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Hanaldo - 6/26/2020 10:11:20 AM

Gorgeous idea, and my condolences for your loss mate.


Are you in the UK/Europe; will you be looking to purchase the required materials from Easy Composites? If so, I'm sure one of their staff will be along soon and can give you guidance on the appropriate materials that they supply. If not, then I'm sure between the EC staff and the rest of the forum users, you will still be able to get some good advice on what to use.

Probably the most critical thing that comes to mind is weather resistance. If this is going to be a headstone that lives out in the elements, then epoxy possibly isn't the ideal choice considering it's natural UV sensitivities. Perhaps if you are in Europe or the UK, then with modern epoxies with UV stabilizers you may get a few years of use before the epoxy starts to show signs of suffering. But I would be quite certain that it will suffer at some point, and then it becomes a question of if you will be happy to replace the casting when needed, or if you want to look into an option that will give you the longest life.

The difficult thing is that in reality, ALL resins are going to yellow and suffer from UV and weather exposure. Epoxies are generally highly sensitive, and will last the least amount of time. Polyurethanes may be a better bet. I have worked with a mining company here in Australia who were trying to develop a product for use in the extreme UV environment of the Outback, and after they struggled with several different epoxies for awhile, we eventually guided them to Smooth-On Crystal Clear. They used to check in with the company I was working for every now and then, and the last I heard the products had been in service for 3 years with absolutely no sign of an degradation yet, which was a far better return than some of the 'UV stable' epoxies they had tried. 

It is difficult to say how long any casting is going to last when it lives out in the weather. But if it were me, I would be looking at polyurethane casting resins rather than epoxies. Perhaps have a look at your local suppliers to see what products you can get hold of, or see if you can get hold of Smooth-On where you are.

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Warren (Staff) - 6/26/2020 11:39:21 AM

Sorry for your loss. 

Hanaldo has some very good advice there. Are you looking to keep it clear or coloured? If you are pigmenting it or painting it a set colour then the UV issue is less of a problem.  Certainly if painted, I would be expecting the paint to wear and fade long before the resin gets exposed to UV.  

With pigmented epoxy, we have seen customers cast it outside with no problems and just find over several years the colours began to fade.  However this was only on the very surface and a light sand and polish restored the resin back to original finish.

If you do go down the epoxy route, the product from our range is the GlassCast 50 Clear Epoxy Casting Resin