Faux Catalin
Stewart Schooley
thoughts on how I would first go about trying to do a faux marblelized
catalin. Keep in mind that I would want to do it as cheap and simple as
possible - no purchase of special marblelizing paint, no puchase of
marblelizing tools, and no time spent learning faux marble techniques.
Also, I have never used the polyester clear finish, but I don't think
there would be any problems with it.
OK, here goes. I would use the old artsy craftsy technique where you
float oil based paint on water, swirl it around a little and then drop a
sheet of paper on it. The paper picks up the swirl paint pattern.
Scrapbookers use this technique a lot.
For the radio cabinet, I'd give it a spray base coat of color and then
place it down in the water for a few seconds to capture the swirl
pattern. You'd have to do it several times to get all of the cabinet
treated. I'd keep my first attempt very simple, a base coat and one
contrasting color on the water.
I can't see any reason why this wouldn't work on a cabinet. Artist's
oil colors can be thinned with a good bit of paint thinner and work
well, so any oil based paint should do the same.
This next bit may seem a little strange, but for a faster drying paint I
would try it. Click on this site, scroll down a little and read about
how the guy bought pigment in a paint store.
http://www.vaxxine.com/hyoomik/images/egg.html
This site has a simpler recipe for the egg oil emulsion;
http://www.kamapigment.com/index_en.html
Egg tempera and egg/oil emulsions have proved over centuries of time to
be better than oil paintings.
These are my thoughts, and don't forget that I don't know about the
polyester, but if you're interested in any of this, try the paper on
water and get a feel for the whole process.
Stewart
Peter Wieck
A couple of questions, as your technique seems reasonable except for
the intended substrate. My limited knowledge of tempera, pigmenting and
even guache is that it is excellent for absorbent surfaces, those that
absorb either water or oil-based substances. These include (of course),
canvas, board, stone, plaster (fresco) and any of several other
surfaces. I have also seen tempera paintings on glass, although those
tend to be unstable and in many cases unsuccessful as soon as the
binder dries, and even when stable, only because a varnish or other
coating is applied afterwards.
So, how well do you think this material would bind to a plastic base,
or would you confine it to a wooden radio?
Do you think that some of the "tacky" type primers might solve the
adherance issue? What comes to mind is the "Bad" Kilz with the
carcinogenic solvents, nasty stuff, but it really does stick to about
anything, and prepares the surface nicely (again) for paint.
Also, "artists' oils" tend to take a great deal of time to dry as the
vehicle for the pigments is designed to be workable for a very long
time. In fact the term "pentimento" refers to the traces of old(er)
paint beneath the finished painting above. Are there accelerants to
speed the drying of such paints? When I came up through college, my
painting professor stated that the varnish applied over oils is what
rendered the surface safe to the touch, and that without it, the oils
below would be tacky for a very long time, possibly even years with
some materials under some conditions.
Sounds like a fascinating technique... I just wonder about the
application to an object that is both non-absorbent and often handled.
I am guessing also with a smooth-surfaced plastic, even the very small
dry thickness of the swirl-over-base would create a texture, requiring
additional clear-coats. Hmmm.... with those clear coats (even slightly
pigmented), one could get that 'fuzzyness' often found in the old
swirly/marble patterns.
One other thing that comes to mind as a global observation: Catalin
when originally made did not typically show a swirl pattern (But Tenite
and some Bakelites did). However the different nature of catalin and
the difference in the curing process from the other two plastics would
have the "mix pattern" within it... catalin was cured from the git-go
as a liquid made in relatively small lots and with the dyes and
pigments added directly before curing. So the natural aging process
would expose any variations in the mix... swirl patterns. Tenite was
typically injection-molded and Bakelite was mixed as a very uniform
powder and cured under great pressure and heat. Patterns could be
introduced, but they would be deliberate, not accidental or as
artifacts of the manufacturing process.
Thoughts?
Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA
Ken
powder and cured under great pressure and heat
Was powder the only way? I remember seeing small bakelite blocks being
dumped into a mold for pressure molding. Ken
Peter Wieck
pressure. Then it was ground into a powder, aggregates (and sometimes
pigments) added, then recast. But small pieces, as you say, would be
cured by pressure and heat after a partial cure from a powder.
