Easy Cast clear epoxy, bit of a rant

[Grumpy Popeye]

Has anyone else used this stuff? I picked it on a whim and am using it for casting window inserts on my SB yamato kit. Right now I'm looking at a less than 60% success rate.

The first attempt never hardened, just sat as a gooey mess on the kit part. I stripped it out, cleaned the parts as best as I could and tried again. (my bad for not transferring the mix to a second mixing cup and doing a second stir)

The second attempt worked great, followed the instructions to the letter, and I was rewarded with crystal clear observation deck windows!

My next attempt was another flop, despite following the instructions to the letter. the resin didn't harden, just stayed as a sticky mess. I tried heating it a bit, but it seems the kit plastic is rather soft and started to distort from the heat!

Now I'm on my fourth attempt to cast these damn windows into the kit part and I'm praying to be greeted with another success.

has anyone else ever used this stuff? What kind of results have you had?

[USS Atlantis]

I use it for stand-alone clear parts - not as windows cast-in-place

Insure you get complete mix, I usually mix for twice the recommended time

Pre-heat the mold

Once poured, put it all back in the oven - 150f for 30-40 minutes

Leave it alone for at least 24 hours

- - - - - -

Cast in place? Uhhhh...................

[G-man]

i picked some up a few weeks ago, haven't had the chance to do more then just mix some up and pour it out on a piece of styrene, just to see ho wit would cure. that went..ok.. i had to let it sit for about a week before it was hard. I think though I'll get some Envirotex for my Starship windows.

[Grumpy Popeye]

Hopefully this batch sets up, I don`t think I can pull the gobby resin out a third time and not destroy the window frame!

...although, if I do, at least I have a negative mold of the whole thing!

[Rocketeer]

A guy i know got better success with clear epoxy when he started mixing twice; first he'd mix the two parts in one cup, then pour it into another cup and mix it again. There's always some unmixed liquid adhering to the sides of the cup; pouring it into another cup prevents that unmixed bit from getting into your molded part.

[Grumpy Popeye]

A guy i know got better success with clear epoxy when he started mixing twice; first he'd mix the two parts in one cup, then pour it into another cup and mix it again. There's always some unmixed liquid adhering to the sides of the cup; pouring it into another cup prevents that unmixed bit from getting into your molded part.

yup, done that. Warmed up the individual bottles prior to pouring, kept the mix warm during the first and second mixings and it still didn`t harden!

If you check out the SSM facebook page, you can see what I`ve resorted to doing!

[kenno3]

I use it for stand-alone clear parts - not as windows cast-in-place

Insure you get complete mix, I usually mix for twice the recommended time

Pre-heat the mold

Once poured, put it all back in the oven - 150f for 30-40 minutes

Leave it alone for at least 24 hours

- - - - - -

Cast in place? Uhhhh...................

My oven only goes down to 170 f, will this be workable without burning the mold or material? And I have a wooden support frame around the mold to keep the mold parts in line.

Im using Oomoo 30 silicone rubber with Easy Cast clear epoxy.
Also how do I preheat the mold and to what temperature?

And what is the benefit of baking? Does it make the resin harder, faster or does it reduce stickiness?
Thanks

[USS Atlantis]

I use it for stand-alone clear parts - not as windows cast-in-place

Insure you get complete mix, I usually mix for twice the recommended time

Pre-heat the mold

Once poured, put it all back in the oven - 150f for 30-40 minutes

Leave it alone for at least 24 hours

- - - - - -

Cast in place? Uhhhh...................

My oven only goes down to 170 f, will this be workable without burning the mold or material? And I have a wooden support frame around the mold to keep the mold parts in line.

Im using Oomoo 30 silicone rubber with Easy Cast clear epoxy.
Also how do I preheat the mold and to what temperature?

And what is the benefit of baking? Does it make the resin harder, faster or does it reduce stickiness?
Thanks

I use a small toaster-oven, bought at Target - though 170 should be ok

The wooden frame should also be alright - flash point (where it bursts into flame) is well above that

Oomoo should be fine - pop the mold in the pre-heated oven for about 5-10 minutes - same 150-170 temp

What the heat does mainly is allow the separate ingredients to flow together better - kind of like a heat-mixing; still mix it together well before pouring.

Also, the heat hastens curing, driving off the volatiles

Hope this helps