Texan29

I'm guessing the matt is from the talc. The resin should not sweat unless it's condensation you're talking about. Bad resin will leach out from cured parts. If that's the case, you have an old or bad batch!

I can't vouch for anyone other than Micro Mark. It's just easy to order my tools and resin from one source. Without talc your parts should be shiny as the master part. Minor bubbles are normal inside parts. I'm thinking your resin is bad if it is leaching liquid out after curing. - MT

I don't think I explained properly. I only talc'd the molds once and the resin took it away with the first casting. Afterwards the molds were dry and shiny for the next usage. The molds sweat before I do this once. The molds are made out of polymer clay, two part mix you squish together and press onto the part.

Or could it still be the resin? I'm probably just confusing myself at this point.

My wife let her co-worker borrow the camera...if she gets it back today I will take pictures to illustrate what I'm trying to explain.

First off, DON'T GIVE UP! You do have a problem like TSP said. Moisture or expired hardener cause similar results.

1) If your hardener has been opened for a while, it could be expired. Later stages of hardener expiration are like expiring food. Color darkeners and solids begin to form in the bottom. Remember, it should be clear and only slightly tinted when new.

2) Excess humidity will cause the resin to bubble. If your resin cured fine outside of the mold in the same enviroment, it's your mold. You can let the mold sit in the oven on low for a while to chase out the moisture - if the mold is silicone.

3) You may simply have a bad batch, it does happen! Micromark (in my signature block) also sells molding supplies too. Out of all the stuff I've bought from them (A LOT), I have got one bad batch before, I just used it for filler and glue . They are responsive to customers too.

Be tenacious and don't give up, the shiny white part you'll hold in your hand is worth it! - MT

Oh...I won't give up. But I will give up on the mold stuff I'm using right now as I believe that is my problem.

The resin: I've done a few control samples and they all come out shiny and pretty - color added to them or not. They do have a few very tiny bubbles but they are negligible.

I used baby powder as suggested and it worked somewhat but not how it was described. It drew out the moisture in the molds I made. I find this stuff has a tendency to sweat! It's not due to humidity, I always use the A/C unit to dehumidify my workshop and never leave the molds outside or anything of the sort.

After I used the baby powder (only once) the resin no longer froths, but subsequent castings never come out shiny or even remotely smooth. They are always matte, chaulky. The molds themselves are smooth. After so many tries, so many times I've remade the molds...it's painfully obvious this stuff won't do what I need.

I looked at micromark and it looks promising. What is your opinion on oomoo from smooth-on? I've seen several different manufacturers for this stuff but don't know which is best for the type of stuff I'm doing. I've been watching videos on youtube to reference two part molds, and found "tap plastics" videos.

I just want to get what will actually work for what I'm doing.

Thank you, I really do appreciate all your help.

Well, I'm still having problems.

If I pour the resin into a container it comes out perfect, very few micro sized bubbles. But once I pour into these molds, it froths up (not as much as before) but it still does. The parts come out weak and spongy, like melted styrofoam or something. It's really frustrating, I've cast about 20 of these and all are failures. I feel like I've wasted a bunch of money, and like pitching it all in the trash...

What could I be doing wrong?

This is exactly the stuff I'm using, and I pour it the same way as described here:

pics

Wow! That thing is really nice and clean!

When I was a kid, there was a store in the DFW area (Dallas-FtWorth) called Texas drug. They had a STACK of these matchbox SDF-1's for $15 apiece! I got one while on a shopping trip with my grandparents. By the time I got home later that weekend and told my mother, we went back Monday evening and they were all gone.

I love these toys, very cool.

Okay I did a control sample and...it came out perfect. Looks like a shiny, creamy white poker chip.

I believe it was the mold release I was using. I guess that stuff is mostly water? So I won't use that again, as you had said it was just for mold creation.

I poured resin one more time into the (now dry) mold and it still came out a little porous, like chalk. But this time it wasn't frothy. I'll try washing the mold this time with soap and water and let it dry before I try again.

I'll get it to work!

If it's not curing right, you're mixture is off or if you're using 1 to 1 stuff, it's defective. High humidity can effect it too. You should not need any mold release agent either. Most resins have their own. If you're still using Vaseline, you can stop. It's only needed for mold manufacture. The fact that the color helps says it's a possible mixture or quality control issue.

Try mixing a small amount and sticking it in a bottle cap or something like it. See how it sets up. It should not bubble hard; in fact it should cure smooth on top with maybe a couple of TINY air bubbles. Just from what I can see it's not setting right, but that's just going by a photo. Hope that helps. - MT

Well, last night I had the a/c on in my shop and it was about 65f out there. I did that so it would dehumidify the air, I do the same when I paint. Could it be because it was too cold? I'm mixing a miniscule amount each time I attempt this and I make very sure the amounts are the same or as close as possible. I'd use my postal scale but this stuff doesn't weigh enough. How often does this stuff become defective? Does it have a short shelf life?

When I pour it, it always seeps out and pools under the mold. That material ALWAYS bubbles up like crazy after a few minutes. I do use a mold release agent - I finally found some in a different location. I'll forego using that from here on out.

I have a small toaster I use to heat up things, would letting it set up in there help or make it worse?

Thanks for your help.

Okay, I did a two piece putty mold and it worked okay-ish. I'm having a hard time with the resin.

