Can i safely apply heat to polyester resin?

[eburb]

Is it possible to put an item made from polyester resin in a heat press and press it at temperature 400 degrees F? I need to know if it will melt, burn or give of dangerous fumes....... Anyone had experience
thanks all

[Bedlam]

Hi there, Long time lurker here, but this post has prompted me to chip in.

Polyester resin will degrade and out gas at 400 degrees f, Toxic gases are given off during thermal decomposition of polyester based materials including carcinogens.

I take it your vulcanising a resin master? it can be done , but not at that temperature.
I Vulc organic Rubbers (black natural discs) at 150 degrees C, and If I need to do a resin master then I use a heat resistant polyurethane and silicone discs (more expensive). at around 110 degrees C.

I find the extra expense preferable than a lung full of fumes.

Regards Rick.

[mangozac]

Thanks Rick I'm glad we had someone here that was able to answer the question! And welcome to RA both of you

[Bedlam]

No Worries Mangozac,
I learned not to set fire to polyester many years ago when I tried accelerating a Large mix of polyester
with way too much catalyst. Fun though, but not on my list of things to do again.
Can you say Magma!

Regards Rick.

[SSB]

I have a further question on that topic...

I have to get some resin replicas heated up to 130°C.
As I understand it, common polyurethane resin will soften at 90°C.
(as well as shapeways frosted ultra detail material -> Softens at 80°C)

Do you have brands and types of resins I could use that would resist the heat ?
(Are they available in Europe ?)

"Esprit Composite", the french parisian resin shop doesn't provide any heat resistant resins.

[mangozac]

There's none that I know of, but I assume they would have a fairly high exothermic reaction temperature as the cure?

[Munkey Joe]

[SSB]

[Hiflt4@juno.com]

[mangozac]

SSB I might have missed it but what are you planning to cast that requires high temperatures?

[SSB]

[Munkey Joe]

[mangozac]

Ahh ok!

One possible technique is to mould it with high temperature silicone and then cast a copy in metal. I think you can melt down pewter/white metal in a pot on the stove, so it would just be a matter of pouring it into the mould.

Alternatively Hiflt4's suggestion could work too: just mould using normal silicone and then cast a copy in the Smooth-On high temperature resin.

[SSB]

[Hiflt4@juno.com]

A pic of your work would help.

In most cases you want a material like resin that will produce a very close copy when makeing brown's for a larger mold.

The issue being is its a copy of a copy. Each time it will lose defenition of its detail, esp if your not pressure or vacuum casting.

plaster can look great but its not the best for capturing minute details with out the correct setup you can vacuum and pressure most plasters but I have no experience with them maby try a special effects fourm dealing busts or masks. Would really suck to pay for a profesional mold maker and have it produce washed out facsimiles of your hard work.

Hes producing vulcanised moulds, just ask him what material to use for the originals. Im sure he wil be able to suggest some material for you.