Hello all, I have a customer that has a little fossil fish. He would
like this incased in…lucite or a polymer. Then I’ll fit a gold
bezel and bail around it. My question: Where do you find lucite/
polymer? Have you used this before? Any tips you can tell me would
be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Pedro Llanas FYI: I’m closing on
my house today 
Hi Pedro, Congratulations on the house! That poor fossil, it spends
a million years buried in the earth, then finally escapes…only to
be encased in plastic. A friend of my Dad made him a couple of paper
weights with the stuff, one was a flower from his ordination as a
pastor, he put in a bee hovering over the flower…it was cool.
Anyway, the trick was to make it without any bubbles. That’s all I
got…no help at all.
Good luck!
Mark
Hi,
I would use Ice Resin. Its jewelry grade resin so it domes great,
plus if you do get a bubble you can drill it out and refill it and
you will be amazed how you can’t tell. I sell it in my store on
Ebay. To go directly to my store just type
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep7z44
and it will bring you directly there. I include full directions and
your welcome to call me anytime for help.
thanks, Hope this helps,
Linda
Where do you find lucite/ polymer?
Search for Polyurethane casting resin.
http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep7z47
Hi Pete
You would be better using a two part clear epoxy polymer. Apparently
the epoxy is superior to the polyester because it has no shrinkage
when setting.
I am in the middle of making a pendent which will have a piece of
red coral encased in resin. It is actually a more complex job because
red coral is mounted on a piece of reticulated silver sheet using a
dab of epoxy resin and will be embedded in clear resin over the top
of coloured resin. I have made a straight sided silver bezel assembly
fully polished which is filled with two part resin over the top of
the piece of coral.
If you do the job carefully and fill so there is a slight meniscus
above the edge of the bail and don’t move things until the resin has
set then it will require no further polishing. You can burst bubbles
as they rise to the surface by passing a gas lighter flame just above
the surface. Make sure you keep everything clean and the piece
covered with something like a takeaway food container as much as
possible so that dust doesn’t settle on the surface. Also try to work
at a temperature of around 21-25C to ensure the resin sets properly
but you still have a good working time. The two parts have to be
accurately measure and well mixed.
The resin is readily available from art supplies and some craft
stores. Which should also sell suitable dyes you can use to colour
the resin if needed.
All the best
Jen
Thank you, for your input and your direction. I think I can now go
forward.