Plastic Resin Casting and Molding - How-to Guide

I've decided to put together a basic "how-to" guide that covers rubber mold making and resin plastic casting and molding. I learned quite a bit over the last 5 years while building my B9 Robot and a couple dozen Mystic Seers'. This is will not cover plastic injection molding but rather the type of molding you can do at home

Hopefully you will pick up a few tips here that will help you avoid some of the pitfalls. If you haven't already, you should first check out my Silicone Rubber Mold Making - How-to Guide.

	When molding parts, I use a 2 part resin called Por-A Kast "Mark-2". I have also used Smooth-On's "Smooth Cast 300" series (300, 321 & 326) with great success. You measure it out by volume so it is pretty easy to use. It's also pretty forgiving if your ratio is off a little. Here's a link to the Smooth-On Plastic at Amazon------------------------------>
	If you want your resin part to have a specific color you will have to experiment with some coloring. I use So-Strong colorants. There are very strong and very reliable once you figure out how much to use. To get the desired pink-flesh tone I have to mix a drop of orange with a drop of red. That is enough to tint about 4 ounces of resin. I mix up a small batch of the Part A of the resin and keep it in an air tight container. If you want a kit w/both Silicone and Plastic, here's what you want.------->
	If you want to extend the life of your molds you'll want to have to spray on mold release. Lightly spray both halves of your mold and let it dry a few minutes.
	Measure out an appropriate amount of Part A and Part B.
	Combine the two parts. I pour them back and forth a few times to make sure I get it all mixed. They say you should pour both parts into a third container. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. As long as you thoroughly mix it up, you should not have any problems.
	Continued on Plastic Resin Casting Page 2