It comes out spongy and flimsy, i'm assuming that's because it IS full of air bubbles. I've casted 4 times trying different things and always the piece is a bubbly mess. I've tried pouring a thin line from a long distance, also tried pouring gently from the cup. I used a gram scale to measure A & B to perfect portions of each. I mixed it well and the resin ALWAYS pours crystal clear. After about 3-4 minutes the flash outside the mold begins to bubble up. I've tried using a colorant and without. Oddly the colorant seems to help a little bit.

So, I'm stumped and don't want to keep experimenting because I'm starting to wear out the mold a little bit already. What am I doing wrong?

Including pictures:

hell no that is not a good deal. Those things were terrible and very fragile. I only paid 4 bucks for mine back in the day. I had to keep going back to buy another since they kept on breaking! To me those are worth 10 bucks the most. Had I known people would pay ridiculous amount of money for these, I would've bought more, or kept mine mint in box to sell!

That's what I did! And no, I didn't buy that one...Haha...

There's a comic store here in Mesquite, Lonestar Comics where I bought two of the little ones for $10 apiece in the early 90's. I still have them in perfect condition in the boxes. I love these little things. Yeah they're very flimsy but it was the first "robotech" toy I got as a kid so they're nostalgic for me.

Hey guys! Was this a good deal??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...em=250304698307

Somebody was smoking crack!

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it.

I'll post my results when I'm done.

I squash mold all the time. The secret is not to press too hard. Just like picking up a pencil for the first time; there's going to be mistakes and a learning curve.

If the part will be pretty thick in shape, it's best to go two part due to air bubbles. Squash molding is really only good for shallow stuff due to how easy air guts trapped in. Extra resin usually will flow the air out in a shallow mold.

For the record, Vaseline brushed on really thin is my choice. - MT

The part is about 1mm thick and not very deep. About how thick of a layer of thinned vaseline should I use and does it need to cool a bit before I brush it on?

Sorry for all the silly-ish questions. I'm not only a novice...I'm a poor one.

I did this same type of mod several years ago. It does work, and works very well. It's probably one of the easiest mods to do that will have a definite awesome effect on a 1/55. Great pics and how to. Good stuff.

Yeah, me too...except I cut mine straight across and cannibalized an old transformer toy for the ratcheting movement, and I didn't actually finish.

Awww man, cliff hangers always leave me antsy!

You could alway try the sandwich method, fill both halves with molding material and squish them together. It will leave you with a bit of flash to clean off, but with practice you can minimise the ammount of flash you get. Ryjiu uses it to make his figures masters

I was thinking of doing this except the instructions said not to press but to roll or it will distort the detail. Is there a certain method I should follow exactly or just do it already and stop worrying?

What I'm planning on casting is the right side flap on the old gakken mospeada bike (the larger one). The shape is not flat or I would just do a one-piece mold with this stuff and stop candy-@ssing around.

This might be obvious to everyone else, but I have to ask. What is an igloo, and why do you fill it with hot tap water??

An igloo is a brand of cooler. Fill it with hot tapwater (not boiling, just hot out of the faucet) and put the can(s) of paint you want to use in it and let it heat up for 10-15 minutes. Afterwards, dry the can and shake as usual. Reason for heating up the cans in hot water is it will give you a superior spray out of the can. No orange peel, no flecking, no runs. It's as close to airbrush quality you can get without using an airbrush. I find the testors paints, the little half cans...work best but most brands work great using this method.

Hey guys, I really appreciate the responses! I was surprised there isn't a pinned FAQ on mold/casting here.

I'm working with this mold putty stuff for the moment, I hope to get the liquid soon to try that out on multiple parts and a project I'm working on. I do remember the how-to fulcy did a long time ago but the medium I have is a putty, not a liquid. I couldn't find any instances of the mold putty or polymer clay on the forum through search, so I guess I'll be the first to try it as a two part molding process.

I did go out and get some vaseline, it's in a tube. I hope that works since it's already thinned a bit, I won't have much work rendering it down to thin liquid.

I'll try to post pictures when I'm done.

I just finished painting my Jetfire in TV version Hikaru colors. I had to brush all the colored paint on, what a pain. I really need to invest in an airbrush. Anyone have any suggestions for a good cheap one??

I'll post some other pics once I get it together.

Looks really nice! For painting simple schemes like that I use a cheap-o single action brush from harborfreight tools, OR I put a cheap can of flat finish paint in an igloo filled with hot tapwater, shake it for a few minutes and spray using a hot can. After its really dry, I rub the painted surfaces with a clean shop rag to buff it a little. Gives it a really cool look.

Edit: I shake the can, not the igloo cooler!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/disp...temnumber=95810

I'm using this, and it does surprisingly well. Does great for most jobs but finer detail work is hit or miss.

Bootleg!!

That guy is lucky no one has reported him. I am also suprised that the VERO program did not cancel the auction.

If you want a copy of the transformers episodes to watch on your PC, go to suprnova.org and DL them yourself.

I don't see any of the old eps on suprnova.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=49016

Is that guy in the white on the upper left flipping me off?!

is it just me or are these a little expensive?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=16467

$1??? OUTRAGEOUS!

Don't worry though, it'll skyrocket. Have faith.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...63&category=753

So, is that a joons or what?

Thank ya I'm from the Dallas area.

Last shot. (Gee, i need to clean it don't i?)

Straight and in line, and stronger than the original!