Resin tips for a first-timer?

I'm fairly new to resin myself so, welcome to the club first thing would be to break out the raor saw & cut the pour stub off a little below the part itself. then sandd it the rest of the way. Use a mask or respirator as resin dust is harmful to your lungs. Take your time & use light presure as it is fragile. Hope this helps some. Someone else can fill ya in on the rest of the story. Have fun

QUOTE: Originally posted by MontanaCowboy Hello all, I just recently ordered a resin Tiger I engine and transmission, along with PE engine compartment. It looks AWESOME! It is lightyears ahead of my kits engine and transmission. However, the resin is harder than I hoped it would be. What would be the best way to remove the resin pour stubs? Also, is a special primer necessary?

Depends on how big the pour stubs are I usually cut them off close to the part and than remove the rest with the router and the sanding attachment.
Most primers should work just fine for Resin.

As to the hardness of Resin, that really depends on the resin used and it's curing time.
The nicest resin, IMHO, is used by the japanese anime fig makers, it is creamish, "soft" to touch and very easy to work with.

Said that I also had resin parts/kits where the resin was like rock and could literally cut yourself on the flash, nevemind the stink that the resin produced when it was sanded.

Anyhuh, my advise is to work slow and have a 2part putty and a disolved putty for fixing details and filling air-bubbles respectively. Small resin bits snap easily.

I would also recommend 2-part epoxy glue over Superglue for attaching the parts.

Wow, 2 replies within 20 minutes! I don't have a razor saw, so I'll pick one up next time I'm at the LHS, about how much do they cost?

QUOTE: Originally posted by MontanaCowboy Wow, 2 replies within 20 minutes! I don't have a razor saw, so I'll pick one up next time I'm at the LHS, about how much do they cost?

I think I got mine at Harbour Freight tools for a couple of bucks along with a needle file set, lighted Magnifying glass (with a clamp-on stand) along with other tools of the trade (ie rotory tool & attachments, xacto knives,etc) Good luck & have fun on your project...
Keep the razors sharp!!

The best way to remove the resin stubs is to use a razor saw.  A razor saw is a long rectangular razor blade that fits on a #2 or a #3 X-acto knife handle.  You can find them with the knifes in hobby stores such as your local hobby shop and at Hobby Lobby. You should not dry sand resin because the dust is toxic.  If you wish to dry sand it, make sure to use a respirator.  A simple dust mask or any other type of maks will trap the resin dust and you will be breathing it.  Wet sand resin using water,  this will cause the dust to clump together and prevent many particles from becoming airborne.  You don't need to wear a mask to do this.

I prefer to clean my resin using denaturated alcohol which can be found with the paint thinners.  Denaturated Alcohol (ethyl alcohol + additives) is used to clean oil and grease from machinery.  It will not harm plastic or resin.  Rubbing Alcohol (Isopropyl Alcohol) works well for cleaning plastic, but not as well for cleaning the stronger mold release agents used for resin.  You can also just clean them in soap and water.

It depends on what a type of paint you are using whether or not you want to prime it.  If you are using an acrylic or a lacquer, you should prime using an enamel.  You do not need to prime if you are using an enamel.  You truly don't have to prime at all, but I rather be safe than sorry.  I have found that acrylics can be removed easily from resin.

There 3 ways I remove pour stubs, real small ones get sanded or filed off, slightly larger ones get the backside of a #11 blade, scribe through near the part and then sand/file, the larger ones ("hey boss, I got extra resin", "just dump it on the mold!") get attention from my small back saw from the miter box.

One other thing: wear a mask when sanding, cutting etc. the dust is extremely fine and can cause respiratory problems.

I just worked with it for the first time, and, all I have to say is.

What could be easier? I thought it would take 45 min the saw through it. took about 2 min!

One word of caution, don't get TOO enthusiastic with resin because in some respects it is much less forgiving than polystyrene because of its chemical composition. Whereas polystyrene is more likely to "give" because of the long chain molecules that it is composed of, a resin part under the same circumstances is more likely to break ... snap ... shatter ... etc. And when a resin part breaks, it is still amazing to me how far it can travel from that point to its final resting place.

mfsob wrote:

One word of caution, don't get TOO enthusiastic with resin because in some respects it is much less forgiving than polystyrene because of its chemical composition. Whereas polystyrene is more likely to "give" because of the long chain molecules that it is composed of, a resin part under the same circumstances is more likely to break ... snap ... shatter ... etc. And when a resin part breaks, it is still amazing to me how far it can travel from that point to its final resting place.

 

what do i use to reattach broken resin pieceS??  exposy putty n then sand of the excess??

I'd say super glue and sand off the excess.

BTW, for resin dust, a normal dust mask is just fine. As in the type you see construction workers wearing around asbestos and so on. However, just to be safe, I wet sand my resin and use a mask.

Ditto all of the above and sorry if I missed it clean and degrease your resin parts!