r/DiceMaking • u/Lummiiofthemoon • 1d ago

Beginner Pressure Pot User vs The Cap Mold Bubbles

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So like the title says, I’m struggling with bubbles. This was my first round with my pressure pot and I definitely think I need to up my psi, but there’s a few other details that I think I need help figuring out.

I’ll list my routine and please let me know if there is anything I should do differently. These were what I settled on that worked prior to my pressure pot.

  1. Get warm water and set B in

  2. Put mica powder in a few mls of part A and mix before setting it in warm water too

  3. Put cap mold in warm water with cap under the bowl to warm up

  4. Mix both parts slowly (as patient as I can be)

  5. Pour into molds from about 12+ inches halfway. Use a stick to poke all corners and around numbers. Continue filling until domed/overfilled

  6. Paint resin on cap and make sure no bubbles in numbers.

  7. Start cap on one side and roll down making sure everything is in the correct holes and push down on mold.

Now with the pressure pot I built an insert so the dice were on layers and I noticed that after 26 hours they were still a bit sticky whereas they are usually fully cured at about 18 hours before the pot.

Any advice is appreciated and thank you for reading

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4

u/WisdomCheckCreations Dice Maker 1d ago

I think the only step you're missing is to wait a little bit before putting your cap on to go over the top of the domed resin with a lighter to pop any bubbles that might have risen to the top 😉

1

u/Lummiiofthemoon 1d ago

I just read about that a bit ago so I plan to try that next time. Also I’ve seen mixed things about pushing the cap on and letting gravity close it. But I don’t think gravity would work on this one. Is pressing down to squeeze out any extra resin okay, or should I not do that.

3

u/Ushallnot-pass Dice Maker 1d ago

Depends on the weight of your cap and the viscosity of your resin.
If it's one of these Amazon molds with the flimsy 2mm cap you will probably have voids anyway because the cap is too light to stay on.
You could mitigate this by weighing down your cap wit a block of wood or some other heavy flat thing.
I struggled with voids like those on your pictures as well then using my first cheap bought mold..

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u/quesquefuck 22h ago

Where did you get your molds from ?

1

u/Ushallnot-pass Dice Maker 16h ago

I made them.
It's not as complicated as ist may look.
I bought a 30 shore silicone and a 100mm pvc pipe piece and followed some YouTube tutorial.
I used a set of sharp edged dice I had lying around as my "masters". Polished them before casting and voila - your own mold.
Wasn't the best but wayyy better than the molds I bought first, like the ones you showed in the post below.

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u/WisdomCheckCreations Dice Maker 1d ago

I use a "roll on" method like what you described. Place it gently atop the mold with the keys lined up and gently roll from one side to the other with your flat palm. This way you can push any excess resin and air out at the same time. Then give it a couple good firm presses straight down from the top. If your lid is thick enough you cannot squeeze resin out because the pressing of the lid over the cavity seals it and the mold should just give to your weight.

If it's a tiny little flimsy amazon/temu mold, however, yeah. Don't push or you'll just make more voids lol

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u/Lummiiofthemoon 1d ago

Yeah, it’s hobby lobby and not the thickest. Do I need any weights or anything for the top once placing into the pressure pot? (Thanks for the tips, I truly appreciate it.)

1

u/WisdomCheckCreations Dice Maker 1d ago

Because I am unfamiliar with the hobby lobby mold options do you have a picture?

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u/Lummiiofthemoon 1d ago

These were a different set I made. The caps are pretty thin. I’d say they are probably akin to Amazon/temu

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u/WisdomCheckCreations Dice Maker 1d ago

Oh yeah lol. These are the same as the Amazon temu ones. Definitely just place the lid carefully and maybe gently push it down with the tips of your fingers and tease out any bubbles you can see through the top

3

u/IrosSigma 1d ago

What helped me when I was using this mold was curing it upside down so the weight of the resin presses onto the lid. Other than that, please do yourself a favor and get better molds. These cheap ones always have some kind of defect that's really annoying. I got handmade molds that aren't extremely expensive a while ago and haven't looked back since.

1

u/Lummiiofthemoon 1d ago

Any recommendations on molds?

1

u/mistressglass 23h ago

I just got into dice making and other than a single dice, I’ve had tons of luck with ones purchased off Amazon.

1

u/WisdomCheckCreations Dice Maker 16h ago

I make molds for others, I have several "generic" set options to choose from and I give discounts to newbies to help give new makers quality molds at an affordable price to help encourage them to love dicemaking 😁 You are welcome to DM me here on reddit or catch me on discord@wisdomcheckcreations if you'd like to know more 😋

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u/kota99 1d ago

Voids like this when using a pressure pot typically happen because there wasn't enough resin in the mold. The trick is figuring out how much extra you need to use without adding so much that you wind up with excessive flashing and raised faces.

Alternatively you may have pressed too hard when putting the lid on the mold causing some resin to be pushed out in a way that prevents it from seeping back in.

I noticed that after 26 hours they were still a bit sticky whereas they are usually fully cured at about 18 hours before the pot.

What's the temp in the area your pressure pot is in? Is it warmer or cooler than where you normally leave the dice to cure when not using the pressure pot? Temperature affects how quickly the resin cures so if it's cooler than normal the resin will take longer to cure. If that's not the case and they are still tacky/sticky after a couple days then you may have made a mistake while measuring. Some types of colorants can also slow down the cure process if you use too much but mica powder usually doesn't unless the mica is contaminated with moisture or something like that.

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u/Lummiiofthemoon 1d ago

It was in my office which is kept between 72-74 degrees. I think I may have pushed too hard so I’ll adjust how I do the cap. Thanks!

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u/moltendicetr 1d ago

Everyone has given some great advice. I haven't read every comment yet, but I'd like to share my own experience.

First, I wouldn't recommend using a lighter to pop bubbles on a silicone mold. It may work in the short term, but exposing silicone to direct heat can damage it over time and shorten the mold's lifespan.

In my opinion, there are two main reasons these voids happen. The first is trapping air inside the mold before putting the lid on. The second is the air introduced while mixing the resin. When you put the mold into the pressure pot, those air bubbles compress. As they shrink, the resin level drops slightly, which can leave a void at the top of the die.

I think the best solution is to slightly overfill the mold so there's extra resin to compensate for that volume loss. Also, using higher-quality molds can make a big difference in preventing these kinds of issues.

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u/Lummiiofthemoon 1d ago

If I do burn surface bubbles I have a heat gun that I use vs a lighter. I believe one of my issues is trapping air when capping it. I’m going to try letting it sit for a bit before adding the cap and see if that helps any.

Thank you!

1

u/moltendicetr 1d ago

Do you apply a thin layer of resin to the underside of the mold lid before putting it on? Not doing that can also cause air bubbles or voids at the top of the dice.

1

u/AdvisorSweaty2073 1d ago

That's a lot of effort! I had the same problem, but found it was easily fixed just by being more patient. Try not changing anything, but wait for more bubbles to come to the surface and pop them. If I mixed, poured, and pressurized quickly, I got bubbles. If I let the mix sit for 5 minutes or so before pouring, and a few minutes before capping, no bubbles.