Black tint for gelcoat. I have used it
plenty. Bill
Pigment powders
http://www.realmilkpaint.com/powder.html
For my carbon fiber paddles I have mixed in a very small amount of these pigment powders to add color to the otherwise black color of the carbon fiber weave.
I have not tried the black pigment. You could probably contact Real Milk Paint Co. for suggestions for getting a true black, and not a gray. Possibly even a sample.
On the plus side this pigment will not degrade the epoxy. It is a very, very fine powder. A little bit goes a long way for a rich coloration from my experience.
When adding an epoxy layer to cover
"fuzz" on an old c-1, I used no graphite powder for the first West epoxy layer I rolled on, and then I added a higher proportion of graphite with successive layers. This gives decent strength and puts the most graphite out at the surface where the wear occurs. The color is black, but when sanded smooth it is gray. Just spray on a covering (I used a spray used on speedboats) and it turns glossy black again.
West describes how to use their thin foam rollers to roll on successive layers before the last previous layer hardens. This ensures that amine blush does not have time to rise to the surface and spoil the bond.
black enough for you ??
– Last Updated: Mar-14-11 11:13 AM EST –
...... http://shopmaninc.com/pigments.html
I can't imagine carbon powder doing much to tint epoxy black ... it's not going to disolve .
A liitle pigment goes along way ... follow mix ratio and don't forget to add the pigment "before" adding the catalyst ... any solvent thinning is done "after" catalyst is mixed .
pigment , catalyst , thinner ... in that order
Without even checking,
I would be inclined to do whatever West Systems recommends. Hard to go wrong there.
Jim
What do you mean “dissolve” ?
Pigment powders don’t dissolve. Graphite powder is not as fine as some black pigments, but it provides a slippery ablation surface. Sure turned my boat black.
After you use the GP , save a little
resin in the cup and dump a bunch of the Graphite in it, mix and let harden … They try to drill it, fun experiment to show the lubricating qualities of Graphite.
Graphite doesn’t desove either, but…
– Last Updated: Mar-14-11 2:44 PM EST –
...it sure makes a nice black color. The factory-supplied "skid coating" (which is jet black when new) on two of my boats is made by that very method. Use equal parts (by volume) graphite and epoxy, prior to adding the hardener. The above-mentioned advice about using no graphite on initial layers and plenty in the final layer makes sense to me as well. Also as noted above, the color will be very black if the finish is left alone, but it turns blackish-gray when sanded.
Oh, I should have read what g2d said. Same thing.
dissolve as in …
… to become absorbed into a liquid solution (transitive or intransitive verb) or break into smaller parts as in less concentrated .
I know , I forgot an “s” last time , I’m a poor speller .
The tint type I linked was a liquid form solution which would mix readily (dissolve) into the resin .
Tap Plastics pigments
I’ve used pigments from Tap Plastics. They are quite potent and work well.
http://www.tapplastics.com/
As I understand it, pigments are
insoluble. Perhaps you meant to say dye?
black epoxy
I wanted black epoxy for a boat project of mine, so I just went to the hardware store and bought a bottle of black stringline chalk. Mixed it in and it worked like a charm. Cheap and readily available. I don’t know what it did to the epoxy though. My application for it was purely cosmetic.
Most retail outlets stocking West
epoxy will also have cans of graphite powder. I bought my graphite powder at a boat store, right off the shelf. Outfits like West Marine will stock it.
The correct term is disperse.
Pigments do not dissolve.
black
http://www.epoxyworks.com/20/index20.html
“Installing a teak deck on Zatara” describes the use of epoxy with black filler.
Coloring epoxy
I’ve been using small amounts of artist’s acrylic paint - like you find in tubes in an art store - blended into epoxy after parts “A & B” are combined. (I don’t want the pigment to affect the initial reaction and have been told that adding pigment after mixing the parts minimizes that possibility.)It does a decent job of coloring and doesn’t substantially weaken the epoxy if less than 10% of the total volume is used. The cure time seems completely unaffected. In practice, I doubt I often exceed 2%, as that gives me a dark enough color. Don’t see why black would be different than any other pigment.
I might have qualms about weakening the epoxy somewhat if I were doing something structural. I use this method just to fill deep scratches and chips.
Works PJC … You will know you added
too much as the epoxy will mix funny and appear ‘stringy’+ not harden fully. The other part with the paints is some of the colors do not last too long. Lighter greens, blues and yellows start to fade pretty quick in thin laminates.
Got some dye from a friend who
repairs FG and makes molds for a living. He uses it to color gel coat. Going to give it a try.
Are you planning to sand it?
West Systems sells graphite powder that you mix into the epoxy. It dries a gorgeous, glossy black after several coats. (The first coat or two will come out a dark coffee-brown when applied to okuome.)
If you are adding the powder just to make the epoxy turn black, it will be beautiful.
If you are wanting to add “slipperiness” to the epoxy–as in bottom hull panels to glide over rocks–you need to sand the epoxy. The graphite gives it the sliding quality, and it only gets to the surface when sanded. When you sand, that stunning black gloss turns to a medium-gray matte surface. Running a hand over both surfaces next to each other, you will immediately notice the difference in ease of glide. But the matte surface pales in comparison, visually.