Vulpinoid Studio - Resinworks

Concept Development

Description: The first stage of any project is to formulate a concept will be the intended goal. Quite often the originally intended goal will gradually evolve as the project progresses (due to technical difficulties, materials or tools working in unforeseen ways, or simply a lack of know-how by the people involved in the project). Without a series of design concepts, the final product may not even resemble the original concept at all.

It pays to make at least three or four sketches of a resin project. They don't need to be detailed schematics or blueprints, but a couple of images displaying the overall shape are useful, as are a few images of key features or some assembly details if there will be multiple parts involved.

Tools: The easiest tools for this stage are a few pieces of paper, a pencil or two and a good eraser. Some people might try to use CAD programs to build up their shapes within a PC, then they'll print out some renders to work as reference images while they work their way through the other stages. As this is being written, there are CAD programs that are capable of exporting to 3d printers, which defies the need for the sculpting stage altogether, but that subtracts one of the fun parts of the process. Other useful tools are reference books that could give some insight into the forms that you are trying to replicate with the sculpted resin pieces.

Aim: The development of a concept helps to keep a project on track. It is very easy when sculpting to add embellishments to a project, to forget key aspects of the design, or simply to evolve the project into something else altogether. The main aim of this stage is to develop a set of working illustrations that will keep the rest of the project in context once the messy work begins.

Steps: The number of sketches developed during this stage of the process can vary dramatically from sculptor to sculptor. The quality of those illustrations can vary quite dramatically as well. The sketches aren't meant to limit the sculpting process at all, because things inevitably look different once they have been moulded, instead the concepts forumulated at this stage are purely reminders of what needs completeion through the rest of the process.
Some sample sketches to be developed at this stage include:

Overall Image: preferably including a few views (top, front, side)
Key Pieces: Work up a couple of ideas for the parts that will be really significant to the project (like a figurehead for a ship, an intricate piece of filigree work that appears on one of the items, optional parts that can be interchanged, etc.)
Assembly: If the final item is made up of more than a single part, show how they fit together. This helps you work out which areas will be hidden by other parts, and where attention may need to be focused to ensure the fit between parts works.
Mould Lines: If you don't mind mould lines occuring on your pieces, you can indicate where these can best be placed on the items.
Colouring: Such images should include whether the colouring is achieved by different moulding materials or through application of colour to the surface later.
Ergonomics: If the piece is designed to be worn (such as goggles, belts or other costume pieces), it could be useful to include a few images of how the pieces fit with a human body.
Design Notes: Sometimes an illustration just can't convey what you need, so it helps to ensure sketches are annotated with dimesions and anything else that might not be clear. A few notes on concepts like finish and surface texture could also prove useful.

Completion: Once the concept has been developed and illustrated, you'll have a good idea of where the project should be heading. With enough planning and preparation, you will also have a good idea about the steps needing to achieve the final product.

Sculpting

Description: With sketches and design notes at the ready, the tools and materials for sculpting can be gathered. This stage of the process can be one of the longest and most complicated stages of the entire resin moulding process. It pays to take some extra time to get things right now, because they often cannot be changed later without major complications developing. Smoothing or finishing a piece correctly during the moulding stage ensures that all future parts will be finished accordingly (with minimal requirement for extra work during the later stages on every subsequent part made).

While sculpting, remember that certain parts will be easier to cast in different types of material. Large parts will be more cost effective to cast from cheaper materials (and when costuming these larger parts might be more suitable if cast from lighter materials). But small features will often require better casting mediums to retain their detail. There is nothing to stop a sculptor from producing intricate details on large parts, but it makes the moulds more fragile and requires much more attention to detail during later stages of the process.

Tools: There are numerous sculpting mediums, and just as many tools for sculpting them. It all depends on the amount of cost you want to outlay, and how much detail you want to put into your creation.

The simplest option for sculpting would be kids plasticene, it's available in most supermarkets or toy stores and is reasonably cheap. It's main drawbacks are the fact that it doesn't hold fine detail as well as many other mediums, and it can't be hardened.
Another reasonably easy medium is clay, it an be found in most art supply stores. Depending on the clay it can typically hold detail a bit better than the plasticene, and it can be hardened, but this usually requires some kind of high temperature beyond the scope of most households.
A favoured sculpting medium that is available in various colours is called Fymo. It is often used to make small toys and jewellery pendants, it holds detail quite well and can be hardened in a conventional houshold oven. It's main drawback is that it can be quite expensive compared to many of the other options available.
Air Hardening Clay doesn't require an oven to become solid, but it needs to be worked in a single sitting to produce each piece (this makes it more suitable for multi-part projects). Once it has been exposed to the air, it starts to get harder over the course of a few hours. Some sculptors have their own techniques for keeping the clay pliable, such as submerging it in water to keep the reaction at bay, though these methods can be very hit-and-miss.
Many sculptors who develop figurines and toy soldiers use a material called green stuff, similar products are available in a number of other brand names. It comes in two parts that are mixed together and a chemical reaction within the mixture causes it to harden over the course of a few hours. When working with this material it is recommended that small parts of the project are worked on at a single time, gradually adding more compound to the parts being developed once previous areas have been finalised.
One of the preferred mediums for many resin, miniature and special effects sculptors is referred to as sculpey. It combines many of the better features of other mediums such as a good ability to maintain it's shape, high detail retention, and minimal deformation when it is hardened in an typical household oven. This is the medium I'll be using for this series of examples.
A better form of sculpey is referred to as super sculpey. It is a pinkish colour, and is typically more pliable than regular sculpey, it also holds detail far better than most of the other mediums mentioned here (except maybe green stuff). It typically costs more than the other mediums listed here, but from my experience it is worth the extra price.

