# How I cast my Polyester Resin



## PenWorks (Apr 29, 2005)

At the request of several memebers, I have been asked to do an article on casting polyester Resin ( PR ). I have not done so, as I thought it would be a redundancy of the excellant article I learned from, which was the Jay Pickens artile he wrote. Well I suggest to anyone to read it. as it is everything you need to know to cast PR and make your own great looking pen blanks. 

I am just going to add to it and show more photos of the process and the supplies you need.


What I will not do is give you specific reciepes. Part of the fun of casting your own PR blanks, is coming up with your OWN individual colors and patterns.  What fun would it be, if we all made the same looking blanks. Lately more folks around here have been starting to cast their own, I noticed some shades may be simular, but everybody seems to be making their own unique colors, which is GREAT. Once you have the basic concept down, the results are endless.... Yes, some will be duds, but hey, we all manage to break pens while turning.
Remember, the Cornel (god rest his soul) never gave his secret 11 herbs & spices 

1. Materials. www.artstuf.com is where I buy ALL my casting materials except for the molds. They are a one stop shop for QUALITY dies. I buy my molds at www.misterart.com I ussually use a 2x3x1 (4 oz) & 6x3x1 (9 oz)
You will want to buy the powder dyes, I feel they give a deeper richer color with less transperancy, also you want the luster pigments, especially the white luster pigment, as you can mix this in with all your colors to get that pearl look.
You need plastic cups, stir sticks, I buy the PR clear casting resin by the gallon and it comes with the hardener, about $33.00

So you can cast your PR blanks with as little as this







or as much as this






All my casting material is on a cart, as the odor (which I'm sure is not real good for your health) is a bit much. So I wheel my cart outside and do my casting there. Being in Arizona I am almost gauranteed a nice day 

Here are some bronzing powders, they work good for other stuff, but not real good in mixing with PR. But maybe you can find the right combo, about $4.00 per bottle






Here are what the small bottles of powder & luster powder dyes look like. The big jug is the White pearl, that gets used allot.
Powder pigments are about $4.00-7.00 per bottle & luster $6.00-20.00
They will last you a long time!
The liquid PR resin dyes are 2.00 a bottle







2. First I pour water into whatever mold I am going to use,then I pour the water into a messuring cup to see how many OZ of PR I am mixing,  then pour into my mixing cup and mark a line. This gives you the right amount of PR to pour into your cup. I allways pour in a touch more. Whatever leftover I have I pour into a piece of PVC and use that for center bands of something.

Next, stir in your hardener, I use 7 drops for every 1 OZ of PR. 






After I mix it up for about two minutes I then add my powder dyes. This happens to be a 4 OZ mold 2x3x1 so I am adding 2 scoops of dye. One would work, but I want a real non transparent color. I stir this up for another couple minutes, then pour into the mold.
You can also add your white luster powder die at this time into the cup and stir if you want the white pearl look or any other color combo you want,then pour into the mold.












Now depending on the humidity and tempature, setting up can vary from 15-35 minutes, I stir mine occassionally to check the stiffness every 5 minutes waiting for that right time before it gels.






Now it has  come to the gel stage, I am going to add some pearl drops and then gently stir, remember it has almost gelled, I am hoping to get some pearl highlights in this dark purple cast. This is the final stir and then that's it. It will fully harden in 4-8 hours. I ussually wait 24 hours before drilling and turning.












Here are some sample molds...I cut them on a band saw to the size blank I want. Also, the round casts are some of the left overs from my mixes. I pour them into PVC, you do not need a release agent as the PR will shrink when drying and just pop out of the mold.









Also, if you cast into a round clyinder mold, I have noticed it takes allot longer to set up and dry. Any time I pour into a PVC pipe mold, I don't even bother to look at it for at least a day or two.

Hear are some clear PR castings with snake skins







Well that's about it. All I can add is, it's fun and when you get good at it, it is allot cheaper than buying commercial produced resins. Also PR castings tend to turn easier as they are a touch softer.

A finished product, Purple Passion from Cave Creek Casting....





Now go get your gas masks....and have some FUN


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## its_virgil (Apr 29, 2005)

Anthony,
A very nice addendum to Jay's article. And thanks for the pictures. I know how much time you spent on the followup, because I know how much time the casting and picture taking, editing, and captioning takes. Thanks for doing this. It really is easy, isn't it. 

