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Shake Yer Booty update Jan. 22 Materials: Where to get 'em! |
Bowana
Grand Member (4 years) 
Joined: Nov 10, 2006
Posts: 1129
From: La Mesa, CA
|  Posted: 2007-01-22 9:09 pm Permalink
I have not used any of Freeman Supply's products, but they appear to be of good quality. In the San Diego/ So Cal area materials can be obtained from the following establishments:
Diversified Materials Company (DMC)
8250 Commercial St. La Mesa, CA
(619) 464-4111
(800) 245-3053
DMC has a website that for reasons unknown makes my computer screen freeze, so I'll not be posting the link. It's up to you whether you want to Google it and take a chance! Anyways, they carry silicone, urethane resin, and fiberglass, among other things.
I have used their Silcast brand urethane resin. It's less expensive than some I've used, and I've never had a problem with it. Two drawbacks that I didn't care for though were that it's slightly translucent, which makes the surface detail of the castings difficult to read. I had to add some tint into every mix. (DMC also sells tint) The other thing I didn't like was that while most urethanes I've worked with are mixed equal amounts by volume, Silcast is mixed equal amounts by weight. You'll need a gram scale to weigh it out. If these two points don't bother you, then Silcast is a fine choice.
I've not used their silicone, so I can't say anything about it except that it's called Silpak and I believe they sell it in 1 gallon kits. If anyone has used it or is going to use it, I'd be interested in how it worked.
The majority of my experience with moldmaking silicone has been with a type called GI-1000 made by Silicones Incorporated. It's available through Circle K Products (not the convenience store) located in Temecula.
Circle K Products
PO Box 909
Temecula, CA
(909) 695-1955
They do not have a website that I have been able to track down, but if you give them a call they have a few very nice ladies who will answer all questions. They sell GI-1000 in 1 gallon kits, but you will get much more bang for your buck if you get a 5 gallon bucket. Just be sure that you are going to be making a lot of molds, or go in on it with your friends. It costs bucks! I'm very fond of it because in my 15 year career as a sculptor/moldmaker it has never let me down. If you order some, they will send it UPS to your door usually the next day.
The casting resin I use most is available at Vagabond Corporation http://www.vagabondcorp.com/ (finally a website!) in Warner Springs. I use their Oderless White resin. Some resins are stinky, this stuff is not. You can buy it in two pint kits, two gallon kits, etc. It produces opaque castings and is measured by volume (which means you can pour out equal parts of A and B into Dixie cups for your mix. A scale is not necessary. It's more expensive than Silcast.
Walco Materials http://www.walcomaterials.com/main.html in the LA area also carries a variety of silicones and resins. I've used their Mark II resin and have been very satisfied with the results. I see no difference between it and the Oderless White discussed earlier.
(Hiltiki, this is for you) If you are looking to get some rifflers like I was using at the Chop-Chop, check out Sculpture House http://sculpturehouse.com/ and go to the rasp sets link in the wood carvers section. They also have a ton of carving chisles
(Mieko, this is for you) http://www.sculpt.com/ The Compleat Sculptor is where you can order Magic-Sculpt. Have you tried some yet? They also carry carving tools.
Hope this is useful. 
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Capt'n Skully
Tiki Socialite
Joined: May 28, 2005
Posts: 404
From: The Lost Lagoon
| Posted: 2007-01-22 9:44 pm Permalink
This is great info- Thanks!
The local RC/Model-building shop's casting guru turned me on to Vagabond's model-cast.. He couldn't say enough good things about it for a first timer like me. I hadn't bothered looking them up online, but I'm glad you posted their link- Think I'll be ordering some color tint!
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2007-01-23 08:26 am Permalink
thanks dav. can you give me some more information about the tinting? your piece is very light, i'd like to go a dark brown or dark reddish brown. is there a better, more opaque tint? can you add too much to the resin so it won't set? just thought i'd pick your brain before going off into experiment land.
thanks!
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VanTiki
Grand Member (5 years) 
Joined: Nov 25, 2005
Posts: 928
From: Hawaii
| Posted: 2007-01-23 11:02 am Permalink
Hey -
I'll throw in my 2 cents on tinting casting resin/urethanes - a little goes a long way! I'd add just a drop or 2 to a "big-gulp" sized batch. Too much can affect the setting of the resin (but I've only heard this - never experienced it). Most importantly, you need to tint a small batch, mix it, and let it set up before you can see the final color. Most casting urethanes change color when they set - so it can be tricky to tint them when you are adding color in the liquid state. Also - mix the tint in well - I usually would fully mix the tint into the A (or B) cup before mixing the resin together. If you try to add tint and mix the AB together in one go you may end up with unmixed globs of tint while racing the "set up" clock! Write down how much tint you are adding and the batch size, so you can compare notes later.