For the actual tools used, anything that has an interesting shape can be a potential tool in the hands of a sculptor. It is probably good to get a handful of basic sculpting tools if you are planning to do this often, but otherwise, a series of skewers, spoons, chopsticks, knives and other implements can be used to sculpt the medium being used. Some experienced sculptors even cast their own tools for use in other projects, developing specific tools to replicate a variety of effects, or copying the textures of items that would otherwise be too fragile and only suitable for one or two jobs.

Aim: By the time this stage is completed, there should be a number of parts ready for making negative moulds. Where a desing requires that parts be made from different materials in the final product, it is sensible at this stage to ensure that different materials will be cast in different moulds, and different moulds require different pieces to be sculpted.

Steps:

1. Preparation: You can never be sure how long a product has sat on the shelf of a store, similarly, you can't tell how long a product may have been in transit before getting to the store, or how long it may have sat in a warehouse before that point. It is very rare for a product to come fresh from a factory, so there tends to be a degree of hardening or chemical reaction within the packaging. In most cases it only takes a few minutes of kneading to render a sculpting material suitably pliable for working.

For most products, it doesn't matter if you knead too much of the material at this stage (for those that chemically react in order to cure, it is probably safer to err on the side of caution and knead too little (you can always add more material to the sculpted component if you require more later).

At this stage it is also worth having a look at the sketches prepared earlier to determine what tools will be most suitable in obtaining the shapes that have been sketched. Pins and skewers might be useful for fine holes and lines, knives for cutting straight lines through the material, rolling pins (or something similar) to flatten the material into sheets. A decent work surface should probably be prepared as well, something large enough to contain all of the pieces you plane to work on, as well as a decent assortment of tools for that work.

2. Getting the Basic Shape: There are plenty of ways to get the basic shape for a sculpting project. Some sculptors choose to begin with a ball of material to which they add or remove shapes, pushing and prodding the material with the tools at their disposal, gradually developing the form that resides between their mental image and the pictures they are using as a guide. Others work like sheet metal workers, by cutting forms, folding and twisting them into shape, then attaching other pieces that have also been cut (and formed) to shape.

The goggles depicted in this example have basically been made using this second method, but every project can be made in a variety of ways, some of which may be more suitable than others. When working with a sculpting medium, it pays to experiement with a few different methods on your projects. Gaining knowledge with a number of different sculpting techniques may give new ideas and may help to push a project in new directions or may make things easier by offering shortcuts that weren't expected during the earlier design stage. Options shouldn't be ignored or ruled out simply because they are unfamiliar.

At this stage of the process, things are very easy to change, so don't be afraid of making mistakes. The goggles are designed to be a costuming prop that is actually worn, so in this case it makes sense to hold the piece literally up against the face to make sure it has a reasonable fit (of course all people are different, so it might not be appropriate to everyone, but if it's comfortable for the sculptor the there's a better chance that other people will find it comfortable too). For other projects that might need to interact with outside objects, then this is the time when you can remould things as much as you desire to get the form close to what you need.

3. Adding the Details: The basic form sets the stage for a piece, but it is the details that really make a piece special. This doesn't mean that the basic form can be ignored, because details on a bad form will simply highlight the problems in the basic structure. But once the basic form has been given it's shape, it's time to look at those auxiliary drawings that sketch out the details and really bring the piece to life. Details need not be extravagant and intricate, a detail could simply be a plain flat surface that has been polished to a finer degree than the other surfaces of the piece, it could be a beautifully sculpted curve that gives a certain look to the item. Details are just the parts where extra attention has been paid.

There are many schools of thought regarding detail, and this has been a highly debated part of art history for over a century. For the purposes of sculpting and moulding resin pieces, simply be aware that details on a piece that are too intiricate require a lot more effort to mould correctly. A few simple details make a piece look more interesting, too many details have a tendency to rip apart the negative mould when they come out or simply capture air bubbles in the resin and don't get moulded properly at all. Adding more intricate details should be done by adding extra pieces; or could be achieved more easily during the finishing stages, later in the process.

For the goggles, I have included some piping reminiscent of the tubes found on many steampunk items. The actual pupose of this piping is deliberately left mysterious. They simply seem to be conduits leading from one part of the frame to another, painting at a later stage in the process could be used to designate these details with specific functions, or they could simply be left as mysterious additional features to imporve the look of the item. Other aspects of detailing are more functional in nature, such as the hinge mounts and strategically places holes included on the lens covers.

4. Ensuring Parts Fit: There is little more frustrating than moulding a series of finished pieces only to find that they don't fit together in the way you intended. Some styles of sculpted components may not require perfect fits (especially if a rustic or well-worn look is being sought for the work), other multi-part pieces require attention to fits and tolerances (margins of error). Before the pieces are hardened, and before negative moulds are made, it pays to just check and make sure the pieces go together in the intended fashion.

The simplest method of ensuring a good fit between parts is to use the same tools and guidelines for both matching parts. Where possible it is also a good idea to actually fit the pieces together to ensure the pieces match in a way that is suitable. Of course there may be some shrinkage in the sculpted pieces once they are cured, and there could be additional degrees of deformation between the final sculpted prototype and the resin moulded pieces, but the best way to learn about this is through a bit of experience (or studying a degree in either engineering or industrial design).

For the basic framework shape of the goggles and the lens-cover, the same circular object was used to cut the shape of the piece and the hole. An additional clip piece on the side of the goggles is being used to hold the leather strap. This needs to attach to the goggles in some way, so a method is designed that allows this clip to secure its place around a pin on the main goggle piece. The connection between these parts doesn't need to be finished too carefully as the facing is obscured and the clip will be held in place with a screw anyway.

5. Making Modular Components: Many of the current producers of miniatures and toy soliders produce a few variation for their products. They may offer a standard body with a couple of alternate arms each carrying a different type of weapon. This allows them to mass produce a single unit that can be modified in some way to allow variation in the final output. Making modular components is not mandatory by any means, in fact most projects won't end up being produced on the scale where modularity becomes a required issue, but even on a run of a dozen or so units it ca be nice to have the option to mix and match components to allow unique results.

