When the new stuff fails, just go back to the original plan. I had no success in building a thermocouple using the atomized metals and printing them onto a surface. There was not enough contact between the powder to even conduct electricity on it's own, so I have had to move on from that. Actual metal pieces would need to be put in contact with each other to make a thermocouple and without melting the metal pigments that I am using there is not way to force them together enough with binders. I did order a thermocouple online, like the one shown in a previous post, and I am waiting for it to arrive to play with it. Unless I have something that I can use electricity for, there isn't much need in trying to build a thermocouple anyway.
My original plan was to simply clean off and recycle old screen printing frames to use for new projects. I would like a completely waterproof durable final piece and have been using a combination of paint and cement to fill the frames and create a flat solid surface where the dirty screen once was. The methods of cleaning out the frames has changed over the last week to where I am hardly cleaning the frames any longer and spending more time providing some structure using screws and chicken wire before pouring the cement.
My cost are approximately $12 a bag for cement from Home Depot (12 frames) or $1/ea for a , $5 for a box of screws (15 frames) or $0.35/ea, and I am going to estimate the chicken wire at $0.50/ea and paint at $0.15/ea. This brings my recycling cost per frame to $2.00/ea without using any epoxy to create a waterproof top surface. If I did use epoxy I think it would take approximately 3-5 ounces and some pigment, so it would add at least $3.00/ea to the frame cost. None of these cost include any labor as my work is worth nothing.
The original plan was to simply recycle the frames into something that could be used as a decorative piece and then resell them cheap to get rid of frames and make a little money. Without using epoxy I could sell these for ten bucks, but I have to put a design on them next. My daughter and others really like the frames when they are coated with epoxy, but I have to consider the design first since the epoxy is just a top coat that can be added later. I have put a painted latex exterior paint as the top surface without filling small holes or sanding, but the color is a flat green and my next layer needs to be something that bonds with the latex.
To keep the cost low I could just use an acrylic, but that would cause weathering problems unless I coat the top surface with epoxy. I could use epoxy directly with pigment, but when I paint it the top surface is shiny and glossy and no other paints will bond to that. I have mixed some multi-purpose screen printing inks with pigments and gotten a decent finish, but those inks are a little pricey. I have even used some plastisol screen printing inks, which has a great thickness, but I am not sure that the latex can handle the heat required to make the plastisol dry. I kinda like the plastisol concept because of it's thickness, but if I remember correctly, the cool temperature of the cement underlay keep the plastisol from reaching the 300 degrees required for it to set properly. In some cases the plastisol may not need to set, especially if I am going to cover it with epoxy. The plastisol could remain in a semi-liquid state and hold it's shape or design until the epoxy is layered on top, but this is probably not a good idea. The exterior paint may be the best solution because it is made for being outside, unlike the acrylics. I have been getting cheap mixed exterior paints for $7 a gallon, so you can't beat the price, but the color has a lot to be desired. I am going to try and put pigment on top of the paint today and see if I can get rid of the ugly paint color from the can.
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