What is Resin?

Resin is a two-part material that when mixed together will harded into a plastic. When resin is poured into a mold, it will take the shape of the original molded object when it is cured. The 3 main types of Resins are Epoxy, Polyster and Poly-Urethane based. Each type of material requires a base and then an activator to be mixed to cause a chemical reaction. When the reaction is complete the casting can be removed from the mold for clean-up and use according to your needs. Most resins give off an odor that can be offensive, even it is used in open well-ventilated spaces. In the case of the Epoxy and Polyster resins the mixture can be tricky because the per cent of activator is usually different from the amount of the base. Also it not unusual for these resin to take hours to set-up and sometimes a full 24 hours is necessary for complete curing. Polyster resins have the bad habit of staying quite sticky until the last possible moment during the cure process. One advantage of that these materials is they can allow longer working times after pouring the resin into a mold.

Ace Resin is a Poly-Urethane based material that is clear as it pours and cures white in color. * More Importantly, the resin is odorless and pours like water. Because the material is so very thin when it is poured into the mold, very faithful reproductions of the master are possible. The mixture is a easy one part to one part. The working time varies, but is about 45 seconds to a minute and a half. The material will usually react quicker at a warmer temperature or after many pours in the same mold during one sitting. Because the material is clear when poured, it easy to work out any air bubbles that may become trapped by undercuts or features of the mold. The cast copies can usually be taken out of the mold in 15 to 20 minutes. The main advantages of the Ace Resin material the lack of an offensive odor, ease of use and its ablity to reproduce the finest details from the molds. (If you leave a fingerprint on the master, expect to find that detail on you copies!) Most of all, you can use the Odorless White Resin in the dining room, on the table and someone can be in the Kitchen and not know that you are casting parts!

*By adding pigment or oil-based paint it is possible to color or tint the resin.