It made most sense with the goggles to make them modular based on the different environments where they could be used. A variety for regular use with an open lens, a vesion for use in the snow with a fine viewing slit, a dark environment version with a mount for lights (a later series of lenses will include cat's eye slits and various other psychadelic effects). Numerous other options could be possible, and depending on which aspects become modular, there is also the chance to mix and match the results. One of the most important modular aspects to the goggles is the bridge that joins the two goggle halves, this has been specifically designed as a modular component with a number of options in various widths, this is to allow a variety of goggle widths. If you've ever tried on a variety of sunglasses, you'll know that different widths will sit on the face in different ways and these goggles are no exception. Since they are designed to be worn by a variety of people, it makes sense that the goggles should be comfortable on different faces shapes, the easiest way to accomplish this was through the design of the modular bridge.

6. Curing the Sculpting Material: As mentioned above, different types of sculpting materials use different means to harden or cure. Some materials can simply be left out in the air for a few hours before they harden enough for the next stage of the process. Other materials are constantly in a state of chemical reactions and will gradually harden no matter where they may be.

Clay hardens slightly as the water evaporates from it, this degree of hardening may be enough to allow the process of making a negative mould, but it tends to produce a very brittle prototype (it is much better to kiln fire a sculpted clay piece).

Some of the more expensive materials do not harden at all without the application of heat.

7. Finishing the Prototypes: Once a sculpting material has cured, it takes on different properties. This is where the more expensive sculpting materials really come into their own. Plasticene doesn't cure and it can't be finished with special techniques, Clay and most of the other materials on the other hand can be glazed, sanded, carved, etched or polished.

When working on a project with multiple pieces, it is often a good idea to ensure that these pieces still fit after the curing process has completed. Clay has a tendency to shrink at the water evaporates, other materials distort slightly or may simply harden. The pieces should still fit because resin casting materials don't suffer the same degree of distortion as metallic casting, but sometimes it's better to be safe. It doesn't take long to make a quick check at this stage, and sand back a surface by a fraction of a millimetre to ensure a nicer fit.

Like most materials, the hardened Sculpey used for the goggles can be sanded with various grades of sandpaper. With careful preparation earlier in the sculpting process, there isn't too much need for sanding or extra detailing at this stage. But there are a number of effects that are far easier to achieve on a hard surface than a soft one. Making a surface glossy is one such effect.

Completion: Once the sculpting has been completed, you will have a number of prototype parts that will be exact replicas of the final resin parts. These replicas will be used to cast negative moulds in the next stage of the process, although some people will use these sculpted forms as the final product if they are only planning to produce a one-off project.

These sculpted prototypes will be considered the master parts for any resin pieces being produced, so they should probably be stored in a padded case somewhere secure. Broken and worn resin pieces can be cast again from negative moulds, but over the course of castings, negative moulds start to break from accidents or simply wear, and these may need to be remoulded from the master prototypes. Master prototypes cannot be perfectly reformed once they are damaged.

Negative Mould Casting

Description: Generating resin pieces requires pouring the liquid resin into a void with a negative shape equal to the final positive piece. In order to create that negative shape, the original prototype positive needs to be surrounded with a new flexible material then removed to leave the void.

Tools: There are a few mediums suitable for casting resin, most are fairly flexible and retain a good level of fidelity between the prototype and the final piece. One of the best moulding materials for these purposes is a two-part silicone, which pours over the prototype as a liquid then hardens into a flexible gel. In addition to the mould material, a few other tools are vital to this stage of the process.

Scales: The two-part silicone used to make the negative mould requires a specific ratio of parts for successful chemical reaction. The ratios will be indicated on the packaging of the product used, but it's commonly a 1:10 ratio of catalyst to rubber compound. So the numbers don't get too complicated. You can be off by a few percent either way and the result will still react, but it may be a little harder than normal or it may take a little longer to solidify.
2 Containers: One container is vital for mixing the chemicals, the second container will form the outer shell for the mould being produced. Some moulders produce this second container by different means, sometimes constructing a liquid-tight box from lego blocks, or creating a wooden frame that can be pulled apart around the finished negative mould.
Stirring Implement: A simple wooden stick or a dentist's tongue depressor can be used for this purpose. The tongue depressor is slightly better as it has a larger surface area and allows quicker and better combination of the reacting chemicals.
Mould Release: Simple moulds can be produced with a single pour, this is especially suitable for bas-relief work or thin pieces, but for many types of three-dimensional work, a multi-part mould may need to be developed (especially if there are details on two sides of a part). To make a multi-part mould, mould release is required.
PVA/White Glue: This is used to stick a flat part of the positive prototype to the side of the mould. By doing this, there will automatically be a suitable hole in the side of the mould to pour resin into.
Dowels: These are another thing that are only useful when making a multi-part mould. By suspending them in a mould, then removing before pouring the next part, a mould develops innate keys and keyholes that lock together to make a solid mould that can pull apart in different directions to allow better detail control. More about this will be explained shortly.

Aim: Once this stage is completed, a number of negative moulds will have been produced with voids ready to produce the final resin parts. These moulds may be capable of producing a number of parts with a single pour of resin, or they may connect together with other mould parts to produce a single complicated form.

Steps:

1. Preparing the Mould Container: A mould container is a water-tight container that will be used to hold a silicone mixture as it cures from liquid to solid around the positive prototype. Basically the inside of the mould will follow the contours of the prototype object, while the outside of the mould will follow the contours of the mould container. It basically works as a mould for a mould.

A good mould container needs to be a few millimetres larger than the original prototype piece on all sides. If it is too small, then the final mould will be too flimsy to hold the resin adequately when the final parts are made. If it is too large, then there will be two problems, the first of which is an amount of wasted silicone forming the mould, the second problem is that a thicker mould is more rigid and may become too hard to remove from the finished pieces.

