What resins does everyone use an where do you get it, I use the micro mark CR-900 1 to 1, but am looking for better (cheaper if possable) alternative

Anyone?????????????????

smoothon has a starter kit for about 25.00. I usually can make at least 50 cars from that kit alone. cars cast white, the tints are 9.00 a bottle.

how much resin is in the kit?? 16 oz bottles?

2 part, 16oz each bottle

Hey Seth, that kit youre talking about that makes 50 or so cars...is that just if you make one mold? Approx how many molds will it get you?

Keen to know
Trev

i got 3-4 different bods per kit

all you resin guys an only one answers :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

You will Probably never get the "BIG" guys to bite, Goodwrench. I am told that the casters who do this for a living (and the ones with inflated egos) will not share their secrets. It is rediculous and sad. However, our Roger has been very free with his knowledge to the members of this board. (he is a busy guy and has not logged on much as of late) He told me about some products that I have not tried yet and has shared a wealth of knowledge with myself and the other guys on HT who are new to casting. A true gentleman.
I have been using Alumalite resin and RTV. While the resin is excelent for slosh-casting, it has a very short pot-life and does not lend itself to 2-part molds.
I am switching brands (now that I have used up the alumalite) to smooth-on products on the recomendation of several casters here at HT.
You are the first I have known of that has used micro mark. What would you say about the quality of that resin?

joez...keepin it in the slot! :wave:

Thanks Joe
Yeh no wonder slot cars is STILL a dieing hobby, if people are not willing to give a little

I like the micro mark resin, Great potlife, but demold time is 16 hours, works good for 2 part mold an getting the air out with such a long demold time

Try signing up here Goodwrench:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hoslotcarcasting/

I havent really logged on much there, as my efforts have been focused on track building (for now) But I know Roger used to post a lot there, as well as many other helpful folks. Its a great group, though I believe membership needs a day or 2 to approve.

I also know that many times Roger has posted here with summaries of all the major players in the resin kit industry. I wouldn't assume to speak for him, but maybe he's tired of posting the same stuff over and over again. If ya sift the board a bit, you should find what you need.

I wouldn't deny anyone the right to keep trade secrets to themselves, but it would seem to me that hoarding hobby resin secrets is akin to hoarding my Granny's chocolate chip cookie recipe. You can keep the secret if it makes ya feel superior...whatever floats your boat, but you bring more enjoyment to all if ya share it.

Trev

Thanks shadowracer, Ill have to check that out. Here is what I use for anyone that wants to make there own resin molds an bodies , No vacuum or presure chamber needed
resin I use http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82659

silicon rubber for molds i use http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=82663

Breaking it down
Average latex rubber mold of mine weighs 4½ - 5 oz , 32 oz in a 2 lb kit so you can make 6 molds from 1 kit

average resin cast car of mine weighs 6½ grams , 896 grams in 2lb kit of resin so you can make 135 or so cars

Rubber = $35.95/6 = $6(closes enough) per mold

Resin = 29.25/135 = $.21(YES 21 cents) per car

each mold will do well over 100 cars before wore out

average price of resin bodies $10 (OUCH) x 135 = $1350.00 - $36 - $30 (rounding up) =$1284 proffit

Now lets say average mold takes 2 hours to make we will even multiply it by 6 since you can make 6 per kit with resin so 12 / $1284 = $107 an HOUR , Who needs to be a lawyer :p

Hi Goodwrench :wave:
Sorry about not getting in on this earlier, but life has been "rather busy" here the last few days. I can only add that I also use smooth on, because thats what I was recommended by Roger and a few others. Its very easy to measure and work with. I like your math, but just remember, only RRR & MEV do that kind of volume of business. I just do it as a hobby, as does (I'm guessing) 98% of the other casters, and I really enjoy it. BUT, I havent ordered the new Magnum Hemi with the "profits" yet, either. :p If there is anything I can help you with, just send me am email and I'll try and be of help.



Larry

When I cast I always sell a few just to see what they'll go for, and to make up the money for the kit. I had one car finished/painted, go for 53.00, a bunch go for 29.00, but lately with so many guys casting the cost has gone down. last week I sold 2 finished ambulance's go for 20.00 (10 each, and they had original chassis).
but it's all in fun, I bid on them when I see them too.

I too use Smooth-On products and am very pleased with them. I'm amused by your figures. I've sold one car so far this year. At this rate I'll be rollin' in the dough in no time. Actually I started castin for myself, and offer my castings for fun. As for getting help. I asked one of the "Big Boys" how to make glass and all I got was "Only me and one other guy know how to make glass for Tjets". In other words he ain't tellin'. So I got a Vac-U-Form and learned how to make lexan type glass. I have heard that with a pressure pot you can get Smooth-On's Smooth Cast 325 to come out fairly clear.
hojoe

Interesting numbers.I haven't had a chance to try my hand at casting yet,but I can't wait to give it a shot.