Examples of this process would be some of Philco's bakelite block
capacitor/resistor tubs. A preliminary mold of the basic shape would be
done, with the final details at the final mold... I guess that would be
a three-step process at that point, as true bakelite is first partially
cured as the phenolic resin alone, then mixed with the aggregates and
cured again.
Keep in mind that both Bakelite and Catalin are from precisely the same
precurser chemicals (phenol and formaldehyde) and in approximately the
same proportions, the difference being the curing process. However, as
Bakelite powder was partially cured when mixed and molded, it was a far
safer material to handle, transport (as a powder) and otherwise.
Catalin was a deadly-poisonous soup from raw materials until the cure.
And, one key thing, Bakelite molds could be re-used. Catalin molds (at
least as they apply to radio cabinets) were mostly not reused due to
the molding process. This was not as awful as it sounds, but not as
simple as bakelite.
See here for a thumbnail of both processes:
http://www.maarc.org/catalin%20corner/catalin_corner.htm
And radio-related too!
Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA
Eddie Brimer
awesome.
Stewart Schooley
Everything about using this technique on a plastic radio depends on
getting a basecoat that adheres to the plastic. I don't think oil paint
or the egg/oil emulsion would work on plastic. I believe some kind of
acrylic basecoat would be the best. If we find that, the oil or egg/oil
should work well.
I used to have a small can of Kilz, but didn't like it and threw it out.
Isn't that how it always goes? If I had it now, I'd try it out on
plastic.
I added the bit about using the egg/oil emulsion because it will dry
faster and I thought some would find it interesting about buying small
amounts of pigment in a paint store. Sometime back Blacksmith had a post
about doing vinegar painting for faux painting thin wood strips across a
speaker grill. He had to order pigment from the Internet. Paint store
pigment would have saved him money, but I didn't know about it then.
Winsor-Newton sells a line of oil colors called Griffin. They are just
like oil paints except they have an alkyd vehicle instead of linseed
oil. You can read about it here, http://www.dickblick.com/zz005/01/
They also sell the alkyd emulsion under the name of Liquin and it can be
added to regular oil colors to speed up the drying time. I've used it a
lot and like it. However, I don't know how much longer it will be
around. I recently read that the government wants alkyd banished as a
vehicle for paint.
The normal rule of thumb for most oil paintings is to wait six months
before varnishing, but your professor was right about paintings that
have very thick paint. A good example is the work of Albert Pinkham
Ryder. He was a mystical artist who hated to quit working on his
paintings and was known to buy back paintings so he could work on them
some more. Some years ago several of his paintings were restored by
transferring them to new canvas. The restorers found they could use a
spoon to remove underlying paint and this was after the paintings were
over 100 years old.
Peter, maybe there is a bigger question that should be asked. Do we want
more faux catalins showing up on ebay? I don't think we do, but I can't
see any harm if someone wants to take a cheap plastic radio and make a
display piece in their home.
I thought Eddie Brimer's comment about motorcycles was interesting.
Stewart
Bruce Mercer
> Everything about using this technique on a plastic radio depends on
> getting a basecoat that adheres to the plastic. I don't think oil paint or
> the egg/oil emulsion would work on plastic. I believe some kind of acrylic
> basecoat would be the best. If we find that, the oil or egg/oil should
> work well.
There are spray bomb paints that are specifically made to spray
on plastics available at Home Depot or Loewe's. I think the brand is
Painters Choice.
I assume they have a primer as well. I've had several people tell me the
product works very well and stands up outdoors, through the seasons,
so it must work fairly well. I've never had the occasion to use it.
Bruce
Stewart Schooley
and that sometimes the object is placed in the water and then brought up
through the floating paint. This means you would probably use the
laundry tub. Better clean it before the wife finds out.
Check out this site for some more information;
http://www.geofex.com/Article_Folders/swirlpaint/swirlpnt.htm
Stewart
Eddie Brimer
coated the tank black. then he hung it on a coathanger and submersed
it in a 5 gallon bucket of water and adjusted water level. he put a
few "drops of a couple of different tints of metalic green. swirled
the water slightly and slowly pulled the tank up through the swirling
green paint. was an awesome effect. then he clearcoated it numerous
times.
George Pitropakis
http://www.tompolk.com/radios/catalincasting/catalincasting.html
Bruce Mercer
"George Pitropakis" <gpitr...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4345fc2a.05070...@posting.google.com...
I think the castings are just beautiful although the scale of the pieces are
off.
Bruce