AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: wvmtnman on December 29, 2009, 02:40:24 AM
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A few years ago I bought some of the Acraglas Gel bedding compound from Brownnells. I am wanting to bed a repro Model 1861 Musket but I am out of the color additive. What would work? Paint pigment? Dye? Stain???? Just looking for a starting point instead of trying every idea.
Brian
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Brian,
I have used Danglers stain in a pinch. It works well to color the Acraglass however it seems to slow the cure time and makes the Acraglass a little rubber feeling the next day. It will harden but I'm sure it weakens the Acraglass some.
Ken
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Cocoa from your wife's kitchen will do if you have no other form of powdered stain....
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The lil' tubes of artists 'water color' work pretty well !
I've used it with epoxy for a bunch of different things. Just mounted a black horn nose cap using epoxy, colored with a small dot of lampblack artist color. I'm sure different color variations could also be prepared??
Respect Always
Jonathan/Metalshaper
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I got a little pigment from the Big Ugly store. It worked fine.
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Powdered water soluble dye the Brownells sell do NOT work.
Bill
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A few years ago I bought some of the Acraglas Gel bedding compound from Brownnells. I am wanting to bed a repro Model 1861 Musket but I am out of the color additive. What would work? Paint pigment? Dye? Stain???? Just looking for a starting point instead of trying every idea.
Brian
Just order some from Brownell's then you will not damage the bedding compound.
Dan
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You know, I never even thought of checking to see if they sold the dye seperatly. They do, problem fixed.
Thanks, Brian
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I get bulk dye from Brownells. It isn't expensive and you can do a bunch of small repairs before the dye dries out.
Roger Sells
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System Three epoxy has brown and black dye for epoxy. I got some from Wood Crafters stor here in town. The amount you use is enough for two lifetimes. Duane
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I have been using the same tiny tub of brown from Brownell's for over 10 years.
Dan
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You might want to sample some of the Acraglas Gel to see if it still hardens, as it has a limited shelf life. I'd probably buy some new to use for a project like that.
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After 4 years I tried to use some a few weeks ago.... wouldn't harden... :-[ "Use it or lose it!!"
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Any acrylic artist paint works very well and skys the limit on colors. Very little colors it well.
Good luck.
Darrin
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That is what I use, for the same reasons as you. Any color or blend of colors can be had. Never any problems with drying either.
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I use a LOT of Accraglas each year and I've also found you can't absolutely trust opened Accraglas much over a year.
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Artificer, My experience is the same. It might help to keep it in the freezer though!? I'm just about absitively posolutely certain that acra glas gel and Smooth On are the same thing.
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What is Smooth On? Never heard of that one.
Darrin
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Artificer, My experience is the same. It might help to keep it in the freezer though!? I'm just about absitively posolutely certain that acra glas gel and Smooth On are the same thing.
Well, I have never frozen Accraglas deliberately, though it happened a couple times on me. In my old, separate garage shop, it was not heated all the time in the winter. I would fire up my heater when I was out there. A couple of times I left the Accraglas out there when the temperature dropped below freezing and all my epoxies and glues froze. It took a few days for the Accraglas to thaw and "normalize." (Took longer for Marine Tex and it hurt a couple other types of epoxy glues I use.) After the Accraglas thawed out and normalized, it set up properly for the next month or so until I used it all up. I buy Accraglass in the 8 oz tubs of resin and hardener and go through two or three such kits per year.
Since I order so much stuff from Brownell's, I decided to give their Technical Staff a call on whether freezing it will harm it or make it last longer. They said freezing won't harm it, just nuke it in the microwave for about 5 seconds at a time, or have it sit (sealed in the containers) in warm water until it is soft enough to blend. They also said freezing it would not make it last longer. They also agreed to try to use it up in not much more over a year - if that long. I also asked about Smooth On and they didn't know what that was, either.
After those two experiences with freezing glues and epoxies I made up a special cardboard box of my glues and epoxies and kept them in the house in the winter and only took them out to the garage when I was actually going to use them. Then I would bring the whole box in the house afterwards.
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What is Smooth On? Never heard of that one.
Darrin
Darrin, it is packaged for the bow making industry and hobbyists. I buy most of this stuff from Binghams. Here is a link to their epoxy page. The smooth on has always seemed to me to be the same as acra gel and the versamid has always seemed to be the same as acra glas. Notice the heat "requirements" which are desireable for bow building. Both of these will work without heat but will take 24 to 48 hours to cure.
Binghams advises me that the shelf life is about a year or even less for the smooth on. I have had versamid on the shelf for up to five years and used it with no problems but never under a high stress situation like a bow limb.
I don't think there is any advantage to purchasing either as a sub for acra glas or acra gel unless a good price or quantitiy price can be obtained. I have bedded several modern rifles with the smooth on with good results.
They also said freezing it would not make it last longer.
That is good to know!
I have a partial amount of smooth on around here that is about three years old and while I have several bow projects coming up, I prefer to get new for them so if anybody wants to buy what I got, let me know.
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I've used the little tubes of raw or burnt umber oil paint. I just stick a toothpick in the tube and then use it to stir the epoxy. Has not seemed to change the performance, but I have no engineering data. Used the same tubes for 20 years. Hobby Lobby or Michael's sells them around here.