Copper Cold Casting

Very heavy smaller than I thought it would be for the container. Great quality still learning how to use it.

Namaste. I appreciate this wonderful gift! This powdered copper will be used to make quantum ogonite.

We added a pound of copper to our antifoul ablative bottom paint for our boat. This was a very fine powder and easily incorporated.

I'm using this for a slight variation on 'cold casting' - mixing into epoxy to fill knots, wormholes, and checks (a type of stress-based split or crack) in woodworking, more specifically honey mesquite and pecan wood right now. At first I was a little uncertain about this one...I had tried the "Mona Lisa" copper metal powder before, which seems much finer grained and brighter (shiny penny copper vs. darker brownish), I think more intended for 'embossing' sort of applications. But this powder mixes into epoxy much easier without trying to puff away with the lightest stir. The mixture initially turned a pretty scary looking dark brown - almost like chocolate, using 4 very small scoops (maybe 1/8th tsp each?) to about 20ml of mixed epoxy (I use T-88 from System Three). But after filling, planarizing with 100grit sandpaper, then working my way up thru my usual wood finish scale of 150grit, 220grit, and then lightly sanding out only the metal filled regions with 320, 400, and 600....whoa. Exactly the finish I was after. The brightness came up, and it looks like metal veined right into the wood. Hit it with your clear finish fairly quickly after this final buff (at least a first coat - I use Pratt and Whitney #38 varnish which is fairly non-yellowing, thinned about 30-50% by some more mineral spirits to become a 'wiping varnish' that takes 4-5 coats before it really builds much over top of the wood surface vs. hardening 'in' it) and I suspect the brightness will stay protected from future oxidation, although only time will tell on that count. Compared to the Mona Lisa powders this is more granular (although still very fine), it 'sinks' into the epoxy mix easier and doesn't puff away, and is far far cheaper than the tiny 1oz jars I was trying before. Once this project is done I might add a photo or two... A couple tips if you're into this sort of thing - suggest for really big knots 'layering' by partially filling with clear or even brown or black ink dyed epoxy, then the copper mix, alternating if you get a lot of sag into a large knot and have to keep topping it up to get back to the desired wood surface. A heat gun really also helps reduce viscosity and bring the air bubbles out of it (don't overdo - heat just until you see if flowing more clearly like the surface tension has relaxed...if you see the epoxy 'sizzling' or turning whitish at edges you'll regret it).

Love it. Easy to work with

One application: Dust a silicone mold with this copper powder and gently pour fast curing polyurethane (few minutes pot life) into it. Once polyurethane cures - wipe surfaces and especially crevices with patina and copper aging solutions. After a full cure: Lightly abrade the surfaces with very fine steel wool or very fine sand paper. The result will be an aged copper look, which in some cases may look quite authentic and impressive, while in other cases - may be somewhat disappointing. You may want to seal the results with wax or lacquer, to arrest or slow down further changes. There are some videos about this whole process. As explained before me: the copper particles in the bag are dull brown, not shiny copper. They will look metallic after the light abrasion.

good amount of powder, using this for printmaking project.

Very fine powder