foil-casting, what brand do you use?

[peteski]

On 7/6/2020 at 8:58 PM, 1972coronet said:

I definitely use the shiny-side-out . I was thinking of lightly-scuffing the adhesive-to-be-applied-to-side with an old toothbrush (dry , of course... and completely free of paste , etc. ) .

I'll have to try the 2-part epoxy again . I'm certain at this point that I haven't mixed it enough ---- I suppose that I'm "afraid" of it setting before I get to employ it .

Thanks again .

Even with the 5-minute epoxy there is still plenty of time to mix it thoroughly  Maybe your mixing technique is not optimal?  I use a round toothpick and the epoxy is on a piece of masking tape stuck to a flat lid of a medicine bottle. That way can hold the bottle kind of like a palette. I don't just stick the toothpick straight down into the epoxy and swirl it around. I also hold the toothpick parallel to the mixing surface and scoop up the epoxy down to the bare surface of the masking tape, then twirl/roll the toothpick. I keep repeating this until I can tell it is thoroughly mixed. If not mixed properly, you can see swirls in the mixture as the hardener is sightly different viscosity than the epoxy. It needs to end up homogeneous liquid.

Edited July 8, 2020 by peteski

[Snake45]

49 minutes ago, peteski said:

I never encountered epoxy or CA glue beading on aluminum foil.  Sounds like your foil is coated with something that causes beading.  Either way, scuffing it will not hurt.

Me neither, but Micro Metal Foil (a wonderful product!) WILL bead on it. Just passing the ScotchBrite trick along. 

[1972coronet]

4 hours ago, peteski said:

Maybe your mixing technique is not optimal?  I use a round toothpick and the epoxy is on a piece of masking tape stuck to a flat lid of a medicine bottle. That way can hold it bottle like a palette. I don't just stick the toothpick straight down into the epoxy and swirl it around. I also hold the toothpick parallel to the mixing surface and scoop up the epoxy down to the bare surface of the masking tape, then twirl the toothpick. I keep repeating this until I can tell it is thoroughly mixed. If not mixed properly, you can see swirls in the mixture as the hardener is sightly different viscosity than the epoxy. It needs to end up homogeneous liquid.

I'd been using the clear epoxies , mixing the resin-catalyst mix with the provided plastic stick . I mix it like I'm mixing plastic or polyester filler for use on metal --- or like mixing JB Weld --- scoop-mix-twirl . 

I'll have to try the coloured epoxy ; that clear stuff is kinda like a guessing game .

[peteski]

1 hour ago, 1972coronet said:

I'd been using the clear epoxies , mixing the resin-catalyst mix with the provided plastic stick . I mix it like I'm mixing plastic or polyester filler for use on metal --- or like mixing JB Weld --- scoop-mix-twirl . 

I'll have to try the coloured epoxy ; that clear stuff is kinda like a guessing game .

I always use clear epoxy, and never had problems. I never tried (or had a need to try) the colored stuff.  But if you think it will help you to get consistent and reliable results - go for it!

You mentioned that you have no problems with JB Weld. That is an epoxy too. Why not just use JB Weld for the emblems?  It will work fine - you just have to wait longer for it to harden.

Edited July 7, 2020 by peteski

[carrucha]

Very useful tips.  Thanks guys.

[fiatboy]

And thanks to peteski!

[ChrisBcritter]

I've used foil and UV resin to make emblems and trim, but I use Bare-Metal or Molotow on the emblems afterward instead of trying to do it in one go. I'm thinking about getting a 300 watt UV light so the items will cure more thoroughly and quickly.