As mentioned earlier, many resin moulders choose to make their own temporary mould containers using lego blocks or other construction methods. There is no real problem with this method, as the mould container is a temporary product that only really serves a purpose during this stage of the moulding process. Once the mould has been made, there is no further use for the mould container in most cases (the most common situation in which the mould container really needs to be kept is when the mould walls are too thin and an extra degree of reinforcement is required when moulding parts. If a flat surface is being generated in the mould, it is recommended to stick the flat surface to one of the walls of the mould using PVA/white glue. This prevents silicone from creeping across the flat edge and gives a good area to pour resin into the mould later in the process.

When producing the goggles, a number of moulds are produced by various means. The lens pieces have flat backs where they join the the remainder of the goggle frame and this makes them relatively simple moulds, by gluing the flat surface of the prototype pieces to the bottom of the mould, I can guarantee that this surface of the final piece will be flat. The resin will be poured here and will settle in a naturally flat plane on this surface. The same will apply to the actual goggle frames, as they have detail on all sides except for a flat surface where they join the lens pieces, the surface connecting to the lens pieces will be the mould pour area (glued to the side of the mould container), but the remainder of the mould will be generated as multi-part moulds to allow for the detailing on the various surfaces.

2. Preparing the Silicone: There are a few types of moulding silicone, from the "Banana skin" material that leaves a coating on the outside of a surface which can then be peeled off, to the flexible solid silicone that has been used in this project. Virtually all of these are chemically formed by the mixing of a catalyst with the base material. The two parts should be thoroughly mixed in a separate container before being poured into the mould container.

If any instructions have come with the silicone, make sure to read them carefully, as many types have eccentricities such as specific curing times or temperatures. And pay special attention to mixing ratios, too much catalyst can make your silicone too hard (and the resulting lack of flexibility makes getting the parts out harder), too litttle catalyst and the silicone might not set properly (often taking a few days or even weeks to set rather than a single day). Also ensure the chemical parts are thoroughly mixed before pouring into the mould container with the prototype.

For these purposes it's good to have a set of scales to ensure the right proportions of chemicals are mixed for the moulding silicone. I've found that it is useful to have a set of scales that recalibrates to a new zero value at the push of a button. This way I don't have to perform calculations of subtracting container weights or pre-existing ingredients as I pour new chemicals into the mix. I can just place the container down, then recalibrate. Add ten parts of my white silicone mix, then recalibrate. Add a single part of my blue catalyst, then mix the chemicals together.

3a. Pouring a One-Part Mould: It's probably not surprising that one part moulds are the easiest to produce. With the container ready, the moulded item fixed within it, and an opening ready to pour the liquid silicone, it's now just a case of carefully pouring the liquid in.

There are a few things that you need to be careful of though, and the first of these is to ensure the liquid is poured in slowly and gently. A rapid or unsteady pour will have a tendency of producing air bubbles within the mould. If these air bubbles are near the surface of the object being moulded (and inevitably that's where they'll end up through a combination of surface tension and murphy's law), they will cause detail problems with the final resin mould. These detail problems could come in the form of spheres of resin attached to the surface of the final cast object, or they could have other symptoms like smooth spots on the mould.

As you can see with the underside of the mould shown here, the silicone will not creep through under the part where it has been glued to a surface (this is a reason why I like working with clear containers for my moulds, as it allows me to see any problems before a mould has cured. To avoid wastage, I can even transfer the liquid silicone mixture into another mould that might be ready nearby).

3b. Pouring the First Part of a Multi-Part Mould: There are a few ways to create multi-part moulds and I'm still experimenting with these.

Some people choose to create a multi-part mould by embedding a part in a third medium. For example, if a prototype part is made from sculpey, then it can be half embedded in plasticene. In this way, the plasticene can be moulded to match the contours of any part lines, and holes can be sunk into the plasticene to allow for interlocking with a second silicone mould part. This method takes time, but it's probably the best way to ensure good parts emerge from the moulding process.

I didn't have access to any plasticene while moulding, so I chose to simply create a pair of flat halves for the multi-part mould. This was suitable for the goggles since they had fairly straight mould lines along their length. So I simply glued the prototype into the mould, with a hollow cardboard tube in it's centre (a few millimetres within the inside cylinder edge of the prototype part). The cylinder was coated in plastic wrap. This cylinder was done for two reasons, the first of which was for the conservation of silicone, while the second (and more important reason was to ensure the centre of the mould would be flexible enough to actually remove the part once it was moulded.

The liquid was poured slowly into the glued assembly. Special attention was taken to ensure that the liquid flowed through the hollow central shaft of the mould. With only a few millimetres of clearance, the silicone doesn't want to flow through here, and if it had been poured too quickly, the silicone would have left air bubbles in this part of the mould. A few gentle pours were made, between each of these the liquid was "forcibly settled" through a few gentle taps on the workbench. Gradually, the silicone was used to fill the mould up to a suitable halfway point (or slightly less).

In this particular example, I couldn't be perfectly sure how much silicone would be needed. I prepared a few smaller moulds to make use of any silicone that might be left over from the pour. I actually poured the one-part mould using the excess silicone from the multi-part mould.

As an added feature of the mould, a pair of keys were made. Keys allow parts of a mould to interlink together in a way that will increase stability when the resin is poured. One key holds two part of a mould together, but allows for rotation and slippage; two or more keys improve the stability and make a very sturdy mould. In this example I used two keys, but in retrospect I probably should have used a third on the other side of the mould.

These keys were made by suspending a pair of small bottles into the silicone solution (this is where many people use dowels). Glass bottles were used because they have smooth surfaces and would prove easy to remove once the silicone had cured. They were suspended by simply using a pair of clamps to hold them in place, slightly submerged in the curing solution.

The mould was poured and left to settle overnight. Once it had settled, the mould was removed from the container and the glass bottles were slid out to provide a pair of cylindrical holes. The prototype sculpey part and the cardboard tube were left within the mould, careful attention was paid to ensure that these parts did not move too much with respect to the mould.

