Fran,
Here in the US, bargain basement resin is thick, not thin. What Gare is using in Thailand (inexpensive stuff by the barrel) is also thick and he’s now using the styrene monomer to thin it. IIRC he also said the stuff he’s getting in Canada when he chooses to make while there is also thick enough that he’d care to thin it with the styrene.
The other issue is that all this general purpose resin contains a thixotropic agent. This is an additive that causes the resin in a film to not run off a vertical surface. This also works against you. Thinning resin so “laced” may be the only way to fix this issue.
Casting resins (which unfortunately are usually much more expensive) do not have the thixo agent added as they’re meant to be poured and designed to flow like water to quickly fill the mold and exclude air.
Perhaps you have a good source for resin and are getting nice, thin stuff but that doesn’t seem to be the norm by a long-shot.
Since there’s already a reasonable amount of styrene monomer in resin when you buy it (viscosity modifier), adding 10-20% more doesn’t really increase the stench that much. I do not find the odor lingers any longer than it takes for the resin to cure.
Be aware that “fully cured” is NOT hours when its hard and coming out of the mold. It can take days to reach a full cure. Depends on the particular formulation but rest assured, the cheap stuff is no speed daemon in this regard.
If you don’t know, though heat will accelerate the curing reaction you can hasten the final curing by exposing the pieces to strong light (sun during midday is great). MEKP is photochemically reactive and light helps it speed resin curing.
Resin that is exposed to air during curing (bottoms of HHG’s and TB’s for example) will not cure properly. This is actually a feature as it helps any subsequent layers of resin stick to the prior one. You get rid of this issue by adding about 2% of a product they refer to as “finishing wax”. Its a 10% solution of a low molecular weight paraffin dissolved in styrene monomer.
What now happens when the resin cures is that the resin kicks the paraffin out and it surfaces and covers the exposed resin, sealing out the air where the resin now cures hard and properly. You usually need to remove this thin wax film by mechanical means (sanding or steel-wool usually). For orgonite, its usually on the bottom. If its a personal piece, just put a piece of felt there and forget about removing the film. Its inert (its wax) and causes no issues.
No argument about the smell though. Styrene monomer is much more potent than resin. And for those who’ve never seen it, the stuff is water thin – just like any other solvent. This is why a mere 10-20% will thin resin so well.
I prefer to mix my metal in with about 50-75% of the resin I know I’ll need, plop the stuff into molds, tap to settle and then top off with a bit more resin to finish them. It goes quickly as you now don’t have to poke at stuff if your metal packs well (mine does) to make sure you don’t get any trapped air bubbles. Once all the metal is thoroughly wetted with resin, this is unlikely to happen.
And yeah, respirators will save your life. You don’t need to get more than a couple snoot-fulls of resin fumes before you start feeling bad and it doesn’t clear nearly as fast as you got it. Also, DO NOT work indoors even if its a garage or shed. Leave a door or window open. Respirators will keep the nasty odors out of your lungs BUT if those odors get thick enough to displace the air in the room, you’re going to die from asphyxiation. No resin fumes in your lungs along with not nearly enough oxygen is ALSO a killer! You need to vent the fumes out of the place and replace it with fresh air constantly.
As far as a type of respirator, go for a chemical/vapor/odor type (this will be a filter cartridge thats a hepa filter plus a charcoal cartridge) and a rating of P100 is the best meaning it removes 100% of all the offending odors/dusts. There are lesser quality ones that are only rated at P95 and maybe thats OK in a factory where they know to ventilate well but at least for me, I’d care for that last 5% of the resin fumes to NOT wind up within my body. These aren’t expensive. I bought a
MSA Safety works respirator, model number of 00817663
The manufacturers data said it was P100 class and IIRC, it didn’t even cost me $30. I actually bought it off a vendor on Amazon.com though these are available through many vendors both on the internet and in “brick and mortar” stores. I had a friend who runs a large chemical/coatings toll manufacturing business take a look and he said this one is a really good one so I bought it. I was not disappointed!
The cartridges will probably last anyone not making barrel after barrel of resin years and replacements are around $15/set. This is a VERY worthwhile investment. It could save your life not only when working with resin but also when working with solvents, bleach in confined spaces, etc. It removes all of it.
I’m not trying to scare anyone away from trying to make ogonite. Out in the open with a mild breeze you probably don’t need a respirator (stand UPWIND!). In an open garage, at least for me, I’m wearing one!
There are lots of products we use around the home that , if you don’t heed warnings and pay attention to what you’re doing, could be harmful or even fatal. Resin is simply another of these so act accordingly.
