Alumilite AlumiUV - same as Bondic?

[ChrisBcritter]

I've seen Alumilite has a product called AlumiUV that is a clear UV-cured resin; has anyone had experience with it? Most importantly, does it cure with the same UV light that comes with Bondic, or a UV flashlight? I notice the AlumiUV is around $20 for a 4-ounce bottle which is a way better deal than either Bondic or Lazer Bond by volume. Over to the experts... thanks as always.

[ChrisBcritter]

Bump... guess I'll be the guinea pig here; ordered a bottle and we'll see what happens.

[unclescott58]

I for one, will be curious see what you find. I've lost my enthusiasm for Bondic over the last few months. I question how good of a bond am I really getting with the stuff? Once or twice I've had things come apart using Bondic.

[Foxer]

Bondic is falsely named because it does not bond well. What it does do well, for me, is become a cheap, quick casting medium for small parts.

Chris, I am curious how AlumiUV compares.

[ChrisBcritter]

The AlumiUV arrived today, so I dabbed some into a mold, hit it with the little UV light from the Bondic, and... and...

(insert six minutes of commercials here )

...Works like a charm! Solidified nice and clear in a few seconds. To me, it might have a slightly thicker viscosity than Bondic, but not by much. Looks like this may be just the ticket for casting up a lot of small parts for a way better price per ounce than Bondic or LazerBond. It should work with the Alumilite red and orange dye, since the Bondic did.

Happy modeling!

 

[peteski]

I for one, will be curious see what you find. I've lost my enthusiasm for Bondic over the last few months. I question how good of a bond am I really getting with the stuff? Once or twice I've had things come apart using Bondic.

That is because it is not a glue.  Its website is https://notaglue.com .

[Modelbuilder Mark]

For the price, curiosity is peaked.

[ChrisBcritter]

A step forward, a step back - it solidified fine clear, but I added two drops of red dye to a small amount (maybe 1/4 tsp.) of AlumiUV and it's a lot tougher getting it to harden. (One drop might have been OK.) Thin layers seem to work better; also I'm getting a multi-LED UV flashlight to see if that helps - but it's been bouncing around the USPS in Chicago for the last few days, and the eBay seller sent me this whiny email about why I haven't sent feedback yet...

[ChrisBcritter]

Got the flashlight today; seems to work a bit better - I'm giving the layers about 30 seconds each of steady light and it's solidifying harder. Trying to cast '58 Ford taillight units and each try comes out better. I think headlight lenses should work OK; still trying with the red-dyed stuff.

[ChrisBcritter]

After some more trial and error, late last night I came up with ONE perfect non-sticky, non-mushy little transparent red '58 Ford taillight lens. I did it by curing thin layers, a couple drops at a time, about a minute of UV light per layer. One down, three to go.

Edited November 17, 2017 by ChrisBcritter

[ChrisBcritter]

Four lenses done.

It's a slow process but it seems to work - and it should be a big help for models that have chrome taillights you want to replace with red ('65 Belvedere, '60 Ranchero). I also dabbed a couple Monogram '40 Ford pickup chrome taillights on their lens areas - two thin coats applied with a straight pin - and they came out nice. (I'll add photos soon.)

[Foxer]

I appreciate the updates on how the red lenses.

Is the stickyness present on clear pieces, or due to the red tint added? Bondic is sticky too.

[ChrisBcritter]

The experiment continues. 

I bought a small plug-in HouLight 10-watt LED UV light on Amazon for a little over $20 shipped.

So far, here's the scoop:

Clear parts are now cured solid, no stickyness, with about 1- or 1 1/2-minute exposure (I just put the light on top of the mold or slightly above it). I attempted to make some larger parts - wheelcovers - and it does work, although regular 2-part resin seems to work a little better. There's a small surface tension issue with the clear that the two-part doesn't have - sometimes it pulls away from the mold slightly as it's curing. Small pieces work well - I'm turning out headlight lenses easily.

As for the red lenses, it's still tricky, and I still have to use thin layers, but they're curing a bit better. One new wrinkle: I tried curing some taillight lenses for 3-4 minutes with the surprise result that the red dye faded away a lot! 

[peteski]

Be careful when using a higher power UV light sources - don't look at them and even better, protect your eyes. These lamps are not like the old fashion black-light bulbs which are fairly safe (as any '70s hippie can attest to).   Wear UV-filtering glasses.  Safest would probably be the eye protection used in tanning booths. Those "glasses" use very dark green lenses.

[ChrisBcritter]

Oh yes, I keep it pointed away from me and toward the mold - and then plug it in.

Another successful experiment on the '58 Ford: Took the mold for the taillights, first added clear resin over the backup lights and cured it. Then did the lenses a layer at a time like usual. Once they were cured, I poured regular two-part Alumilite white resin in the mold to make the bezels. Once that was cured, I was able to pull the complete units from the mold (what a relief!).

Now to figure out those backup lenses with the tiny red reflectors for the '64 Chevelle...

Edited December 18, 2017 by ChrisBcritter