It seems I am testing the same products over and over, but somehow I know it is different this time. I have several more specific ideas in mind when I move forward, but each time I change a substrate or a pigment I tend to get different results. As I test more my control of the environment gets better and often the test that I did on a product earlier, do not seem to apply any longer, so I then need to start over with the same products again and again. Currently I am rediscovering epoxy as my main casting medium because it is durable, strong, waterproof and finished looking when mixed with the right fillers and pigments. I strength is the more important factor as a set epoxy can withstand physical shocks better than most cement and gypsum based plaster products. The smell of epoxy is not as strong as polyester resins and epoxy does not shrink like polyester resins do, so there are fewer problems with warping in the final pieces. The bonding of epoxy to images also seems to be more consistent than with the gypsum plaster products, polyester resins and cements, especially when I use acrylic paints.
This is where I am currently analyzing my products for the most affordable and superior way to embed images into epoxy. Earlier I was casting objects, painting them with a variety of pigments and methods and then coating the reinforced pieces with coats of clear epoxy to give them an exterior strength and finished looking surface. The extended production time wore me down pretty fast, not to mention the additional cost and problems that are associated with clear coating things and trying to make them smooth and clean. By acquiring some epoxy paint and attempting to print with it my systems were available to simply cast with pigmented epoxy to begin with and surprisingly the results appear to be promising.
Image a thin veneer of epoxy with the image cast in the pigment, either by screen printing or by impregnating the veneer with acrylic. Depending on the mold I have been able to get a variety of finishes from glossy to matt using epoxy and by directly putting the images into the epoxy I have made a seemingly durable surface that does not need a thick coat of clear epoxy to protect it as the protection is in the pigmented veneer to begin with. The jury is still out if acrylic mixed into epoxy has a more durable surface than simply acrylic on it's own, but in my mind the acrylic can wear away over time with extreme weathering and a relief would be created where an image otherwise would have been. I know this is a projection without any evidence, but I am basing this on the sense that somehow the epoxy is merging with the acrylic otherwise there would be no bond at all between the two materials.
Currently I have three different acrylic bases set in epoxy to see if there are any variations between the materials. I have already had good success with one of the acrylics so that is the control acrylic to compare the other less expensive acrylics to. One of the acrylics has a polyvinyl acetate in it's chemistry, so I am not sure if it will provide a decent bond with epoxy and I anticipate that acrylic to have the least success. Nonetheless I am moving forward with using this acrylic because it is thicker and it wouldn't be the first time I was surprised if it turns out to be a good paint.
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