Alumilite

[DJB Penmaker]

Does anyone know of a source for Alumilite in the UK at a reasonable price?

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[fingwe]

I believe www.metalclay.co.uk still do it?

 

[DJB Penmaker]

I believe www.metalclay.co.uk still do it?

Thanks Melanie, it does seem very expensive to me, I want to experiment with some casting and the general opinion seems to be that Alumilite is best.
Cheers Derek

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[fingwe]

Unfortunately that seems to be around the going price for all polyurethane resins....you won't find any much cheaper.

 

[DJB Penmaker]

Unfortunately that seems to be around the going price for all polyurethane resins....you won't find any much cheaper.

Really! Oh well I might as well give it a go in that case. Maybe it goes a bit further than I imagined. It seems a lot of money for a small quantity. Thanks for your help
Derek

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[fingwe]

It gets cheaper if you buy in larger quantities - but you won't find it much cheaper than £20 a litre, even if you're buying 10 litres.

 

[DJB Penmaker]

It gets cheaper if you buy in larger quantities - but you won't find it much cheaper than £20 a litre, even if you're buying 10 litres.

The Alumilite is £35 for just less than a litre on metal clay. Do you have any personal preference for clear casting?

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[Cumbrian Craig]

Out of interest, do you need a pressure pot/chamber to cast Alumilite??? Also, how the H@@L do you spell it properly??

Regards

Craig

 

[DJB Penmaker]

Out of interest, do you need a pressure pot/chamber to cast Alumilite??? Also, how the H@@L do you spell it properly??

Regards

Craig

I don't think you do, just stir very carefully and pour carefully I'm led to believe. As for the spelling I think you've got it right! Mind you have you seen how our cousins over the pond spell aluminium ?

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[fingwe]

I haven't personally tried Alumilite, I have some here but haven't cast anything recently so haven't had a chance to try it out. I have used several other polyurethane resins (as well as epoxy resins) though, and to be honest, they're all pretty much the same. I did post about the different resins sometime last year, I'll see if I can find the post.

However, I honestly wouldn't recommend you try any of the polyurethane resins without pressure/vacuum, especially as it costs so much. You'll just get loads of bubbles, as it cures too quickly to let them escape. You might try an epoxy which cures overnight, which might work. The epoxies are generally the same sort of price.


Edited to add: here is the post, though you've probably already seen it http://www.penturners.co.uk/casting/18807-alumilite-clear.html

 

[fingwe]

Just had a thought - I've assumed that you're talking about clear resin? If you wanted an opaque resin, there are much cheaper options, which I think can be cast without pressure/vacuum (if I remember correctly)

 

[Cumbrian Craig]

Just had a thought - I've assumed that you're talking about clear resin? If you wanted an opaque resin, there are much cheaper options, which I think can be cast without pressure/vacuum (if I remember correctly)

Thanks Melanie. I want to cast clear eventually, but for now i'd use colour, so bubbles are not as much of a problem for looks, but I was worried about structure?? Pressure pots are so expensive??? Am I looking in the wrong places??

Kind regards

Craig

 

[fingwe]

I'm trying to remember back, it's so long since I did all of my experimenting.

The problem with any of the polyurethane resins is that they set so quickly, and are generally pretty thick, so that they don't allow much release of bubbles. This gets far worse if you add a dry colourant like pearl ex/mica powder, which introduces LOADS of air with it. Liquid colourants are better, but to be honest, you introduce air as soon as you start mixing.

I think if you used a liquid colourant, and mixed really carefully, you might get a decent cast, but you will need to fill the odd void that you come across whilst turning. But for the price you're paying for the resin, I think you'd be disappointed.

Yes, vacuum chambers/pressure pots and the vacuum pumps / air compressors are expensive. You can get cheaper pressure pots, off ebay, etc, but I'm not sure of the quality.

 

[Cumbrian Craig]

Yes, vacuum chambers/pressure pots and the vacuum pumps / air compressors are expensive. You can get cheaper pressure pots, off ebay, etc, but I'm not sure of the quality.[/QUOTE]

Again, thank you for your comments (sorry for hijacking your post DJB Penmaker) I don't want to have anything in my workshop that isn't up to standard. I'll try in the summer without pressure and in the meantime turn some pens to raise some funds Thanks Melanie for the good info.

Regards

Craig

 

[fingwe]

No problem, there are several others on here who cast quite a lot, maybe some of them have some suggestions for equipment at decent prices?

 

[DJB Penmaker]

I want to start with clear, so it looks like it's the expensive stuff (as usual) it's encasing things that I'm interested in more than producing coloured blanks and from what you say it'll involve a pressure/ vacuum pot too. You've been a great help Melanie, thanks for all the info.
Cheers, Derek.

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[fingwe]

Yes, putting anything into the resin will introduce bubbles. I have had pretty good success putting stabilised wood into resin which has been vacuumed (I vacuum rather than pressure, purely from a safety point of view), but not re-vacuuming. There were a few tiny bubbles clinging to the wood, but nothing major.

However, if you're wanting to produce totally clear resin,then I think you will need to do something to degas regardless, as you will be able to see EVERY bubble. If you were using colour, it would mask a lot of them.

 

[wm460]

Alumilite is like hens teeth here and twice as dear.

 

[CKdim]

Hi all,
I'm new on this forum but not so as a penmaker.
I've already tried some casting with polyurethane resins, namely with Smooth-On (an US made resin available here in Brussels) and Alumilite. IMHO Alumilite (Clear is the one for penmaking castings) is the best (at least compared to the other brand) for this resin is specifically made for penmakers.
I used both with a used pressure pot. I hope I'm wrong but I think that a pressure pot is absolutely necessary for polyurethane castings.

As already noticed above, Alumilite is very expensive outside the US. And I'm now looking for alternatives, either Polyurethane and/or epoxy ones. By reading another post in this forum, I've seen some other UK companies selling resins.

Do other members have some experience with polyurethane resins sold by UK companies as a cheaper alternative to Alumilite?
Further, what about Epoxy casting as an alternative to polyurethane resin (again as a cheaper alternative)?

Christos.

PS: apologies for my poor English.

 

[Pastor of Muppets]

Firstly Christos your English is excellent!
Secondly hopefully [MENTION=1298]Sawes[/MENTION] or [MENTION=1404]Bucks[/MENTION] will come along and offer some sage advice