$13.20
DESCRIPTION-> Click "Learn more about this item" for article & instructions!
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This is the stuff that you mix with epoxy or urethane to make a so called "cold cast" metal casting, which can be polished like an actual solid metal casting. We carry 9 metal powders suitable for cold-casting: bronze, antique bronze, brass, copper, iron, zinc, steel, stainless steel, and german silver. These are round shaped particles that are very heavy, so there's not much volume in a pound of this and it's very expensive per/lb. Metals that are copper based like bronze and brass are the most expensive. Atomized steel, aluminum, and zinc are less expensive.
Because it's so expensive per unit volume, when making a casting the usual practice is to put a relatively thin layer in your mold first, which becomes the outer surface of the casting. There are several ways to do this. The first layer can be just the pure metal powder that will adhere naturally to the inside of a "tacky" mold surface like silicone. Then a thinner resin/powder is put down next which binds the powder. The thinner layer can be "slushed", ie rolled around inside the mold. Or the first layer can be just the thickest blend which can still be brushed onto the mold surface, assuming your mold cavity allows this. The greater the percentage of metal powder to resin, the more like "real" metal the final product will be. I experimented with low viscosity resins made even lower viscosity by adding a solvent with the metal powder. Put a thin layer of this on and let the solvent evaporate. This leaves a rather "spongy" resin/metal powder. To compact it make up a blend of resin/metal powder that's viscous enough to be a soft putty and press it onto the first layer. The outer layer will end up being the most metal powder rich. That only works well if your mold has a relatively open cavity, or if you have a multi-piece mold with a seam that's unobtrusive. Seams can be difficult to disguise since you have layers that have varying amounts of atomized metal power. There are lots of resources online that give various methods used for cold casting, both articles and videos.
Small jewelry sized pieces like pendants are usually just a heavily loaded mix of resin and powder (with that rich powder coat first). This gives them an almost as heavy as metal heft and lends itself to the illusion of pure metal. If your casting is larger and you want to add weight you can add a heavy filler to some resin and "slush-cast" it in your mold if it's a closed, sprued mold. Steel shot is ideal for this because the "ball-bearing" slippery effect of the miniature steel balls allows a higher loading and thus heavier mix. If your mold is "open", just add some fumed silica or calcium carbonate to the resin/steel shot to make it into a soft putty (that doesn't slump) and press it by hand into the mold on top of the atomized metal/resin outer layer. Depending on the shape and size of the casting, you may need to add some layers of fiberglass/resin behind the atomized metal layer to strengthen the casting.
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May 27, 2024
Always quality metals ! Highly recommend
Eric G.
Apr 26, 2024
It was good, meet expectations but shipping was bad took longer than should but I can’t blame northern western stuff for that.
Nick R
May 5, 2023
Quick shipping! Great product and packaging!
Sheena Phillips
Apr 19, 2023
This is a wonderful shop, with quick shipping time and very honest prices.
Cristina Mazzoni
Apr 10, 2023
Tina Hencey