Inlace alternative

Re: Inlace alternative

John Crissman

>John L,

Did you use the Cast/Castalyst measurements mentioned on the can? The first time I used it I followed the instructions and it tool days for it to set up. The last time I just went by judgement and it set up much quicker.

Please let me know.

Also, always make sure you wait until it is fully set up prior to turning. :) I don't think that stuff will ever come off that sweatshirt!

Thanks,

John

Re: Inlace alternative

adrien

>If viscous, nothing should sink in it, and it should not soak into end grain????

>System 3 mirror coat is very clear and works wonderfully if not to thick. It's biggest problem is it becomes extremely VISCOUS when it's hardening. This is due to the heat generated when the chemical reaction takes place. Because of this nothing floats in it and it will occasionally soak into the end grain of the wood. This is an advantage if you need to get epoxy into a very small crevice.

Re: Inlace alternative

John Lucas

>Adrien

I may not be using the correct term. I assumed that it was getting extrememly thin because on my first attempt at casting with this stuff I drilled a hole in a piece of wood. I mixed gold leaf into the resin and poured it into the hole. The next morning all that was left was a sticky mess with the gold leaf laying in the bottom. The rest had soaked all the way through the end grain. This might work to impregnate wood with epoxy.

Stuff doesn't float in mirror coat. I guess the specific gravity or something like that must lower because whatever you stir in floats great when first poured but when you come back after it dries all the stuff will be on the bottom of the cup. This isn't a problem with clear Inlace.

Re: Inlace alternative

John Lucas

>I forgot to add details on Clear Inlace. This stuff is great but a little expensive. It's only real drawback is that it is a little more prone to an occasional air bubble trapped in the stuff. Still works great for most applications where you need a clear medium. I like to float stuff in it because it is thicker than some of the other mediums. You can also let it thicken a little and spread it like peanut butter but you'd better be quick. Once it's starts to harden it goes rapidly.

My favorite thing is to mix in gold or copper leaf. Then you have a clear area with gold suspended. Really looks great.

CastnCraft resource

John Cahall

>John where did you finally find the liquid plastic Castncraft? I live near Cincinnati. Was it a Walmart,Hobby Lobby, Michael's? Thanks.

Re: CastnCraft resource

John Lucas

>John

I found it in Hobby Lobby but it's in the Clay section. I never would have found it. Had to ask. They had 3 different brands. I haven't tried the other 2 yet. They are expensive.

Re: Resin

Mark Mandell - Gone Round In Jersey

>John,

How thick are you going with a single pour?

Mark

Re: Resin

John Lucas

>Mark

I depends on the chemical. The fiberglass had a tendency to crack when poured thicker than 1/2". With the Mirror Coat I filled a 2 oz dixie cup. Sometimes it worked perfectly and other times it wouldn't harden. I tried to mix the hardner pretty accurately. It works really well in 1/4 to 3/8 thicknesses. Of course it was designed to be used as a bar top finish so thickness was not their main concern.

Inlace can be poured quite thick. I haven't used it thicker than about 3/4" to fill voids in vessels.

Castncraft easily filled 2 1/2oz cup. The book doesn't tell you how thick you can go but does tell you that you can build layers. They suggest waiting 30 minutes per layer. I waited longer because I wanted the goblets to be really firmly embedded before I pulled the supporting wires. There is a very faint line between the layers. I suspect that if you filled in the 2nd layer while the first is still slightly wet the line would go away. It's really subtle now.

The Inlace and Castncraft turn about the same. The fiberglass was a little brittle. Mirror Coat is inbetween. I use a sharp gouge but you have to really slow down the cut. If you hear a chipping noise and you aren't getting curls your cutting too fast. Shear scraping works really well to clean up the bad spots.

To polish it I sand to 600 grit. hit it with 0000 wool and then use White automotive polishing compound. In a pinch chrome polish works just as well.