My next experiment is using epoxy resin to emulate mother of pearl. I already know my cnc will cut the resin. I want to make blanks of "mop" resin, hopefully so convincing, that after cutting and inlaying, it'll be hard to tell the difference.
Although epoxy resin can be poured into an inlay pocket, in order for it to really look like mop, you need to use 3-4 colors of the epoxy, colored with interference powder, then cast and swirled. This is pretty hard to do in very small inlay pockets. So the best way is to make thin blanks, like shell, then cut it. I've already cut experimental pieces, by hand, and by cnc, so I know it'll work. Now I'm learning to make convincing mop. After I figure this out, I'll make resin "abalone".
At first, I tried pouring very thin 2mm deep blanks. While kind of pretty, they weren't the right color, because I used mica powders. I couldn't really swirl it right, because it's too thin.. Then I learned about interference powders.
Interference powders are pearly powders that color shift. They can be mixed in the resin, poured alternately, and swirled. They look wonderful in thicker applications, but I need need thin. When pouring thin blanks with thin viscosity, the colors just run together, whereas a thicker resin doesn't distribute the colors right.
So, my solutions to the above problems are 2 fold:
I cast blocks of mop resin, to resaw later into thin slices. I know I can cut the resin by hand, with cnc, and with the bandsaw. So I'm using soap making molds. The blocks are 3.75" x 2.5" x 1".
Secondly, I'm experimenting with the interference properties.
I
think they'll work best, when cast in resin containing an opaque dye, so that light doesn't completely penetrate. The light hits the dye, making it bounce back through the interference color, intensifying the effect...at least, that's my theory. This will become more important when I saw the blocks into thin blanks.
I've cast 2 blocks, block 1 with nothing but red, green, and blue, interference powders. In block 2, I colored the base resin with a miniscule amount of opaque white dye, before mixing with each of the same interference colors. The amount of white dye was so small, it wasn't even 1 drop. The blocks will need to cure for several days before unmolding.
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