does anyone know where i can purchase some cobalt? thank you.
brasco
If you're looking for dried pigment, you'll be surprized what you can find on ebay. Usually where I pick mine up.
Try a boat repair/marine supplier, or perhaps ''The Board Lady'' will share a source with you.
You might try searching pottery suppliers. Ceramic artists use it in formulating glazes.
I don't think he is looking for blue pigment. Cobalt is used as a booster of the set time of pigmented resin. Quite different.
Cobalt compounds are also used to change the drying times and such of oil-based paints.
Bill, you got me interested in this, so a quick looksee found a couple of technical articles:
http://www.acmanet.org/cm/1206/feature_b1206.cfm
http://www.acmanet.org/cm/1006/feature_i1006.cfm
And the stuff itself: http://www.omgi.com/product-adv-resin.html
Plus a number of other interesting addatives to affect how polyester and vinyl ester resins cure and such. Interesting to know that such stuff is out there.
Further on in the site is a page of locations for this company worldwide. If the quantities needed are smaller than the 'big company' wants to deal with, I'd bet they have distributors and customers and so on who would be quite happy to sell small quantities.
Back to the beginning of this, what I always preferred about oil-base paints is you could futz with 'em to deal with conditions, add thinner on a hot day, add dryers ( typically one of those cobalt compounds again) on crummy days and what have you. Latex paints, you're pretty much stuck with it as it's in the can.
Kinda neat to find out that there's also stuff for resins so you can make it dance to your tune....
doc...
I think Fiberglass Hawaii has it or you can try these guys…http://www.fiberglassflorida.com/
Here is a thought about cobalt. I have only seen it used once…and that was when I went to work at a Shipyard building Fiberglass Mine Sweepers for the Navy. In a safety class they showed that when cobalt was mixed with MEKP it exploded.(big time) They would only allow the tech guys that formulated the resin mixes to handle it. My point being is it may be harder to get than you think. Not sure. It will be an interesting conversation though. (Where is Bagman these days?..he is a Poly Guru)
how much do you want? we always have it in stock. foam fins and fiberglass ventura ca
When Channin was building tuna boats in the early 80’s, one of his boat guys showed me what happens when you mix small amounts of cobalt promoter and catalyst. It made a cool looking mini mushroom cloud. He said STAND BACK!! and DON’T BREATHE ANY 'CAUSE IT WILL KILL YOU!! THAT’S CYANIDE!! …too much fun. That guy was a quite a joker.
[quote="$1"]
Here is a thought about cobalt. I have only seen it used once...and that was when I went to work at a Shipyard building Fiberglass Mine Sweepers for the Navy. In a safety class they showed that when cobalt was mixed with MEKP it exploded.(big time) They would only allow the tech guys that formulated the resin mixes to handle it. My point being is it may be harder to get than you think. Not sure. It will be an interesting conversation though. (Where is Bagman these days?....he is a Poly Guru)
[/quote]
Roger,
We used Cobalt, and DMA (dimethyl anilene) to set pinlines quickly, especially on cold days. You could actually get a resin pot to set and then smoke and pop like popcorn! Talk about a hot batch!
Yea…DMA. Is that the stuff that smells like a dead cat’s rectum? I think cobalt is what gives some of the hotter resins a somewhat purple-brown color. I once had a drum of casting resin that set up really slow and we used DMA and some sort of thixotropic additive to make our own Lam resin. It worked fine…but it was for fish boxes on a boat and not boards. The boat yard I worked for had a contract to make these Navy Mine Sweepers and the factory was amazing. (the boats were around 100 feet long and cost zillions of dollars). It was an Italian company and they actually made their own resin in house for each phase of the job with different formulations. Even the outside temp would change the formula. Interestingly the resin to catylist ratio never changed…If it was cold they added more promoter and if was warm it was less.
The Italians are consumate craftsmen and true masters of fiberglass technology.It was funny as hell though. These Guys were used to drinking wine at lunch which lasted around 2 hours. The US Navy Head Assbusters told them that it was a Federal jobsite and that shit had to stop. Well…half the Italians said shove it and flew back home. The boat was not getting built and the Navy had to suck up and let them drink wine and eat pasta,cheese and bread at Lunch. I laughed my ass off and joined them.
Anybody remember what this thread was about.???
Aahhhhh, the good old days of hot batches and factory tricks...... Is there a statute of limitations with the EPA? Hope they don't come and get us for all the little science experiments. Any of you guys ever put a bit of styrene in a bottlecap and light it on fire?
Cobalt is great for getting poly to go off when it's cold out, but add a little too much and it's quite dangerous. I once saw a fin glass-on gone awry that had to be taken outside because we thought it was going to burst into flames. LOL.
thanks for all the replies guys.
yes bill you are correct, i am looking for the (catalyst accelerator??) as opposed to the color. i should have been more clear. i was looking for it to add to my pigmented resin as to aid in the color seperation as alluded to by ‘vader’ in the ‘show me your resin tints’ thread. although i must admit that with all of the stories/warnings above i am abit hesitant to try it. does anyone have tips as far as using this stuff safely?? it wouldnt do me any good lay down a beautiful tint job if i’m just going burst into flames…
brasco
Brasco,
You don't need much. We would use an eyedropper to add it to the mix. One, two, or three drops, max! We tested a few small amounts to get a feel for the set time. Experiment, and see what you are comfortable with, timing wise.
And what the heck ever became of Vader and Obiwan?
thanks for the info bill.
if i may, i have a few more ?'s. when you say that you add 2-3 drops at most, how much resin were you adding that to? and what is the procedure for mixing it in? do i add it to the resin before or after the catalyst? any idea how will this stuff react with uv curing resin?
i was thinking that i should add it to the pigmented resin(s) prior to adding the colors to the clear resin right before my pour. am i on the right track?
brasco
Brasco,
We used small ''Dixie Ice Cream Cups'' to mix resin for pinlines. Typically filling about 2/3 to 3/4ths full. Pigment was added and mixed in , catalyst was mixed in, and then either cobalt or DMA was added and mixed in. Go to a pharmacy and buy a box of tongue depressors to mix with, and ALWAYS use a paint strainer on ANY resin that you have mixed pigments into, and strain into a clean container for application. Some may consider it ''old school'' but it produces excellent results. All of the foregoing process was to eliminate bleeding of the pinlines when final gloss was applied. Some glossers would also retape the pinline and apply a clear coat over it as added insurance against bleeding. I have no experience with UV resins, so can not offer anything on that subject.
I use it with uv and catalyst sometimes when shooting transparent panels. no problem. Letting the wax rise then blast it in the sun.
I always use cobalt for pinlines and then apply resin at warp speed.
If you plan on using it when you lam then the chance of getting caught holding a dry squeegee halfway through the process is always there.
always mix the resin between catalyst and cobalt.
good luck
…hello,
man, you do not know where to buy cobalt, do not even know proper mix/ratios…
where do you buy the resin, MEKP, aerosil, acetone, monomer styrene, etc?
and you try to mimic other techniques?
also I tell ya that is it possible to obtain these separations without cobalt
check what GCooper say