4. Pouring the Additional Parts of a Multi-Part Mould: If you were making a multi-part mould using the plasticene method, you'd simply take out the plasticene, and create the second half of the mould using the space that had previously been occupied by the plasticene. Just remember that the outside shape of the mould isn't incredibly important, it's the inside shape (the bit where it's in contact with the prototype) where the mould has to be precise.

Using a good mould release agent is one of the most important things to do when casting a multi-part mould. Silicone is very good at sticking to liquid curing silicone, and if a good release agent isn't use then you've just wasted your time by creating the first part (the two halves will literally fuse together into a single part mould). If using a spray on release agent, ensure the first mould is fully sprayed at any point where the second mould part will touch it. It doesn't matter too much if you spray some of the agent onto the prototype, as the prototype will have to separate from the mould once this stage is completed anyway. A good mould release agent will be so fine that detail shouldn't be obscured in the areas where it is sprayed.

In this example, we used the original container and the first half of the mould to form a new void which would be suitable for the creation of the second mould half. The first half of the mould was glued halfway into the container, in such a way that the cardboard tube would be fully within the container (for mould stability). White glue was used againn for this because it sticks well enough to prevent the silicone from getting through, but doesn't have a grip so strong that the mould cannot be pulled apart at the end of this process. There are plenty of ways that this can be done, just be careful not to scrape off the mould release agent in any areas as you prepare the assembly for casting the second half of the mould.

Beyond this point, the casting of additional sections is just like the first. Prepare and thoroughly mix the silicone, pour it in slowly and carefully. Tap the assembly on the workbench between pouring stages to settle out any air bubbles, then leave the mould to cure overnight. No-one said that making silicone moulds (or resin casting in general) was a quick process.

5. Removing the Prototype: Once all parts of the mould have cured, the original prototype can be removed. This is another stage where you need to be careful and pay attention to the process involved. Removing the prototype will give you a good feeling for where problems might arise in removing the finished pieces from the mould during later stages of the casting process.

Be careful not to pull the mould from the prototype too quickly, as silicone can seem fairly tough, but with some of the finer details of the mould it can prove exceptionally fragile. Since the details are the bits that make the resin part special, you won't want to destroy them before you've even had the chance to cast your first piece.

Completion: Once you've removed the prototype from the negative mould, you'll be ready to actually start doing some casting. The slow parts of the casting process are over (no more waiting overnight for things to set), the actual casting of resin is fairly fast from this point onward.

Positive Casting

Description: This is the stage where the actual resin casting takes place. It's like the filming of a movie, the rest of the steps are merely preludes that set up this part of the process (pre-production), or detailing that occurs once the resin has taken form (post production). Despite being the focus of the whole process, this stage is probably the quickest. It's quick because the resin cures rapidly, but it's due to this quickness that other parts of the process have to be taken so slowly and carefully. You'll know quickly whether you have to go back and begin the process all over again.

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Tools: There are a few types of resin that may be used for producing final pieces. Most of our pieces are produced using rapid-curing polyurethane, clear polyurethane or polyurethane foam. It all depends what purpose the final piece will be put to. Polyester resins also exist, as do epoxy resins but I haven't really had much experience with these. The polyurethanes that I use are able to be mixed with metallic powders, pigments and other fillers to produce a variety of final effects (some of which will be described in this section).

Scales: Just like the process for mixing silicone, most resins come in two parts (or more if you want interesting effects). The ratios will be indicated on the packaging of the product used, but most of the materials I use have an even 1:1 distribution of resin parts.
A few Containers: A few containers are vital for mixing the chemicals. Ensure that these are different containers to the one used for mixing the silicone. Cheap plastic containers like that that you store in the fridge are good for this, especially if they've got a bit of flexibility in them. The resion hardens, and can be easily cracked away from the surface of such containers allowing them to be used again for later batches.
Stirring Implement: As per above...A simple wooden stick or a dentist's tongue depressor can be used for this purpose.
Mould Release: This isn't as necessary during this stage of the process, but a lot of moulders prefer to use it to make removal of the finished parts an easier process.
Clamps or elastic bands: These are only really important if you've made a multi-part mould. The clamps don't need to hold things too tightly, and in fact its probably better that they don't. You just need something that will gently hold the sides of the negative mould in place for the few minutes that it takes the resin to cure.
Toothpick or Skewer: Sometimes you need something to push liquid into the deeper cracks and mould details. A toothpick or skewer is expendible enough that you shouldn't mind if it gets caught in the resin as it cures, it will often be a single use item as the implement will be covered in hardened resin once the job is complete. Using more expensive tools can be asking for trouble.
Clear Space: Resin cures far more quickly than silicone, and you don't really have a lot of time to be messing around once the process begins. Ensure everything is clear and ready to go before the resin is mixed.

Aim: Once this stage has been finished, you will have a resin cast piece in the shape that has been previously sculpted (hopefully). For a simple process this may be the final result, but if you've got a larger or more complex project you may need to cast a number of these resin pieces to assemble the final product.

Steps:

Preparation of the Resin and Mould: When first casting resin pieces, there is no need to make any special resin preparations. Simply add the two parts in their correct ratios, mix thoroughly then pour into the mould. Wait a few minutes for the chemical reaction to heat up and cure, then remove the pieces once they have suiatble hardened. This is often the best way to produce the first piece from a new negative mould. The majority of preparation at this stages come from making sure the mould is clean, level and ready to accept the liquid. This may require using elastic bands (or adjustable clamps) to hold part of a multi-part mould together, or it may require inserting additional parts into the mould if you want to cast them into the final piece. But if you want to produce specialised effects with the resin, then it pays to make any preparations to the chemical components before they have been mixed.

