I’m glad to say there’s finally some good news on the eye-blank front. A few recent castings have been coming out crystal clear! The new epoxy resin is starting to work out.

Top two are 40mm half-spheres, bottom-right is 40mm diameter by 10mm high hemisphere with mounting lip, bottom-left is a 40x10 without the mounting lip.

It’s crystal clear, without the yellowy tone of the eurethane clear-cast and without the blue hint of the noxious styrene resin.

The only issue is that it’s rather harsh on the silicone moulds, clinging to them very tightly. Mould-release has helped a bit but has also left the blanks with a slightly “frosted” surface.

I have some test blanks currently curing in hardier urethane-rubber based moulds, which hopefully will not require mould release. If they come out as well as I hope, I should be able to start production proper within the next fortnight.