Good luck!
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Benzart
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 09, 2004
Posts: 10309
From: Port Saint Lucie, Florida
| Posted: 2007-01-23 12:13 pm Permalink
TDav, This has been an Awesome bunch of information nad the Hula girl is realy so Life like she is Unbelievable. Excellent stuff, Big Mahalos
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Clysdalle
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 27, 2006
Posts: 1010
From: Carlsbad, CA
| Posted: 2007-01-23 3:10 pm Permalink
thanks for the info dave.....lets keep these threads comin!! Just ordered all my stuff...should be here intime for the weekend!!
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2007-01-23 7:42 pm Permalink
okay, i'm really trying here. believe it or not, there are practically no casting supplies available in vegas. dick blick has very expensive silicone and 2 part resin. michael's has 2 part, polyester resin (stinky). that's it, i had to go to a boat store and get tinting gel for gel coat to get color. it's pretty crude, but it's kind of working.
time to mold up . . . .
first mold poured . . . .
have to make a new original to mold from for piece 2 . . .
pulled the molds off the bases, i tried to save them to make another mold so it's quicker to cast multiples. i think i succeded with one.
originals pulled from molds . . .
row of color . . . hard to get it right.
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Bowana
Grand Member (4 years)
Joined: Nov 10, 2006
Posts: 1129
From: La Mesa, CA
| Posted: 2007-01-23 8:32 pm Permalink
Capt'n Skully: Rock on!
pdrake: A crazy friend of mine experimented with mixing enamel paint into resin and it appeared to work. I've not tried it myself, and I'm not sure just how much paint he used, but I was amazed at how dark the resin was.
Be careful using tint (or enamel paint!). Adding too much trying to get a dark color will cause your mix not to set right. I've had success getting dark colors with polyester resin, but not urethane. Polyester sets up clear so it takes the tint more to it's true color. Urethane sets up white, so it's like adding a ton of white paint to a single drop of color. I've gotten medium dark colors before, but that was because I pushed the tint content as far as I dared. Experiment and let us know how it comes out.
(I just noticed your second post, Perry. Looks like you've got a handle on things. The darkest of your castings might be the limit. Dare to take it to the next level?!)
VanTiki: You are correct, sir!
Benz: Thanks for checking in!
Clysdalle: Awesome! You'll be a master mold maker/caster in no time!
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[ This Message was edited by: Tikidav 2007-01-23 20:38 ]
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2007-01-23 8:37 pm Permalink
i have a piece curing from the clear stuff. it looks like it will take some experimentation to see how much mek to add to get it to cure properly. i hope i didn't ruin that mold. it's been an hour and it's not set, so i'm not holding out hope for it.
thanks so much for all your help and encouragement.
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Bowana
Grand Member (4 years)
Joined: Nov 10, 2006
Posts: 1129
From: La Mesa, CA
| Posted: 2007-01-23 8:42 pm Permalink
Polyester takes a while. Hopefuly you got casting resin, and not laminating resin like I did once.
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2007-01-23 8:56 pm Permalink
d'oh!
i got clear cast. i've done quite a bit of fiberglass work, so i knew that rocky road. i'll never use polyester for fiberglass again since i found west.
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Moki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 08, 2004
Posts: 357
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2007-01-24 2:03 pm Permalink
Thanks for all the info Dave. I just placed my order too. Should be having some fun this weekend.
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Moki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jun 08, 2004
Posts: 357
From: San Diego
| Posted: 2007-01-25 6:44 pm Permalink
My supplies showed up today. Yay!!! I'm ready to go....
I've read and re-read the tread and I feel like I'm as prepared as I'll ever be. Tomorrow is the final exam. I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks to everybody for all the great tips on this thread.
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Bowana
Grand Member (4 years)
Joined: Nov 10, 2006
Posts: 1129
From: La Mesa, CA
| Posted: 2007-01-25 8:02 pm Permalink
You are welcome! I'm glad to see people taking the bull by the horns and trying it out. Post your results! I wanna see!
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That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
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pdrake
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Jan 13, 2006
Posts: 1764
From: las vegas
| Posted: 2007-01-25 8:23 pm Permalink
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