Hello all!
I'm new around here, but I lurk enough and eventually came across the famous keycap making threads (Binge's, Booper's, Nubbinator's, and KatzenKinder's;
so a preemptive and huge thanks to them for all the invaluable information present in those threads), and I was absolutely taken aback with what seemed like the most fascinating process of making something ever. I did some more reading into resin casting and the more I read, the more it seemed like something I wanted to try and do. I've since done an unholy amount of reading into the specifics of the process and finally placed an order for the materials I think would suit me the best.
I know, this is a little (read: VERY) preemptive of me, but I thought it would be cool to document my progress from absolute 0, to (hopefully) some decent-looking keycaps! Furthermore, I thought it'd be better to consolidate/ask any questions I'll have in one place. Plus, if all goes wrong, this will be a convenient little place to do a post-mortem and see what went wrong.
I'm not an artist, so I don't know how sculpting will go (I presume not well), but I'm going to try my hand at it anyway. What really interests me are the colors, patterns, weird dust pigment (Alumidust?), clear/translucent color ways.
This is some of what I've read up on so far [targeted to those not entirely versed in the subject: be warned, neither am i], posting it in hopes someone will correct me if I'm wrong (or give me better information than I have), or that it'll help someone looking to purchase materials (it gets a little daunting with the plethora of options):
Silicon MoldMore
There are so many possible silicon molds out there. I was mainly concerned with pot-life, and Shore A Hardness.
Pot Life: Most importantly is the long pot-life, I believe, to be able to work the air bubbles out. A longer pot life mold will give you enough time to degas the silicon before it settles, or fiddle with/vibrate it gently for longer; it also allows you to stir the solution more slowly, to avoid introducing air bubbles in the first place.
Shore A Hardness: This scale is new to me, but I was looking for something that was less hard/more flexible than what came in Alumilite's super casting kit (QuickSet mold which has a hardness of 40-50A). The reason for this is that you are less likely to damage the mold/cast piece when prying the two apart after a completed cast. This was actually confusing me, as I was honestly wondering how some people were even able to pull their keycaps out of their molds, but it turns out stretchy/elastic silicon molds are a thing! Just look for lower Shore A number! The downside of this is that softer, flexible molds don't last for as many casts as the harder ones do.
I ended up picking up Smooth-On OOMOO 30. It has a 30-min pot-life, and hardness is rated at 30A, which gives me the flexibility I was looking for, as opposed to QuickSet's 40-50A. Furthermore, it is MUCH less viscous than Alumilite's QuickSet (4,250 cps vs 13,000 cps).
ResinMore
Research on this took up most of my day today. I was mainly concerned with a low-viscosity resin, that had a long pot-life.
Viscosity: A viscous resin mixture means a higher surface tension, making it less likely for air bubbles to rise/escape, essentially having them stagnate and 'float' in the resin mixture. This is obviously not good for the future finished product. Therefore the goal is a very low-viscosity resin! This search took me far and wide. Alumilite's Super Casting Kit came with a 110 cps viscosity mixture, which is low. However, on Binge's recommendation in his thread, I checked out the Smooth-On 320 series (322 to be specific) of resin. 80 cps, which math dictates is lower than 110. Therefore math dictates this should be a little easier to work with.
Pot Life: Smooth-On's 320 series comes in three varieties, 320, 321, 322. The only differences I see are the Demold time, and (more importantly) the pot life. The longer the pot life, the longer the demold time. So it is a trade off, a longer pot life (and potentially less-bubble filled cast) in exchange for it sitting in the mold considerably longer. I'm more than willing to make this trade off, I'd like more pot-life time to stir slowly, introduce less air bubbles, and screw around with concentrated pigment/weird dust pigment stuff etc. Plus, I'm new at this, I don't want to have to rush anything.
I ended up going with Smooth-On's Smooth-Cast 322 resin.
Scuplting ClayMore
Nothing special, just 1.75 pounds of Sculpey bake-able clay, this generally seems to be the most popular sculpting clay. Not much to add here cause I don't know much about it :O
Mold ReleaseMore
Nothing special, Vaseline seems to work fine. It is necessary for 2 part molds though (and maybe even to coat your master before taking a mold).
PigmentMore
I haven't done as much research into this, and it excites me to no end. Like, How do people layer resin colors? How do people get such vibrant colors? I have no earthly idea but this is what I'm most excited to try and play with/figure out. I want to see what works, what doesn't.
I've ordered the fluroscent Alumilite color pack, also the tester pack kit thing of
UVO colorants. I'm not entirely sure what I'm getting myself into. I'll update this section more thoroughly when I gather my thoughts.
Everything should arrive in a week or 10 days, I'll be updating this with any questions I can come up with along the way, in hopes that you fine folk can lend me some guidance when I need it
Thanks for reading!
Standing Questions1. Those AlumiDust powder things. Do they actually color the resin or just provide it with different colored effects? Are they called Powders? I don't even know where else I can find products like this, or what to look for.
2. Smooth-On sells two types of dyes.
UVO (UV-resist color) to make opaque colors, and
SO-Strong for use with translucent colors... What? I was under the impression you achieved opacity or translucence in your finished product by using normal resin (cures to opaque) or clear resin, with an accompanying, non-special color. What happens if you use clear resin with UVO (opaque colors)?, or normal resin SO-strong (translucent)?
