Colored epoxy

I'm planning on coloring some epoxy to fit the materials I want to glue.I'll be using powder-dye.
Will this weaken the epoxy ?
If it does, how much - will it still be strong enough for glueing handles?
 
Chiro75

Chiro75

Joined
Feb 4, 1999
Messages
5,786
PK, I've used Testor's model paint to tint epoxy (Devcon 2 Ton slow drying) and it works fine. Colors aren't the most brilliant, but they aren't too bad. I think it reduced the epoxy's resistance to heat a bit, but I used it to fill in some space on a tang, too, and it worked great. Are you continuing forward with the mosaic pins?

------------------
My Custom Kydex Sheath page:
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/knifehome.html
Palmer College of Chiropractic
On Two Wheels
agocs_s@dd.palmer.edu
Madpoet (Mel Sorg, Jr.) Tribute page:
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/madpoet/main.html

 
Chiro - Those pins are the reason I bought that dye in the first place, but I wondered if it could be used when gluing things like ebony and black horn.
I've found some small brass-tubes in a hoobystore, but of course they were going out of buisnes, and they didn't have much to choose from.I'm going to visit the biggest hobbystore in Denmark next month, and I sure hope they have the sizes I need to make some simple pins.
As you see I'm working on it.
 
I received a small kit blade from another forumite who was experimenting with tapering the tang. He ended up putting more of a bavel on it than a flat taper, so there was a gap between the scales and the end of the tang for about 1/4". The scales I was using were carbon fiber, so I decided to mix some black epoxy to see if that would fill in the gap when I glued everything together. It did a fantastic job, and you wouldn't know the difference! I'll have pics of the finished knife up soon...

------------------
My Custom Kydex Sheath page:
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/knifehome.html
Palmer College of Chiropractic
On Two Wheels
agocs_s@dd.palmer.edu
Madpoet (Mel Sorg, Jr.) Tribute page:
http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Lab/1298/madpoet/main.html

 
P. K. Hansen,

Most of my experience with coloring epoxy comes from doing pearl & metal inlays on musical instrument fret boards. We used ebony and rosewood. When we sanded the fretboards, we saved the appropriate dust to mix with the epoxy we used to set and fill the inlay. Even with extremely fine powder produced by 1200 grit paper, the fill always looked dull.

We started using liquid aniline dyes when they became widely available. They worked a lot better. The epoxy could be dyed a wide range of colors, and it would polish up to any smoothness desired. These dyes are quite concentrated, so a little goes a long way.

I'm not sure what kind of powdered dye you have. Aniline dye comes in powdered form also. It is generally disolved in liquid and added to the epoxy in the liquid form.

We never worried much about the strength, since most instruments didn't see much abuse. I expect that the loss of strength would depend on how much dye you need to add. The powder would be a concern if it is not disolved first, but I have no direct experience.

Hope this helps.

Bob Couture, the old engineer.
 
Thanks Bob.
I'll run a little test on it and see if I have to desolve it first. They didn't mention it in the store where I bought it though, and I told them what it was intended for.
 
I use a resin based colour purchased from the fibreglass repair section of my local auto parts supplier.

This material is made to be used with fibreglass gell coats and comes in a wide range of colours. It is very concentrated and goes a long way, a couple of drops is all that is necessary.

------------------
george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com

 
PK, K&G FINISHING SUPPLIY IN LAKESIDE, AZ SELLS ALL THE MOSAIC PIN MATERIALS YOU'LL NEED. SO FAR, THEY'RE THE ONLY ONE I HAVE FOUND THAT SELL THE PARTS, MOST OTHERS SELL THE READY MADE PINS. THEIR NUMBER IS 1(800)972-1192. Take care! Michael

------------------
"Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top