hi everyone…i am making some sterling silver jewelry and instead of
stones i would like to make unusual bezels that i can fill with a
colored material. now i have thought about coloring epoxy, but i am
concerned about how it will hold up over time. will it dry out and
shrink? fade? I have looked in the archives and seen on
this but nothing addresses these concerns that i have noticed. Is
ceramit a good choice? i am not very familiar with it. Does it need
to be heated tho? would a regular kitchen oven work? Any information
would be greatly appreciated. This is my first approach on something
like this…thanks so much…
I use ceramit occasionally. It is essentially colored epoxy -
probably more accurately fiberglass resin. It’s pretty painless - mix
it properly, it has a long pot life, and then it can set for 24 hrs.
I believe it is, or it can be accelerated (and it’s harder, I think)
in an oven at 200deg or 250. And you can mix the colors. A couple of
things: they say it can be polished but don’t believe it - the
porosity of it picks up and holds the polishing compound and it gets
dirty. And the hardener, especially, being very thin will seep out
through the lid if you lay it on it’s side. I bought the large can of
hardener and keep it separate. But, for an easy source of
enamelesque plastic resin, yes, it’s a fine product…
Try checking the Orchid archives for Durenamel. I’ve used it quite a
bit and am a big fan. Please also feel free to contact me offline if
you have any questions about using it.