Re: Back to the Future II 2015 Jacket Build
Gregg, I don't know off hand since I haven't done a jacket. The quantities I used to do a single panel are listed below. I think you would need to do at least two or three panels for a single jacket, so multiply accordingly.
MATERIALS
Products from Smooth-On –
Smooth-On, Inc. - Mold Making & Casting Materials Rubber, Plastic, Lifecasting, and More
Reoflex 60 -
ReoFlex® Series Urethane Rubber Product Information | Smooth-On
Kick-It Accelerator -
KICK-IT!® Cure Accelerator For Urethane Rubber from Smooth-On, Inc
So Strong Tints (Red, Yellow, White and Black) -
SO-Strong® Color Tints for Urethane Rubber, Plastic and Foam
Other Materials
Thin Cotton Fabric – Black slightly oversize for whatever size piece you are wanting to do.
Light Diffuser Panel (2x4) from Home Depot
Plastic Squeegee (3) - Your choice of size. I used a 4" wide one I had laying around.
Drill with Paint Mixer Attachment (possibly two paint mixer attachments)
2 small buckets (each large enough for the rubber you are mixing)
INSTUCTIONS
The numbers mentioned below SHOULD give you enough material to do a single 2’ x 4’ diffuser panel. The quantities of rubber you use may vary depending on experience.
Red Base Coat
1st coat of red - Pour 275 grams of Part A (thoroughly mix part A before pouring out what you need). Add the color tints per the instructions from Smooth-On. I used a good serving of red, some yellow and just a little white for opacity. When I say a “little” I mean a VERY small amount – heck you really don’t use a lot of any of these colors. The colors are very concentrated.
Add the Kick-it to the Part A per the instructions and thoroughly mix.
Now add 275 grams of Part B and thoroughly mix with the drill and paint mixer attachment #1.
Once mixed, pour the red rubber onto your light diffuser panel and squeegee it out from the center. You are looking for a thin coat that fills the center of each “bubble” in the diffuser pane. You should see the peaks (or annoying sharp points) sticking through the coat of rubber. Once you have it all squeegees and level – take a break and go watch a movie (I might recommend BTTF II to keep you in the mood). This needs to sit for an hour or two. If you are not using the accelerator it will take a lot longer. You are looking for the material to be setting up, but still be tacky to the touch. If it’s good, then proceed to the black rubber and backing.
Black Rubber and Backing
Mix the black rubber just like you did the red. Chances are your paint mixer attachment and squeegee both have a mess of not fully cured red still on them – so use your second set for this pour. For my test I used a bit more of the black to make sure I had a good thick coat. Go with about 350 grams of A and B. Again, Part A, black tint, and accelerator. Then add 350 grams of Part B and thoroughly mix.
After mixing, pour the Black Rubber on the red and squeegee out to a uniform thickness. Unlike the red, you DO NOT want the peaks to really be visible. However you also do not want the coat to be really thick - your goal is to have enough material available to soak through the fabric and set it into place.
NOTE: Regarding your fabric – be sure to IRON the fabric BEFORE application. Any ridges or fold marks can affect the embedment process.
Once level add the fabric backing and using the THIRD clean squeegee work the fabric into the black until the rubber starts to seep through. If you are cleaning off the squeegee between steps you can stick with just the one. A squeegee with rubber still on it will initially stick to the fabric and cause all sorts of problems.
With your fabric wetted through you just need to let the material set overnight to cure. Once cured, the finished sheet should peel off the diffuser panel.
Repeat for the other panels.
Some final tips that I've been thinking about. It may be better to mix up a large enough batch of rubber to do multiple panels. That way your color tints will be the same for all three panels. If you do this, you might want to use a little less accelerant to give you working time for the multiple panels. However, after doing my one panel I think you would still have enough time before it started to set up and become "difficult" to work with.
Also, if you know how large your panels need to be, you can easily mark them on the BACK of the diffuser panels in sharpie marker and only pour/squeegee within those areas. You would need less material that way.