I imagine if you can sell a casting or two and at least come close to covering your costs,your doing great.

I've gotten my hobbys down so that I can (within reason)do what I want with little to no money out of pocket.Keeps the wife off of my back pretty good too!!!!

Mike

Thanks for chiming in all, LOL the numbers, got bored an started figureing LOL, but if in reality you could do that :thumbsup: Id quit my job hehe

Smooth on,, humm i may have to try that
Thanks again
Kevin

I will you can buy smooth on OooMoo rubber for $135.00 for about 5lbs wich is a lot of casting little ho bodies .
I am doing 1/32 and ho and I still could not use it all in one year so find some buddies and split up the cost.
Smooth on resin is what I like .it will run you about 70.00 for a gallen.
Again it went bad befor I could use it all.
I do like the way it works very easy 1 to 1.
Just make sure your die (ie the model you are casting) is smooth as glass your final casting is only as good as your die.
If you have any more questions email me at toyman20@netwalk.com

hojoe
How well does that Vac-u-former work??, Been thinking on picking one of those up off epay to make my own lexan bodies, found lexan sheets 010" x 24" x 48" LEXAN® Clear Polycarbonate Sheet Ultra-Masked here for $6 https://secure3.nexternal.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=plastiweb&BusType=BtoC&Count1=619304835&Count2=536445260

My Vac-U-Form works great. When you search for Vac-U-Form on epay you'll find a guy selling clear and white sheets that fit the Vac-U-Form chamber. I think they are .02 thick, which should work great for lexan bodies. It's a little thick for window glass and I've asked him if he could make a .01 and he said he would consider it. The original sheets that came with the Vac-U-Form were .01 (I think).
hojoe

that link i posted is for .1 lexan may want to look into that for your windows

the sheets I referred to on epay are cut and perforated to fit the Vac-U-Form.
hojoe
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=1189&item=5966922856&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW (http://www.qksrv.net/click-1606754-5463217?loc=http%3A//cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll%3FViewItem%26item%3D5966922856)

I have seen those, couldnt be to hard to make a jig an cut an drill your own :)

Ok here is what I use on a regular basis.

For Resin I like MicroMarks's CR-300 CASTING RESIN. It and Smooth-ons Smooth Cast 300 are very similar in fact the rumor is Smooth-on makes MicroMarks resin. Why do I use the MicroMark over the Smooth-on, very simple packaging. The CR-300 comes in two very nice our bottles with spouts. The smooth-on comes in the open faced bottles kind of like a jar of jelly. They are both veru forgving of not being exactly 1:1 on you mixture. Alumilite is not so forgiving and streaks when your mixture is off. I have also used and like the Easy Flow 60 very similar the Smoot-ons and MicroMarrks's comes in very nice bottles and is a little brighter white.

As for cost CR-300 25.95 32ounces 2lbs, Smooth-on $20.00 1.9 lbs, Easy Flow $ 20.905 16 ounce 1lb. Even though the Smooth-on is the Cheapest you must oredr $25.00 or fmore from them. Also their is a company called Edgars Plastics that make a fine resin that you all may want to try.

All the resisns I use set up fast and demold fast. If you want to produce cars like MEV, RRR or Christopher Rolph they use a much longer demold time resin like around 12-18 hours just to demold and 24 hours for a full cure. I haven't tried it as I do not have that much patience also haveing to wait 24 hrs before I know a body is good too go is way too slow for me.

Now silicone I simply love the OOMA 25 due to its 90 min cure time. I buy it buy the gallon.

Hope this helps anwser some of your questions. I'm still here as often as I can but not like I use to be able to hang out. I will answer any questions on making bodies. You can get to me quicker on the Ho-SlotCar-Modeling email list.

http://vabeachho.com/mailman/listinfo/ho-slotcar-modeling_vabeachho.com

Roger Corrie

See?! That Roger knows his stuff! Thank you again, Roger! :thumbsup:

yes thank you all that have replied

Breaking it down

each mold will do well over 100 cars before wore out



Let me know when you get over 100 cast from a mold :) I'll have to try your silicone. You are pretty close on your cost estimates when you find a diecasts or existing body to mold. In mu case I do not do a lot of modeling I normally take a diecast and shrink it. So I end up makeing a master outer mold then a HYDROSPAN cast. Now I don't soend every waking hour looking at the catsinf while it is shrinking even thought my wife might disagree it takes two to three days to shrink one but roughly 25% may fail and have to be redone. Then another mold is made and a slosh xcast of that. Now you may be able to slosh cast one add posts and pour an inside mold in 2 hours but I spend at least two hours just adding the posts and getting it ready for the inside mold. I now add 6 or more extra air vents to the insde mold and this adds a few more mins to the job. Also lets not forget the reject rate can be as high as 25% on some bodies. Another thing to keep in account but not in my case is most of the caster spend a little time creating the master for their glass. Their is also the time spend triming the body after it comes out of the mold. I no longer spend the time I use to do on mine as it became to time consuming. I completley stopped casting for a while because it went from being fun to work and consumed too much of my time.

