Question:
Would getting an Alumilite kit less expensive, or easier, or better? Any of these, all of these? I'm probably asking mostly from a trial and error method as opposed to what "We at Geekhack" will ultimately decide as the best way.
For instance, in 5 months after we all have done it and beat each other to death in the usual GH fashion, will the consensus be to go buy an Alumilite kit? Or rather, well, if you're starting out and you don't know if you will want to follow through, just get an Alumilite kit.
Does that make sense?
I don't think alumilite's products are superior, but their prices are certainly good. I was hoping to get some Alumilite high strength 2 silicone rubber and their clear resin, but the shipping time was too long (I wanted to get started this weekend).
So I went to a local art supply store and picked up some things made by these two companies called Castin' Craft and Artmolds. Artmold's Mold Rite 25 seems to get a lot of praise and from the specs, it looks nearly identical to Alumilite's HS2 rubber. The store was substantially more expensive than online ( could have saved about 15 dollars) at 50 dollars for just the silicone rubber alone. I'm using a clear polyester resin by Castin' Craft that was 22 dollars for 16 oz (again alumilite's clear resin is only 13 dollars for the same amount on their website). This stuff cures super clear but is toxic while it is still in resin form, unlike Alumilite's urethane based clear resin(? I could be wrong with this, I'm not 100% sure alumilite's clear is urethane based) so using this outdoors or in a well ventilated area is important.
Oh and something else to note, Alumilite has an easy way to mix their two part resin - it is a simple 1:1 ratio by weight, where as the polyester resin I'm using requires various amounts of catalyst per ounce of resin depending on the thickness of the part being cast. Apparently, the thinner a part is the more catalyst it requires to cure correctly, so something as thin as a keycap requires a good amount.
My first mold I made turned out pretty bad, but my second mold turned out great ( I used a pringles can that I trimmed down). I'll post these things later.