Glass Flakes to Reinforce Acrylic Resin

Glass Flakes

From R 53.00

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  • 6mm Length Glass Flakes that are used to strengthen Acrylic Resin.
  • Usually added to resin that is placed in the corners of castings.
500g 2kg
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When and How to Reinforce Acrylic Resin

The cured resin surface is hard but can be a little brittle (can break if dropped) and is not very good at supporting load on its own.

When making simple castings such as coasters with Acrylic Resin, no reinforcing is required.

When making load bearing castings such as a tray or tabletop, or when using the resin for laminating purposes then it is necessary to add reinforcement to the resin. There is no specific rule as to exactly when to use reinforcing in castings but the thinner the casting and the higher the load it must carry, the more necessary it is to add reinforcement.

Be aware that you always only have about 15 minutes working time with this resin, so everything needs to be organised and prepared before you start. Use an additional person where required.

There are two ways to reinforce Acrylic Resin

 

Triaxial Fabric

This is always required for brushed on lamination applications. It works extremely well on flat surfaces.
Easy to cut and easy to use. 
 

Glass Flakes

While these flakes can be used in resin that is poured on flat surfaces, they are particularly useful to reinforce corners. The Triaxial Fabric is not sufficient in corners on its own as when pressed into one corner it pulls away from the opposite corner. For this reason, a Glass Flake/Resin mix is placed into the corners and the Triaxial Fabric is pushed into the mix.

Some Application Examples

 

Making a flat, load bearing casting e.g. casting a small tabletop in a mould (the casting will be removed from the mould so the resin tabletop has to bear load).

Pour an initial layer of resin into the mould. As it starts to harden, lie a piece of Triaxial Fabric over the resin and push it gently into the resin. Pour in another layer of resin over the Triaxial Fabric.
This resin is not recommended for self-supporting tabletops larger than bedside table size.

 

Casting a tray or other load bearing surface with sides.

Assume the mould design includes sides.
 
Add glass flakes to some resin and thicken it with Thixotropic Agent. Thicken it so it cannot flow and put this into the corners of the mould.
Pour in a normal resin layer and as it starts to thicken, push Triaxial Fabric into the resin making sure it embeds into the corner resin that contains the Glass Flakes.
Once this starts to harden then add another layer of resin over the Triaxial Fabric. In tray moulds with sides, this final layer will be the tray bottom and will thus be flat and it need not be thickened.
 

Laminating a flat surface such as a wall

Thicken resin with Thixotropic Agent until it is thick enough to not flow. Apply this to the surface with a paint brush or roller (the layer should be 1-2mm thick).
Gently push in a piece of Triaxial Fabric that has been pre-cut to fit the entire surface. Add another layer of thickened resin over the triaxial fabric (the layer should be 1-2mm thick).
As Acrylic Resin thickens quickly (has a short working time) you will not be able to apply it to large surfaces. If you want to apply the resin to a large surface (such as a large wall) then please ask us for advice on how to retard the drying time.
 

Important point when using Glass Flakes

Generally, on flat surfaces the Triaxial Fabric will give a better result than Glass Flakes on their own.
It is possible to mix Glass Flakes into the resin as opposed to using the Triaxial Fabric. The glass flakes are 6 mm long so they will stick through the surface if used in a top or bottom layer. Where protruding glass flakes are not acceptable allow a first resin layer to start thickening then pour on the resin/glass flake mix and finally cover that layer with a final layer that has no glass flakes.
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Unit Size
500g
2kg

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