I cast some snake skin blanks (for 6 pens) this week and I am sad to say that it was a  total disaster. Not the casting itself, but the results. I think my skins have been cured with some chemicals that react with the PR. They all came out dark or black and the scaled released from a few spots and the skins look horrible. My skins are cured by and ex-student who busy and sells snakes to labs and herpitariums. I think I will get some skins that have been cured professionally and see how they work. The skins I cured with salt, DNA and glycerin did better than these have done. Enough of my whining....thanks again for adding to the PR knowledge base. You did a fine job telling and showing the process.
Do a good turn daily!
Don


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## DCBluesman (Apr 29, 2005)

Thank you, Anthony.  This is a great expansion on Jay's article!


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## melogic (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks Anthony! My wife will be happy to hear this. Now we can make our own pretty blanks for our pretty pens! []


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## PenWorks (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks, I am cleaning the goop off my camera as we speak. []

Don, When I cast my other skins I bought elsewhere, I had that same problem. As soon as the PR hit the skins they turned dark brown. I think your right. It has to do with the tanning process that the hides were treated with. Your tanning process you did is all that should be done to prepare the skin. Anything else is trouble.


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## JimGo (Apr 29, 2005)

Anthony, that is a BIG help.  The two lessons I learned in my attempts at casting you've hit on here:
1) seven drops of catalyst per ounce - I didn't use enough last time, out of fear based on some of the other comments I read in various posts.  Tonight's casting came out GREAT, and I think it's in large part due to the proper catalyst usage.
2) hold off adding the pearl 'till it starts to gel - I added it early on (before the catalyst) and it mixed through the acrylic.  Not a bad result, but not the swirls I wanted.  I also don't think I used enough catalyst on the colored ones you'll see next week (gotta still turn 'em), but we'll see; the set-up time for them was at least three hours, which is what leads me to this conclusion.

Any way, thanks for the info and all the effort!


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## PenWorks (Apr 29, 2005)

Jim, tempature & humidity have allot to do with the set up & dry time. I cast one time after it rained and it seam to take forever to set up. When I cast outside on a nice warm day, I have to keep my molds in the shade as I am afraid they are setting up to fast. After I mix the catylist in and have that stired up, I mix in both the powder dye & the white pearl dye, this example is the first time I use the pearl drops, so I waited till the end. I think if you do the little tooth pick stir right before it gels, you will get the swirls you want. Also, it's what on the inside that counts, some cast I thought would be kind of bland, after turning came out really nice. So you never know.


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## Gregory Huey (Apr 29, 2005)

Anthony 
Thanks for adding the picks and imfo. I know you have put alot of time and effort into your pr blanks.


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## swm6500 (Apr 29, 2005)

Thank you Anthony for all of the informaion.


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## MDWine (Apr 29, 2005)

THANKS!!!!  I needed that...

(Now, all I have to do is work the angle and get JimGo to agree to a casting party, and I'm all set!!!) [][}][}][}]


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## Checked (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks for the time and effort. I am sure this will be a big help to all of us that are chemistry-challenged.


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## Old Griz (Apr 29, 2005)

A Cast Party... I didn't know Jim was in show business... are there going to be pretty actresses there??? [}][][}]

OH you meant a blank casting party... well I guess that can be fun too [V][V] ...


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## woodguy1975 (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks for the great post.  It was the perfect supplement to the PR Casting article.

Thanks,

John
www.jsrwoodworking.com


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## MDWine (Apr 29, 2005)

Actually, Tom, I hadn't thought about that...  maybe that would be good too!!!
On the other hand, maybe we shouldn't go down that road!!! [}]


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## Fred in NC (Apr 29, 2005)

Great article, thanks Anthony!  I know it took time and effort, and it is much appreciated.


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## Old Griz (Apr 29, 2005)

Hey, Mike as long as SWHTM don't find out, I ain't gonna tell anyone.. [}][}][}]


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## Ron in Drums PA (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks Anthony!

I created a PDF of this Anthony, if you would like me to send it to you, just let me know and it will be on it's way.


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## woodguy1975 (Apr 29, 2005)

I've got a question.

