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Epoxy resin + old tee shirts = scale material

I have two sheets drying that are about 1/8" x 5" x 17" each. I used two old tee shirts, one black and one very faded black. So far the first set looks promising, the other set is in a press curing. It takes up to 72 hours for the resin to fully cure, so I won't know if the epoxy is any good or not.

Here's a close up of my first sheet. They're not fully cured so I couldn't sand them.

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The resin was $21, so if this works out it will be a cheap version of linen micarta. Hey, I'm cheap. LOL
Has anyone else tried something similar?
 
That's homemade micarta!
I used it for my army camo straight razor!
You'll find that once you sand it, the homemade stuff is kind of fuzzy. I used a CA finish to put a hard, shiny shell on it.
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That's homemade micarta!
I used it for my army camo straight razor!
You'll find that once you sand it, the homemade stuff is kind of fuzzy. I used a CA finish to put a hard, shiny shell on it.

I like the washers you used on that razor. Is it a Winchester razor? Nice Springfield too.
Thanks for the tip on the fuzz issue.
 
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Very creative idea. I have only used old T-shirts to polish with, it hadn't occurred to me to make scales out of them! I love all the crazy DIY stuff on these restoration forums.
 
I saw a post where a guy did this with denim. He used several clamps and some blocks to apply pressure to it. I think it let him have a fairly smooth surface that he didn't need to sand.
 
I saw a post where a guy did this with denim. He used several clamps and some blocks to apply pressure to it. I think it let him have a fairly smooth surface that he didn't need to sand.

I have heard that you can get a smooth "no sand" surface by using smooth plexiglas (or similar). I have never tried, but I figured that when I make scales, I will try wood, and depending on how that turns out, try something along these lines.
 
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