Purchased handcuffs, sawed them in half
Self Portrait with safety gear - worked outside for ventilation purposes
Poured Resin in mold, arms successful, obviously made from mannequin (the wrist/arm joint is obvious) - doesn't hurt aesthetic/point of picture, so I'll roll with it.
Mounted everything with resin. Coated entire piece with resin as well to ensure good bond.
I'm curious about the polyester resin. My question is why? My experience with polyester is with boat building and repair and I never use the stuff anymore. For what I do epoxy resin is superior in every way and it doesn't produce those brain cell eating solvents. You may have noticed I'm missing a few brain cells from years of solvent exposure. Of course my boat building needs differ from your artwork needs but epoxy doesn't stink, adheres to everything better, (it sticks better to polyester than polyester does), produces less heat, has a longer pot life, etc. The stuff I use does have an amber color but I believe they make a museum grade epoxy that is clear. I don't know what the cost is. That might be a deciding factor. Costs are similar for boat building resins. I guess I just wanted to raise the alarm about solvents. They didn't warn us about hazardous art materials back in the day. Like so many things, I learned the hard way. Now, how did I get here and what was I talking about?
ReplyDeleteP.S.: Good theme & execution. Your empathy for the students really shows.
ReplyDeleteI race sailboats, and have built and restored a couple of boats myself. I'm a huge fan of epoxy, at one point it was pretty normal for me to have five gallons of West System at any time. I wish epoxy dried clear. It doesn't, and that's the problem. I'm after clear resin casts, that's why I used the polyester resin - specifically, Clear Cast Resin, which dries totally clear. I know Clear Cast Resin costs less than a similar quantity of West System. I would like to know more about the clear epoxy, as I have yet to encounter it. I'm well aware of the fume issue, that's why I worked outside. Most of time I wear a respirator as well, which cuts back on the fumes some - but it was blowing 15 kts when I poured this, so I didn't wear it. I don't work with this stuff that much, it's too expensive. Epoxy is lighter, stronger, bonds better, doesn't "ding", and is overall a superior material. It doesn't dry clear. Hence the Polyester.
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