Now don't take anything I said above wrong but I am glad that there are more and more folks casting as it is a most enjoyable hobby and the more casters out there the more different cars available to everyone in the hobby which is very good.

Now here is somthing for everyone to ponder. Lets take MEVs very beautiful cars. The majority of his are hand carved masters and to get the shine that he gets requires a near flawless surface this takes around 80 hrs of polishing. Also in his case he must cast all the bumbers attach them to a tree then send them off to be chrome plated this takes time and money also. Mike spent many many hours perfecting his casting skills tyo get where he is. It can be done but it will require a lot of patience and time invested to get to his level.

Roger Corrie

I too use Smooth-On products and am very pleased with them. I'm amused by your figures. I've sold one car so far this year. At this rate I'll be rollin' in the dough in no time. Actually I started castin for myself, and offer my castings for fun. As for getting help. I asked one of the "Big Boys" how to make glass and all I got was "Only me and one other guy know how to make glass for Tjets". In other words he ain't tellin'. So I got a Vac-U-Form and learned how to make lexan type glass. I have heard that with a pressure pot you can get Smooth-On's Smooth Cast 325 to come out fairly clear.
hojoe

Hey HO Joe ask Roger Miller he make some clear glass himself. Now you may not know this but MEV's glass is Vacuum Formed :) From my research on clear glass so far you must have a pressure pot. And the chrytal clear stufff is hazordus and has a long demold time. For some presentable glass tou can use the smooth-on or MicroMarks color cast resins and cast them in a pressure chamber It work pretty good. For my personnel preferences I put the body back in the mold and brush 5 min epoxy I like the Hobby Town's brand and lately I have been expeirmenting with using Krystal Klear instaed of epoxy

Roger Corrie

ya know on the subject of preasure chamber, It wouldnt be hard to build one for a few $$$ using pvc pipe an a couple screw on ends, drill an tap one of the screw on ends to accept an airhose from your compressor an set the compressor to the preasure you want an fill the tank too :) just an idea, I may have to try that :D

maybe just use a pvc pipe clean out peice an 2 caps to cap the ends may work even better ,,,,,,, hummm the brian juice is a flowing :p

and if you wanted to see what was going on inside,,,,,, cut a hole in the top cap , then cut a ¼ in peice of plexiglass (larger than hole) an glue it to the bottom of the cap over the hole, not sure you would want to big a hole, i dont know how much preasure plexi can take, but pvc can take some high preasure

I simply stole the TMs pressure cooker and tapped an NPT hose fitting into the pressure relief valve hole. >...well...she never USED the dern thing! :thumbsup:
It works GREAT!

ahhh but can ya see inside :p ;) hehe just messin with ya, i still have to do some digging for that 908 an see if i got one, do got a camel car for ya , ill be in touch soon

I could swear I sent you a note on the camel gt. My hobby guy picked a new one up for me. As far as the 908 goes, green and silver paint, please, not the chrome one. :)

Gosh, Joe.

I'd wish I'd known! :freak:


http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/8231Pict0380.JPG



Cheers..



Hmm, I just realized after posting this- this is not the car you are referring to.
The one you want is the same one I want, except in orange and blue (Gulf colours). My goof. :rolleyes:

Boss you must want the #2 Union porsche, that was the last porsche i needed to finish off all the long nose porsches i got em all now :D, got a steal on epay on it for $12.49 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v65/GoodwrenchIntimidator3/eek2.gif

Be careful with home grown pressure chambers. When a pressure chamber goes thing tend to fly they can be very dangerous :)

Roger Corrie

Be careful with home grown pressure chambers. When a pressure chamber goes thing tend to fly they can be very dangerous :)

Roger Corrie

Thank you for the words of caution, Roger. :)
They are noted in BIG LETTERS! (Shrapnal would be very bad!)

Gosh, Joe.

I'd wish I'd known!


http://photos.hobbytalk.com/data/511/8231Pict0380.JPG



Cheers..



Hmm, I just realized after posting this- this is not the car you are referring to.
The one you want is the same one I want, except in orange and blue (Gulf colours). My goof. :rolleyes:

Phil, What color(s) was this 908? *ack* what happened to it! *sigh* (poor, poor Porche) *sniffle* :tongue:

yeh if i make one out of pvc it will have the ends glued an screwed on, probable wont take preasure over 50 lbs either for safty reasons :)