I got my supplies from tap plastics. I use their four to one epoxy, This stuff is great, it also bonds the scales to blades better than anything I have seen. Tap has a siicone base mold matterial which I think is the best one. First design yor scales to perfection, polish the surfaces to a mirror finish, glue them into container so that do not float the top as the mold drys ( found out about that the hard way) mix the silicone mold matterial (it must be measured accuratly), put in to a large cup and cut a hole about 3/8 on the side of the cup at the bottem, set it on a bench or something about 3 ft above the ground, place the mold container so that the silicone will slowly drain in to it. The reason for this step is that as the silicone strings out of cup it will release & pop all the air bubbles (do not skip this step), They have 2 different catalyst, I used the blue one, sets up much faster. Let cure at least 12 hours, now remove your mold.
The 4 to 1 epoxy is super tough as you will find out when you start sanding it. You can use just about anything for a filler matterial canvas, linnin, paper, carbon fiber, let your imagination run wild, I used photo shop to do the art work. The next challange was how to print it on linnin ( works better in mold because it is easier to shape. Spray a coating of cotact cement onto a sheet of printer paper (not to heavy, may take a little practice to get it right) I used a old sheet, just lay it on the prepared printer paper and pull out the wrinkles. Trim the cloth to the same size as the paper, the paper will support the cloth so now you can run it thru most printers (inkjets only). Now you should have a piece of linin with your art work on it. Cut them out to match the bottem of the mold. I purchased a cheap set of didgital scales to to acutratly mix epoxys, mix the epoxy sleightly lean of catalyst to slow it down or add a retarder. Remeber the trick to get the bubbles out, you may need to. Pour a layer of eboxy in to the mold, place your art work face down into the mold, work it with a small brush to get the linin saturated and bubbles out. A little heat with a heat gun will thin the epoxy and make this easier, now just layer it up with whatever matterial you have chosen, be sure to work each layer of matterial down to the bottem, it will push the excess epoxy up. Continue untill the mold is full. Let it completly cure and it will release very easily.
Hope this helps you out.
Leon Pugh
leon.pugh@comcast.net