Adding metallic powders, pigments or other fillers to the resin while it is curing has a number of issues that need to be overcome...firstly, they can cause problems with the curing process, and secondly, there just isn't much time to get it right as the resin starts to cure immediately once the chemicals are mixed. It is safer and easier to mix any additives to either of the components (or mix in an even quantity of additive to each of the chemical components). The typical additives used to produce special effects within the resin do not produce chemical reactions with either component, they simply exist suspended in solution with the other chemicals. As the resin cures, these particles remain suspended within the resin at it hardens and they become permanently embedded in the resin where their properties impart a range of different effects.

Pigments: These simply dye the final product. Without additives, most resins result in an off white colour (or may be clear). By adding pigments, an evenly distributed colour mixes through the entire part (unlike painting which only colours it's surface). This is especially useful where you would expect a part to recieve a lot of wear and regular paint would just come off the surface. A little pigment can go a long way, and in most cases you wouldn't add any more than 1 part pigment to every ten parts of other chemicals.
Metallic Powders:Adding finely ground metallic powder to a resin mix is often called "cold casting". Ther is nothing special about these powders, they are nothing more than metal ground exceptionally fine (typically aluminium, copper and brass). As a result the powders tend to be far denser than the resin components and should be mixed every couple of minutes to prevent settling within the resin chemicals (a good stir just before mixing the chemicals is also recommended). Unlike pigment, metallic powders need a substantial amount to have a noticeable effect. Using an amount of powder equal to a quarter of the other combined components will give noticeable metallic flecking throughout the part. Powder equal to half the other combined components gives more flecking and can be combined with pigments or other effects to produc aged metal looks. Truly metallic looking effects only come when using at least as much metallic powder as the other combined components. It is possible to use even more powder than this, in which case the resin acts more like a glue, holding the metal parts together. When higher contents of metallic powder are used, the resin no longer pours well and it starts to act more like pancake dough, or even cake mix. This means that highly metallic mixtures aren't the best for finely detailed parts, since they often need to be manually pushed into the cracks and crevices of the mould. Due to their weight, it should come as no surprise that Metallic powders tend to make final resin pieces much heavier than normal.
Micro-Foam: Opposing metallic powders, Micro-foams are tiny balls of expanded polystyrene or some other polymer. They can be used to bulk out resin with a minimum of weight. This enables the production of low density parts that can float in water or lightweight large components if producing wearable pieces like costume armour suits. Using more of this foam powder renders a piece more fragile, though I haven't done enough research with these materials to give an informative discussion on the degrees of change.
Phosphorescent and Pearlescent Powders:Again, these are similar to the metallic powders and the Micro-foam. They exist in suspension within the resin as it cures, they perform their effects mainly on the surface of the piece and may need some sanding or surface finishing to become exposed. Phosphorescent powders absorb light energy, store it chemically, then reverse the chemical reaction once the light is gone; this makes them low in the dark. Pearlescent powders reflect light differently from a variety of angles, giving a variety of shades within the reflected colour. The effects produced by these two can be modified through use of pigments, but the more pigment is used, the more their native effects are hindered.
Faux Stone: There are a few varieties of these, though most come in the form of tiny pieces of pre-cured resin in an assortment of colours, or actual pieces of sand and stone. Like metallic powders, a substantial amount needs to be added to gain a decent looking effect. In most cases, these powders have a consistency similar to the final resin, so they don't modify the density of the final pieces by too much, but they do make the resin harder to work with while it sould be in it's pouring stage. Resin castings using this additive also need to be sanded to bring their particles to the surface of the final piece.

Mixing the Resin:Resins are usually mixed from equal weight parts of component chemicals (and if this isn't the case, then specific instructions should be indicated with them). If any additives have been added to the components before mixing, make sure the weights of these are not included in the comparison of final components. For this reason it's usually good to measure out the amount of resin components needed into separate containers, weighed and measured for final curing, then add in any additives to these separate containers. Once the resin components have had the additives thoroughly mixed, the component chemicals are poured into a single container and further mixed until the resulant liquid has an even consitency. Some people pour the resin from one pre-measured container into the other, some choose to pour both components into a third container; this is a matter of personal preference and doesn't seem to make a lot of difference.

Pouring the Resin:As soon as the resin chemicals come into contact with one another, they start a chemical reaction and begin the process of curing. This is most noticeable in the opaque polyurenthane resins, as the two component chemicals tend to be clear in colour, while the resulting resin gradually becomes milky and harden over the course of a few minutes then solidify a few minutes later. In virtually all resins, an exothermic (heat-producing) reaction occurs and even in the process of mixing the components, the solution starts to warm up.

Once the process begins, it cannot be stopped (except via advanced chemical means that are beyond the scope of most home users). A good even pour into the mould should be performed. Like the production of the silicone mould, it often helps to tap the mould a few imes during the pouring process to ensure any air bubbles are purged as the liquid seeps it's way into all of the cracks and mould details. If high levels of additives have been included in the resin, it could be necessary to use a fine implement like a toothpick or skewer to push the liquid into the deeper parts of the mould.

For slowly curing resins (such as clear polyurethanes), many people like to pour extra into a mould and then use a straight edge to level the top in much the same fashion as concreters do when pouring a slab. I've tried this a couple of times with faster curing resins but have yet to prove successful in any of my attempts.

Removing the Piece: There are two schools of though on the best time to remove a piece. I've found that it typically depends on the type of piece being produced, taking into account specifics like the delicacy of the mould, detail of the casting and any special effects that might need to be performed. The two options are removing the piece when it is almost cured but still relatively pliable, or removing the piece once it has completely hardened.

When removing a piece before it has fully cured, it is possible to bend the moulded part in ways that might not have been feasible during the casting process. I've done this numerous times using assorted cylinders, like cans or bottles, or used right angles such as table edges to give more distinct bends to sculpted pieces. While the resin has yet to fully cure, it is also easier to cut the piece using a scalpel blade or box-cutter. One of the problems with removing a piece before it has fully cured is that any fine details risk bending or breaking before they have fully hardened, this can be especially concerning if two parts have been designed to fit together with close tolerances (unless they are both meshed together while the parts remain pliable, trying to mesh hardened parts together after they have slightly deformed can be incredibly frustrating).