Why use the casting molds?  Since PR doesn't stick to food grade plastic (I read that somewhere) why not just use those disposable plastic containers that you can buy in the grocery store?

I just ordered a bunch of PR and colorants and was wondering about the need for the molds over something else.

Thanks,

John


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## JimGo (Apr 29, 2005)

John,
I used the cheapest disposable "Gladware-type" plastic containers I could find.  After the resins set, I was able to easily pop everything out of the container.  The down sides that I see are that there's typically an indentation at the bottom, and the sides are rounded, which results in some wasted resin and also can make bandsawing a bit troublesome (stupid things kept wobbling against my "guide").  If you're OK with that, then it shouldn't be a big deal.

Michael, a casting party sounds like fun!  Just gotta wait for my gallon to come in from ArtStuf.com!


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## melogic (Apr 29, 2005)

Ron,
I would like a PDF copy if you don't mind? Maybe if Anthony is ok with it, this PDF file can be added to our articles on the home page?


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## woodguy1975 (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks Jim, I appreciate the info.  I'm not too concerned about bandsawing.  I can always take the blank to the beltsander to get a flat surface before I cut the blanks out for safety.  

John


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## Ron in Drums PA (Apr 29, 2005)

Sure Mark
Send me your email address and it willbe on it's way.


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## melogic (Apr 29, 2005)

e-mail is on it's way to you Ron, Thanks again!


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## wayneis (Apr 29, 2005)

What I want to know is how do they get the swirly lines in some of the acrylics that are sold by the Companies?  Thats what I would like to try.  I might just have to break down and give this casting stuff a try.

Wayne


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## PenWorks (Apr 29, 2005)

Ron, thanks for putting that in PDF, you can send me a copy. I believe Scott is going to work on it and put in in a PDF and into the article section.

John, your right, any type of poly made container will work for a mold and pop out. If you find a size that works, that's great. The mold from misterart are about $2-3.00

I also flat side them on the belt sander before taking to the bandsaw.

Thanks for the comments, it was one of those things I had just put off, Gemini's are like that. []


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## jdavis (Apr 29, 2005)

Great post Anthony. Thanks for the info and pics. I know you have answered alot of questions on casting. Thanks for your time.


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## penhead (Apr 29, 2005)

Totally awesome addendum to Jay's article - and fantastic pics...

...with all this great info, I might even have to give it a try..

Thanks..!![][]


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## penhead (Apr 29, 2005)

Ron, any chance you might send me a copy of that PDF..?




> _Originally posted by Ron in Drums PA_
> <br />Thanks Anthony!
> 
> I created a PDF of this Anthony, if you would like me to send it to you, just let me know and it will be on it's way.


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## its_virgil (Apr 29, 2005)

Me too Wayne. I've tried a few experiments and they all failed. I would really like to conquer this delima. Maybe someone will find the secret and share it with us. I will continue to try so solve this mystery.
Do a good turn daily!
Don


> _Originally posted by wayneis_
> <br />What I want to know is how do they get the swirly lines in some of the acrylics that are sold by the Companies?  Thats what I would like to try.  I might just have to break down and give this casting stuff a try.
> 
> Wayne


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## PenWorks (Apr 29, 2005)

Well, I am not holding out on that one......[] I have not put allot of effort into 
duplicating that design. But if you look at the sample blanks in the back left corner,
you will see a 3 part pour. I managed to get a perfectly straight seperation in colors.
It is dark purple with a light purple center. I let each part set up before the next pour.


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## btboone (Apr 29, 2005)

Great stuff Anthony.  Something worth mentioning to people trying it; avoid using styrene for the cups or molds, as the polyester eats it.  Polypropylene works better.


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## dscott (Apr 29, 2005)

I would like a coby of the PDF also


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## TheHoneymooners (Apr 29, 2005)

Great job Anthony!
  If I could add just a lil something bout molds. Andrew and I tried our hand at casting last Sunday. For a mold I turned down a cheap oak blank I had here until it was just round...wrapped heavy duty foil around it and pulled the round blank out. These made neat individual molds, already round and without a lot of waste of material since there are no corners to round off.Plus no bandsawing ! I know I'm probably not the first to come up with this, but thought I'd remind everyone


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## chrisc (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks Anthony
This was a big help


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## akh223 (Apr 29, 2005)

Forgive me if this is a newbie question, as it will be my first post 

On average how many pen blanks will you get per gallon?  I know it will vary depending on size, waste, etc.  Just looking for a ballpark, would you say a pen is 1 oz. of resin, 2 oz., etc?

