simple question.
i am looking at doing some resin castings and want to know how long i can expect them to last defore the resin starts to degrade
peter
Hello Pedro,
If you are making castings from scratch and they are not very thin, you can add very thin strands of “Fiberglass Mat” to reinforce them as castings can be brittle. Durability depends upon thickness and the age of the resin that you’re using. Make sure it’s fresh! Once activated resin cures, it lasts years, however bare resin products that are unpainted should be kept out of direct sunlight and high heat as they can become quite brittle.
Liquid resin in a can can last 2 years or longer as long as you keep that lid on “snug”. I’ve worked with resin for years and in one case I had a new can of resin go bad in less than 6 months as I had become careless and let air get in the can. After learning my lesson, I had another can on the shelf that 2 years later was still good. (Putting the cap on the can isn’t enough, the cap needs to be kept clean as a resin will crust up on the inside of the cap.)
Hope this helps!
hello antonio
as you seem to be experienced with reain i was wondering if you had any advice on preperation for casting coach bodyshells.
it is a brittish lima Mk3 coach i am doing. (they are starting to fetch high prices from collectors and i want 50 of them!) i am casting the first half of the mould as i type this. i poures ot last night and it should have set buy the time i get back from work.
what resin do you use? polymer or polyester?
what is the larfest thing you have cast?
have you had problems with shrinkage?
peter
I’ve always used Polyester. No problem with shrinkage so much as very thin sections becoming brittle as it ages. Just a matter of “handling with care”. I always suggest priming and painting items once finishing work is completed.
A good quality primer, whether acrylic or solvent based, helps contribute to durability. If using solvent based, please use protection as they do affect the nervous system. This one of the reasons why I’ve switched over to Acrylics (waterbased).
Casted a box style truck body.
I have a resin “sculpture” sitting on the window sill of my “anti productivity pod” that is about 6 years old now. it is a full cup of resin that has a solid stream of resin pouring into it from another cup that is suspended above the full one by the stream. The stream is about 1/8" dia and other that the fact that it is sagging slightly from the wieght of the cup it is still doing well. If I think about it I will post a picture on my web site for all to see.
How long will it last? If we have a nuclear war the ony thing that will be left is plastics and **** roaches. Thin sections can experience some warping or “creep” with time but it shouldn’t “degrade” in any of our lifetimes unless it was mixed incorrectly originally.