Removing a piece after full hardening provides a more solid piece that most accurately resembles the originally scuplted part. From my experience, removing a hard resin part from a mould has a higher chance of damaging the silicone mould, especially if there is a degree of undercutting or narrow cuts into the resin piece. The parts are harder to cut with a blade (but this may be beneficial for other reasons. The decision of when to remove a part should be determined through experience and the comfort of the caster.

Completion: Once you have completed this stage of the process, you should have a sculpted resin piece. You may decide that this piece is good enough to leave in it's current state, but for most purposes, some additional work will need to be done to ensure the part is presentable.

Piece Finishing

Description: When they emerge from the mould, most resin parts have flash lines (or part lines) from where the resin has slighly run into the cracks between multi-part moulds, or they have other minor surface defects that need touching up to some degree. Careful consideration of mould design, and good practices when resin pouring can reduce the need for finishing, but virtually every cast piece iof resin will benefit from a bit of attention once it has emerged.

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Tools: Most of the tools and materials used for piece finishing are the same as those found in numerous other hobbies. A visit to one of these hobby stores will probably furnish you with most of the implements necessary for finishing resin pieces (and even if the tools provided aren't 100% right, they should do the job adequately). If you have a couple of craft or hobby stores in your area, such as a scrapbooking shop, a roleplaying shop, a model train store, etc., then visiting a few of them might provide additional tools that could inspire you in new was to finish your resin pieces.

Sharp Knife: A good sharp blade, such as those found in most craft stores, otherwise a decent utility cutting knife from a hardware store could be used.
Sandpaper: Get a few different grades of sandpaper, some coarse and some fine.
Paintbrushes: Could be found anywhere from hardware stores or supermarkets to craft stores and specialist suppliers.
Paints and Patinas: The best surface coatings are typically found in specialist stores, but you can often find suitable equivalents in hardware stores or craft supply shops. Most surface colours will require some type of primer before they will stick to a piece of resin (available from most hardware stores).
Drill: While drills are typically used more in the assembly stages, there are some techniques in finishing that could benefit from their use. Especially if using a small hobby drill (sometimes referred to by the trademark name of a "Dremel" or "Supertool"), these hobby drills often have a wide variety of attachments that may be used to sand, grind, polish or otherwise manipulate the surface of small projects.
Polishing Cloth: These tend to be found in hardware stores, or sometimes the cleaning aisle of the supermarket.
Varnish: There are a few varieties of varnish, depending on the finish desired; from matt, through satin and gloss to mirror-like super-gloss finishes.

Aim: Once this stage has been completed, pieces of resin that have been cast into rough shape will be sanded, polished, and detailed to produce good-looking and presentable finished products.

Steps:

Removing Flash Lines and Mould Irregularities: As indicated previously, flash lines develop where resin has slightly seeped into the cracks between a multi-part mould, sometimes this is slightly noticeable, sometimes sheets of resin seem to come out of the side of a part, and other times huge chunks of resin need to be removed. For the most part a good sharp blade can be used to trim away this excess resin,once the majority of it has been removed a quick sanding can smoth the surface to a condition where the flash line is no longer visible at all.

Another immediate irregularity to be removed is often referred to in plastic moulding as the sprue. This is a line cut in the silicone negative mould, to allow liquid resin to fill more than one cavity. If multiple parts have been cast in this way from a single mould, they need to be cut apart, and evidence of the sprue needs to be removed. A similar effect can occur when resin parts have been cast into an exposed void such as the goggles. If the resin overflows above this flat surface, it also needs to be trimmed away. This can be done with a sharp knife, or by sanding down the surface on a flat piece of rough sandpaper (then smoothed with finer grades of sandpaper and if necessary a polishing cloth).

Sanding: There are a few reasons why someone might want to use sanding to finish their resin pieces. One is because resin pieces can sometime emerge from the mould with a slightly textured and matt finish (though this can be overcome by paying extra attention to the original prototype and the silicone negative mould). Another is to expose resin additives (such as metal or phosphorescent powders) that might be embedded slightly below the surface.

Heavy grades of sandpaper (less than 120 grit) should never be used for surface finishing, they are simply too abrasive and will do too much damage to the resin. Instead start with a medium grit (such as 160 to 240), and gradually work your way up to the finest grades for the best possible smooth surface finishes (600 or even 1200 grit). These high grades of sandpaper are often used for sanding smooth finishes onto plastic parts and for this reason they are perfect for smoothing the surface of resin parts (since resins are a type of plastic). Using polishing fluids can be pointless for many forms of resin, since the natural texture of the material means that mirror-like finishes are almost impossible without additional surface coatings.

Painting and Other Surface Effects:One of the beauties of working with resin is the fact that it can replicate so many other materials through the addition of additives, pigments and texturing, but applying colour to the surface can allow for a range of other effects (or can make replicating certain materials easier). When detailing resin in this way spray paints can be used, so can a wide range of other paints and finishes. There area variety of metallic surface effects, and patinas which bond with metallic powders (of they have been used within the resin), otherwise there are a variety of other surface colouring agents. Most surface colours will require some type of primer before they will stick to a piece of resin.

Depending on the type of work that you are planning to do when detailing the pieces, a different assortment of brushes could be used. Larger pieces with broad areas requiring surface colour could be dealt with using typical wall painting brushes, otherwise the brushes used for miniature painting and fine detail work are typically more suitable. Most uses of resin aren't subjected to the same level of scrutiny as painted miniatures, so you don't need to spend a whole heap of money of the finest or best quality brushes. besides, if you've reached this stage of the process, you've probably spent quite a bit of money and effort setting up the other tools you've needed so far.

