]

Hey guys...... I've been waiting for what seems like forever to order a full set of Alumidust. At first they were out of green and blue, so they wouldn't sent complete sets. Now they are out of pink, so you can"t order entire sets. It's been about 5 or 6 weeks For the guys who have never used it before, let me make a suggestion..... GET SOME!!!!! It's way easier to dust the inside of a silicon mold to achieve the color you desire than it is to dye the casting resin or Alumisol. Also, the colors and patters you can achieve are startling. However, in my impatient haste, I made a pretty cool discovery. I found an alternative..... EYE SHADOW! My wife has lots of makeup, and a huge assortment of eye shadow. I grabbed a metallic/turquoise color and dusted it onto the inside of one of my silicone mold. I then poured a small amount of Alumilite regular casting resin onto it (just a test). The result was perfect! The color completely adhered to the resin, and as hard as I rub it won't come off. I would make a few suggestions if you decide to go this route though. First of all, I don't know how it would react if you poured 350 degree Alumisol on it. I don't know if it will handle heat the same way the Alumidust does. Secondly, I would stick it in a toaster oven on really (150 degrees or less) low heat for a couple of hours to dry it out, then scrape/fluff it up a bit. Before you commit an entire cast piece to it, do a small test piece first. If it looks good, then do your whole cast piece. I always have a can of compressed air that I use to blow off the excess dust before I cast my piece. I have found that if I don't do this I get uneven coloration across the surface of my piece. The beauty of eye shadow is there are THOUSANDS of different colors. Now I'm not promoting eye shadow OVER Alumidust. I'm just saying it is an alternative in a pinch.

[Mike - Alumilite]

Interesting ... never thought to try it but more than likely will.

Sorry for the frustration with the few select colors of Alumidust. There are a few colors we can no longer source and its driving us mad. We looked for close replacements (not in eye shadow but maybe we should) and the replacement colors aren't even close. We will more than likely end up making the "Complete Set" closer to 25-27 colors and unfortunately just discontinue the problem colors. The cost of the Complete Set will obviously go down as well since we are offering fewer colors.

Will keep you posted.
Mike

[aka anglinarcher]

Ouch, I have that complete kit and I have grown very happy with ALL of your colors.

Mike, don't you love how suppliers and manufactures let you down . I sure appreciate how you take care of us as well as you do.

Buttttt, if I can lobby for a new color when the new kits come out. I sure could use an opaque white. It would make my spotting so much easier.

Thanks again, and never thought about make-up. Need to take my wife to the store; don't think I have the courage to shop that section by myself.

[Fomen38]

Just to be sure it works, I tried it again. I blended bronze and turquoise on a single cast piece. It turned out BEAUTIFUL. I agree about going into the makeup section. Go with your wife and buy a variety pack. They have thousands of colors. You can also mix the pearlescent powder in with whatever color you are using to get a shimmery piece. Just for shagrins, go grab some out of your wife's makeup bag and brush it into one of your preheated silicone molds. Pour just a small tester section using casting resin. Don't commit to a whole cast piece until you have proven to yourself that it works. I assure you, you'll get a huge smile on your face when you see the result. Also, after you remove your casting, run it under some cool water and just softly wipe it down. That way any residual eye shadow left over won't smear over onto the other portions of your casting. It works exactly like the Alumidust.

[dahlberg]

That's a great idea, just as long as everyone's wife realizes it was not upon MY suggestion you have raided her makeup kit!!
best
L

[Fomen38]

Mike and Larry- I'm curious if you guys tried coloring a casting with eye shadow yet? I did a complete piece this past weekend. It turned out great!

[lucky stick]

Speaking of digging in your wife's make-up bag, Has anyone else tried nail polish to finish a resin piece? I have used a clear glitter top coat nail polish. It looks good and is holding up.

I'm wondering if the nail polish will eventually "eat" the resin or if I should anticipate the piece to last. I applied nail polish to some alumifoam last Thursday. It appears that the foam accepted the nail polish with no adverse effects at this point.

Thoughts on the nail polish idea.

[bassfighter1]

Hey Guys,Nothing Is Safe Around The House When It Comes To Making Lures,I've Used Big Earrings For Spinner Blades.

[Mike - Alumilite]

I've personally never tried any but am glad to hear some of it works. I think the best suggestion as you've already stated, test it first in a small sample, then if successful ... move to lures.

I have also not experimented with the nail polish option but have been pushing the envelope of a similar chemistry for clear coating rigid lures.

Mike