"curing" resin heads in boiling water?

[C.H.O.A.M.]

I'm making a new thread for this just to get more eyes on it.
I read about curing resin heads that have the "seep" by putting them in the oven or in boiling water.
I don't have an oven so about boiling: how long should I leave them in? and is it ok to just drop them in or will the hot metal deform the head?
I sealed a few heads and the "seep" is coming thru the (acrylic water based) sealer. Is it possible to still cure them in water after they've been sealed?

[BlackKnight]

Dude .. What the Hell R U Talking About..., I'm Lost here.
WT---F Is This "Seep" Crap ?.

[C.H.O.A.M.]

Dude .. What the Hell R U Talking About..., I'm Lost here.
WT---F Is This "Seep" Crap ?.

lol
sorry
the head apparently didn't "cure" all the way... when I painted it with acrylic parts of it didn't dry all the way and stayed sticky. someone in another thread called it "seeping" thru.
even the heads that I sealed have sticky parts along what I guess is the mold seam?
I've never had this happen before so I'm at a loss.

[LonnieFisher]

It sounds like bad chemicals for it to not cure fully. What exactly were they made of? What kind of mold was used? Was mold release used? If the resin isn't fully cured, it's probably toxic to handle. Also, putting chemicals in the oven to "cure" them sounds like poisonous fumes to me.

[LonnieFisher]

It's a chemical reaction that cures resin, not heat.

[BATMAN89]

Original thread:
http://megomuseum.com/community/show...ing-heads-Help!
Some are saying bake or boil the heads.

[LonnieFisher]

I'd contact the company which made the original chemicals and get their advice.

[ctc]

>putting chemicals in the oven to "cure" them sounds like poisonous fumes to me

Yeah; that's not usually a good idea.

Sometimes if you boil 'em a bit it'll dissipate the excess material. A good scrub with warm water and dish soap does the same, but you'll often get leeching again some time later. Using a heavy primer beforehand helps. Any of this is likely gonna wreck the paint on a finished one though.

Don C.

[Confessional]

^^ Final curing is not going to help a resin cast that didn't properly bond. If your resin is gooey or wet, it's more than likely a bad mix or old stock, and beyond any type or real stabelization [sic].

Furthermore, even if you have reason to do a final cure (and there are legit reasons, but not at the small scale of Mego-sized heads) in an oven, you do not want to do that in a residential oven, but rather a ventilated studio kiln. The vapors and gases that resins release is nothing to play with. You don't want to ingest it, and curing it in a residential oven will transfer toxins to your appliance.

Artists get horrible diseases from toxic exposures; be smart and safe. It isn't sculpey ffs.

vv … don't cook food in the pot that you boil plastics/resin in either. It isn't pasta.

[C.H.O.A.M.]

thanks everyone for their input.

just to clarify:
I don't have an oven so I would try boiling.
the heads aren't gooey- they feel dry to the touch when they're unpainted. It was only after I painted (with acrylic) an unsealed head that I noticed some sticky spots along the side the next day. I was able to scrape the paint off except where it was sticky- it seems to have "smudged in" to the head. It feels dry to the touch, though.
I then used an acrylic, water based sealer on another 2 heads but since the sealer also dried sticky along the side I haven't painted them yet.

my questions are:
how long should I boil the head, and should I let it touch the hot metal pot?
assuming that would work, would it also cure the heads I sealed?

thanks again people for your help

[Confessional]

As Lonnie suggested, consult the manufacturer recommendations. Some of the materials I've used kiln cure at 175 degrees at 2 to 4 hours, that could translate to an awful long pot bath if comparable. You also are not going to want the vapor coming off that pot going around your house or kitchen. Ventilate, and don't ever use that pot for food again.

In general terms, it probably wouldn't work on a "sealed" head, as curing involves the release of gases as the resin bonds.

[bleit1701]

When resin cures it warms up while hardening. It certainly doesn't get boiling hot in that time so it seems reasonable that boiling may not be nessessary but somewhere close just to heat them up.

I've used a pan with a coating so I'm not sure about metal but if you don't full on boil it may not matter.

I've never used sealer but all your trying to do is heat the head some. As long as it doesn't affect the sealer it seems like it wouldn't matter.

Fumes is a good point.

So is just plan soap and water first.

[C.H.O.A.M.]

thanks Brian.
I don't even know if this is caused by uncured resin or if it's just residue left on the heads. I never washed any heads before so I didn't wash these.
like I said, the heads felt completely dry to the touch when I got them. they didn't seem any different from any other resin heads I've purchased. it was only when I painted one that I saw a problem.
in fact the 2 heads I sealed have a stickiness in a "u" or horse shoe shape around them, along each side and across the top of the head. that may well be from the mold. I don't know- I've never seen this before so I'm trying to learn the best way to solve this.
these heads are for a 5 figure commission so obviously I'm very concerned with fixing the issue. truth be told, if they were just for me personally, I'd paint them, seal them and put them in a box and be done with them.

[ctc]

>I don't even know if this is caused by uncured resin or if it's just residue left on the heads

It's definitely the resin. If it was fine before, then what's happening is some of the chemicals are leeching out of the plastic. It's more than likely old resin. On the up-side, if there's a mold then new parts could be cast.

Don C.