Im just getting started in all this turning, but man you guys make some really cool stuff.

Andy


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## PenWorks (Apr 29, 2005)

Andy, first of all, welcome to IAP. now that the formalities are over.....[]

Don't hold me to it, I think there is 128 oz to a gallon, (my first guess was wrong) worst case senerio using the 3x6x1 mold which will produce 3 large blanks and it is a 9 oz mold. you would get 42 blanks. So my guess would be between 40-65 blanks depending on what pens you make and how thick you cast them, 100-125 slim line pens is not unthinkable from a gallon of resin.

I think when all is said and done, average cost per blank is about a buck figuring the larger size blanks, with your dye cost.

Edited because I'm not to bright [)]


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## DCBluesman (Apr 29, 2005)

Edited for accuracy after I just re-measured.I've made individual molds, 3/4" square by 6".  Each takes 1.9 ounces. With 128 ounces (sorry, Anthony []) to a gallon, you come out with about 64 blanks...plus or minus your pouring errors.  Same results as Anthony's! []


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## PenWorks (Apr 29, 2005)

Lou, I buy the bigger gallons than you []

But hey, the bottom line was the same []


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## DCBluesman (Apr 29, 2005)

Are you buying those Imperial gallons from dougle40 [?] [8D]


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## Scott (Apr 29, 2005)

You guys kill me!   []

I think this article deserves to be in the article section here at Penturners.org!  Since I'm not official or anything anymore, that's just a suggestion, but I'd be glad to work on it!  So, if Anthony doesn't mind me editing it a bit, I'll get right on it!

Scott.


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## PenWorks (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks Scott, have it.....[]

But don't press me for any hard facts, becasue a pinch is less than a scoop,
and a gallon use to be .36 cents not 2.59 []


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## MDWine (Apr 29, 2005)

OK... I have no experience here, just noodling this thing thru a bit (what's that smell?)...

As far as a mould goes, how about making moulds from heavy aluminum foil?  You could make square corners, thick enough for one or two blanks "deep" as you need... less waste?  The catch is how much swirling you need to do when the goo is hardening, and how robust the container has to be when swirling... ???

Does that make sense?  (leave me alone Mudder and Tom [][])
You shouldn't pick on ignorant people, anyway! []


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## PenWorks (Apr 29, 2005)

Mike, the smell is fairly intense, enough to wear a resporator if you want. Some it does not bother, I read here if you fart allot you won't even notice the smell. []

I did the foil molds, spend the 2-5 dollars for any type of poly mold, it is worth it.
The foil sticks to the PR, and it leaks, and it moves around when you stir. To me it was a pain. There is no really good reason to have to engineer something that you can buy for 2.00 Just my opinion.


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## Fleabit (Apr 29, 2005)

Exellent addition to Pickens article.  It cleared a couple of steps that I would have to have learned by "just going for it".  Thanks again for taking the time to write this and take the pictures.  Between the two articles, there should be no problem casting our own Unique colors and styles.


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## Daniel (Apr 29, 2005)

Thanks Anthony,
the additional photos are worth a million words. and the timing of the ingredients will help eliminate alot of experimenting on my part. looks like i was on the right track with my thinking.
Looks like I'll have to improve my Powder collection though.


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## rtgleck (Apr 29, 2005)

What a great write-up Anthony.  Thank you very much.   I had purchased a gallon of PR at a local plastic's place that was decently priced, and i was trying to figure out how to do everything else.    Looks like this is the ticket.   Thank's for posting, I might give it a shot this weekend since I can't finish my dresser (stupid weather).


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## PenWorks (Apr 29, 2005)

Thank you all for the nice comments, they are appreciated.

I didn't think we had that many hop heads here trying to catch a buzz from the PR Fumes [] I guessed wrong.  I hope this article doesn't cause an imbalance in the OZONE layer this weekend. []  Happy casting.....[8D]


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## Bob A (Apr 29, 2005)

Wow!  Thanks for taking the time to write this Anthony.  I had some questions after reading Jay's article and you cleared them up.