Paints: Most types of paint cannot be directly applied to a resin item, for this reason you will often need to first apply some form of primer. A typical metal primer, or a generic can of spray-on primer is perfectly adequate for coating an entire resin piece, while a variety of paint on primers (available in most harware or hobby stores) could be used for priming a specific part of a resin piece. Painting resin pieces can have a number of effects, and in industrial prototyping it is often used to highlight specific parts of the item (or conceal less desirable parts), it can also be used to mimic intricate detail on an item when this might have between difficult through other means.
Patinas: A patina is a protective chemical coating that naturally develops over time on a metal surface. Patinas are typically found on old copper and copper alloys, causing it to lose it's metallic sheen. In the less reputable antique stores patinas are often applied to objects to make them look older, and it is possible to apply a similar type of coating to a resin item to make it look like an aged metallic item. A range of patinas are available though many of these may be difficult to find outside of chemical supply stores. It may be possible to develop a traditional patina when a high proportion of metallic powder has been added to a resin mix. This would be done by application of vinegar to the sanded metallic surface and leaving in sunlight or mild heat for a week or so until the results of chemical reactions are noted on the surface (this is called verdigris and is not a true Patina though). Verdigris tends to be volatile and easily removed even on a full metal item (it is water soluble), and I hhaven't tried to produce it one resin, but I would imagine it to be even stable on a non-metallic surface.

Oxides: These are similar to patinas, though patinas are often considered useful and beneficial on items while most oxides are considered undesirable (rust is an oxide). Developing oxide finishes on a a resin piece taes a lot of time and effort, but the results can be spectacular. Typically, a metallic surface needs to be achieved on the items first, then a secondary coating needs to be applied to taint this metallic finish.
Varnishes: One of the problems with resin is that it tends to produce a matt finished piece, while painting or applying other finishes also produce specific surface textures. Varnishes and spray finishes exist in a range from mirror-finish gloss through to matt. Most people are probably familiar enough with these that a full description isn't necessary.

Completion: If the resin piece you were casting is designed to exist by itself, then this is where the resin modelling process ends. On the other hand, if the piece is to be used in conjunction with other parts (or assembled into a larger whole), then it will probably require additional work in the form of assembly and final finishing.

Assembly

Description: With an assortment of finished resin parts, a project is now able to take shape and approach its final form. If the parts have been carefully planned, it is possible for the resin components to snap-lock into one another to form solid larger pieces, but more often it will be easier to simply join the resin parts with some kind of adhesive or mechanical fastener (such as screws). Resin pieces can also be easily linked to non resin pieces (such as using real metal to accent otherwise "metallic-looking" resin components).

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Tools:

Glue: Probably the most obvious tool when it come to joining things together. Most forms of resin are not porous his makes them unsuitable for a wide variety of adhesives. The surest thing to hold resin part together is epoxy resin, or super glue. Both of which can be found in the hardware aisle of most supermarkets.
Drill: Assembly of parts often requires drilling holes for screws to sink into or for the threading of other lines or cords.
Wire: Depending on the type of project being undertaken, a variety of wire gauges can be useful. Heavier gauge wires make sturdy heavy-duty connections between pieces, while finer gauges of wire allow for joining small and delicate resin parts.
Screws: Depending on the look you're trying to achieve, screws can be used to connect resin parts. In the example illustrated, exposed screws add to the steampunk feel of the goggles and match the final project well.
Fishing Line: Fishing line can be used to join parts with a flexible connection. Most discount stores have it.
Leather Strapping: Good for tribal looks, especially when making resin cast jewelery. Leather strapping can sometimes be found at hardware stores, but is typically more common in craft shops.
String: Available pretty much anywhere.

Aim: With a range of painted and finished pieces of resin, this step involves joining them together by a variety of means to achieve a final product.

Steps: [THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS]

Preparing Pieces for Assembly (1):Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar. Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar.

Preparing Pieces for Assembly (2):Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar. Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar.

Connecting Fixed Pieces with Adhesives:Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar. Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar.

Connecting Fixed Pieces with Mechanical Fasteners:Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar. Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar.

Hinges and Flexible Connections:Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar. Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar.

Connecting to Non-Resin Pieces:Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar. Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar.

Completion: This is a general outline of what goals your work should have achieved by this stage of the process.

Final Touches

Description: The page is divided into a number of sections, defining the stages of the process we go through when creating a new piece. Each section of this page is divided into a number of key areas, starting with an overview of this production process.

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Tools:

Paintbrushes: Could be found anywhere from hardware stores or supermarkets to craft stores and specialist suppliers.
Paints and Patinas: Again it depends entirely on the type of effects you are trying to achieve with the resin. There area variety of metallic surface effects, and patinas which bond with metallic powders (of they have been used within the resin), otherwise there are a variety of other surface colouring agents. Mostr surface colours will require some type of primer before they will stick to a piece of resin.
Polishing Cloth: These tend to be found in hardware stores, or sometimes the cleaning aisle of the supermarket.
Varnish: There are a few varieties of varnish, depending on the finish desired; from matt, through satin and gloss to mirror-like super-gloss finishes.

Aim:

Steps:

Removing Flash Lines:Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar. Ut cursus tristique urna. Quisque porttitor purus et enim. Suspendisse potenti. Morbi in mi nec mi viverra suscipit. Donec sodales tristique erat. Integer adipiscing. Ut consectetuer felis vel eros. Integer mollis tempor mi. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Donec ornare urna ac erat. Nunc laoreet dictum felis. Proin lobortis tincidunt nunc. Maecenas ut lectus. Sed blandit, felis non faucibus pretium, massa urna porta arcu, sodales pulvinar est est ut lectus. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Donec pulvinar.

Completion:

Resinworks Processes

Layout

Concept Development

Sculpting

Negative Mould Casting

Positive Casting

Piece Finishing

Assembly

Final Touches

Image credits and Fine Print