i have noticed a lot of questions about resin bodys, and how they are made. unfortnately there are not many answers. and the ones that there are all seem to direct to one site.
http://www.alumilite.com/howto.cfm?ID=6
this is a great tutorial on making these bodys. but i did some research and found some much cheaper alternatives to this site and their products. im not saying that their products arent good, but they are a bit pricey.
for starters.
Tap Plastics- this is the kinda stuff they do. i went to their website and what do ya know. they have a store in my town so i went down and checked it out... 18.95 1 lb for the silicone, which on the alumilite site for a pound of molding silicone/rubber 26.50. after a lengthy discussion with the rep i found out that for the purposes that we will be using these molds for we would want to go with silicone. Tap also has rubber for a bit cheaper than the silicone.
as for the clay. you dont have to order this clay from alumilite or tap if thats who your going with. go to your local art store, or hobby store and look for some clay. I found some at Michaels for 1.99. that was for a pound of any color i wanted(around 30 differnt colors) reading on the back of the package it says "...compatible with silicone mold compounds..." bingo this will work.
i was torn wether i should check on the mold release also. so i did. you can get a spray for 7.99 or a jar of wax mold release from tap for 4.15. again i asked if it was really needed with silicone. supprisingly it is, it helps keep your mold in good shape so you can get more bodys out of it. so instead of getting 50-75 bodys outa your mold you could get double, maybe tripple.
now to resins... there are many different types, plasic, polyester, fiberglas... although i dont think you would use the last... all come in clear, and each has its advantage. polyester looks the clearest, but you need to heat the mold when pouring it so that the body of the car will basically stay smooth. plastic, costs a bit more than polyester, but molds very easily. im not sure how much comes in one can of alumilite resin, but according to my email its about 30.00 for one unit. if this number is wrong please let me know. im not trying to show bias here. i picked up a quart of clear polyester resin for 10.99 and the catalyst for it was 3.99 (michaels crafts). I asked the guy at tap, and he grabbed a can and said this stuff works great, it was the same stuff that i bought at michaels for the same price. CastinCraft resin. i believe its also used on tables to give them that glass top look. tap also has clear plastic resin for 12.99 for the same amt.
Clear plastic resin
lastly a neet thing that i discovered. you can use a 2 liter bottle for your mold... if you check out that tutorial on thealumlite site you can see that they glue the container/mold that the car body and silicone is placed inside. you can easily just cut the middle out of a 2 liter and use it. its strong, clear (so you can see the goo on the inside) and it probably wont cost much...
i will post more as i continue with the creation of my 53 pu body. i am photographing everything, and will post progress on my website, and here if there is interest. i know i have forgot some of the things i learned in the past few days but when i think of them i will post back.