Ok, so I finally figured out a good way to not only get exact 1 to 1 ratios of the mold making crap, but now I've hit upon another stumbling block. How the heck do I dye the pieces properly black when mixing the polyurethane? I have this black pigment that is thick but I'm having a heck of a Time getting enough black dye in there to offset the pure white color of my Synair Mark-15.

What products are you guys out there using (Wayne? You out there Wayne?) and how much is enough? The best I can do is get a dark grey but geez, I have to use quite a bit of dye for that. Not to mention the endless stirring... ugh.


Otherwise I guess I'll be casting white Mental Blocks. That doesn't sound too bad...

Yeah it can be pain. The synair and paste is not the best of the urethane products. In fact I was reasonably dissapointed. Sorry.

Anyway, I have used the following types:

* Synair and black paste
* Conathane UC-30 and black paste
* Smooth-on and so-string black tint.

Now that I'm home, I found that my Conathane I packaged up is still good and it is the most superior is terms of plastic with a smooth slippery feel. It also mixes the paste in ok with a good black.

Smooth-On comes with the best tint, the so-strong tint that comes in a small squirty bottle which is so easy to use.

Then we have yours which is the synair paste and you do indeed have to use quite a bit to get it to be darker than dark grey. Use the method following:

1) Pour out your A in one container and B in the next.
2) Use a LOT of black. Experiement as too much will warp the piece. You'll getthe ratio right after a few goes. Mix with a clean sraw.
3) Pour A in container B and mix with another clean straw.

Way you go. You have 3 minutes... I have quite a few photos to put up with dud pieces as examples. Must get it all together...

Yea, I've already produced my first duds. And ruined my first couple of molds due to too little release agent. Niiiice...

I've got mold making down to a snap now. Well, almost. Fuq it, I'm just going to make white puzzles, even if it means recasting old black pieces to make identical white duplicates. The lazy man's way out. Maybe I'll try experimenting with black more later, but a couple of duds is enough for me for now.

Well I finally got around to releasing my cast pieces from the molds and as I implied in the title, I managed to trash a lot of molds. Out of the 8 molds I've made so far for pieces, only 3 molds have survived the removal process well enough to reuse. The rest are history I'm afraid.

Costly lesson learned. Use LIBERAL amounts of releasing agent lest your casts stick to the molds and voila, instant junk. I have to say the pieces look really good in white plastic though. I can hardly wait to finish them and assemble the final piece.

Ugh, too many hobbies with learning curves...