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## woodguy1975 (Apr 29, 2005)

I was on the edge of ordering the materials to do my own castings.  Your article really did push me over the edge.  I'm even going to check some of my local craftshops for PR so I can get started early.  

Thanks again,

John


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## its_virgil (Apr 30, 2005)

Michaels or Hobby Lobby has it, but is is $22 per quart plus catalyst ($6.95)vs $28 per gallon including catalyst from artstuf.com...
Do a good turn daily!
Don


> _Originally posted by woodguy1975_
> <br />I was on the edge of ordering the materials to do my own castings.  Your article really did push me over the edge.  I'm even going to check some of my local craftshops for PR so I can get started early.
> 
> Thanks again,
> ...


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## lkorn (Apr 30, 2005)

Spoken like a true MARINE!!  Semper FI [)]



> _Originally posted by Old Griz_
> <br />Hey, Mike as long as SWHTM don't find out, I ain't gonna tell anyone.. [}][}][}]


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## dozuki (May 15, 2005)

i haven't tried to do a casting yet and want to make sure i have the correct supplies.  The only clear resin i saw on the site you reccomended was over $100.  am i looking at the right stuff.  thanks for the help


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## PenWorks (May 15, 2005)

Here is the link, under epoxy & polyester resin PR-1009  $28.00
http://artstuf.com/epoxy-polyester-resins.html

The cost is actually 33.00 for a gallon which includes the hardener


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## dozuki (May 16, 2005)

I haven't tried casting yet but I can't wait to give it a whack.  your article is a great help.  I just want to make sure i have the right supplies.  i went to the web site you reccommended and I can't find the the resin you used.  the only clear resin i could find was over a hundred dollars.  Am i looking in the wrong spot?  Thanks for the help.


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## PenWorks (May 16, 2005)

Sorry had the wrong # it is Clear casting resin PR 1009 for the gallon.
http://artstuf.com/epoxy-polyester-resins.html


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## jenamison (May 16, 2005)

Hey Anthony, your article pushed me over the edge also.  I should be getting my materials in maybe tomorrow.  Thanks for taking the time with the article.  
I do have one other question.  I saw that you check your pour every five minutes until its right.  Is it right when it holds the swirl you put in or is there another way to tell if the pour is ready to be swirled and also is this when you put in the pearl essence?  Thanks in advance.

Mike


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## PenWorks (May 16, 2005)

Mike, there are a bunch of different techniques you can use, depending on what you want the outcome to be. You will be able so see & feel right before it gells, that's when I give it the final stir and hope the swirls hold. Also, when the gelling starts, there is not much time before it really starts to set up. I do this on most of them even when I am not adding the pearl drops. If I mix the white pearl powder in my cup then a little die, you will get nice patterns as well. I can bable on about it, but you have to do your first one to see what I mean. Hope this helps


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## jenamison (May 16, 2005)

Yes it does..I hope to get my stuff in tomorrow.  BTW is anyone around Tallahassee, Florida doing any casting?  I guess you put those final pearl drops(if using on that casting) right at the end when you do your final stir.  And do you also put white pearl powder in your inital mix and use pearl drops at the end or just one or the other?


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## PenWorks (May 16, 2005)

The pearl drops did not give as much highlight as I had hoped for, still looked good , but not the effect I wanted. You will have a better result using the white pearl powder with a color die and leave it at that. But you can try anything, that's what's fun about it.


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## jenamison (May 16, 2005)

Ok, good.  I was worrying about just starting and having to wonder when to do the swirl and the drops at just the right time.  Now I will just worry about the swirl.  One last question about that...Is the right time to make a swirl when its pretty hard to run the stir stick through it or will it still be fairly plyable?  Sorry to go on and on about this, just getting excited about doing something new.

Mike


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## PenWorks (May 16, 2005)

I swril right before it gets real tacky. Sometimes they fade away, but you really don't know what you have till you turn it. A prayer to the casting gods don't hurt either.[]


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## jenamison (May 16, 2005)

I'll be doing a lot of praying...thanks for the info.  

Mike


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