How to color resin & silicone ???

Reggie · #1 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 13:01

Hey guys.
I was wondering if anyone knows a way to add color to resin (before it cures)? I know you can buy the dye from the resin companies, but I wanted to get out of it cheaper

. Also, can you dye silicone, or paint it without the paint cracking?

I can offer this tip that you all probably know. If you paint the inside of the mold before you pour the resin, the paint will bond with the resin, and won't scratch off. It's hard to do with a one piece mold, but works great on a two piece mold. Great for recasting guns without fear of the paint rubbing off when putting the gun in the figures hand.

Lightning 9 · #2 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 14:11

Reggie, I'm not sure about pigmenting silicone but the pigment for resin isn't that expensive as I recall, and a little bit goes a loooooooooong way. Try your local plastics supply shop, one that sells fiberglass resins and supplies. MicroMark has a pigmentable rubber kit available.

3d Nomad · #3 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 18:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reggie

Hey guys.
.... Also, can you dye silicone, or paint it without the paint cracking?

dunno about dying, but one cannot paint silicone...one cannot even put superglue...either will just shed off like a casting.

If you need a flexible/soft piece like silicone, the alternative is polyurethane rubber. There's more info at
www.smooth-on.com

Whatcha makin?

Reggie · #4 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 18:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3d Nomad

Whatcha makin?

Well I need to know for when I get ready to put together my Farscape Pilot, and D'Argo figures together, and also I'm going to try my hand at making a movie Batman figure by converting the Billiken model kit like a lot of people seem to be doing.

Lightning 9 · #5 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 20:09

Reggie, you might want to give this a look.
http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares...oduct&ID=82987

Tank Mechanic · #6 (**permalink**) 09-20-2005, 20:49

Silicone comes in several colors from automotive or industrial sources.Personal favorite was black.Got from Caterpillar when I worked for Cat.

orangminyak · #7 (**permalink**) 09-21-2005, 02:41

thus far i've yet to find the proper paint to use for silicone as well; the closes that i got was to use a local brand of spray paint that are readily available (Cap Matahari)...after painting/spraying ...i let it dry for at least 24hours before putting the items on anything such as my figures ...please bear in mind this is not the best solution because after awhile the paint tend to crack ..this happens faster under cold conditions ...a friend of mine mentioned to me that acrylic paints works well silicone and that it would hold better ...yet to try on this ....given the current non existence of the standard 12" invisible woman in malaysia ...i 've been experimenting on painting on the "clear" version and trust me that head is a definete silicone (it's rubbery)...planning to do a "max" or "nancy" with this one ...chill

Reggie · #8 (**permalink**) 09-21-2005, 07:45

Thanks for the info guys!!! Keep the ideas rolling in, and when the projects are finished, I'll definitely share with the OSW family (as disfunctional as we are LOL).

solarz72 · #9 (**permalink**) 09-21-2005, 09:17

when i was casting resin many years back, i used food dye, those that our moms used for colouring jello. But I'm not sure if it works for all brands of resin. Silicon is flexible and paint will inevitably crack upon some stretching, maybe you might wanna prime the silicon with some primer like those of Gunze Sanyo or alikes. Maybe a few coats will let the paint work last a little longer... just a suggestion.

solarz72 · #10 (**permalink**) 09-21-2005, 09:19

oh, Tamiya used to have paint for polycarbonates, thats what they call them for RC car bodies, they pretty rubbery and won't crack up as easy as normal paints... you might wanna try... if those paints still available... they should be.