[Katherine Swift]

Great questions! While I can’t guarantee that it will completely eliminate lines, pouring the second layer of resin while the first layer is still curing will minimize them. You are correct in that you will need to do it while the first layer of resin is in the gel stage. This is when the resin is starting to cure, but not solid. If you were to place a toothpick in the resin at this point, it will be a thick, and perhaps chunky, liquid. The time for this to occur varies with every resin. Unfortunately, at least the first few times, you are going to have to babysit your resin to see when this occurs. In my experience, it happens within the ‘double the pot time’ range. For example, if the pot time of the resin is 30 minutes, the gel time will likely happen within 60 minutes. The gel time usually only happens for a short period of time, so you are going to have to watch it closely and be ready to pour your next layer.

As for pouring only 1/2 inch at a time, that also depends on the resin. Some have recommendations on thickness of pours, while for others, it’s more about the volume.

[Bethie]

So I tried this out on Saturday night. I mixed the resin and boiled breast milk together and poured into the mold. Its been curing for 36 hours now and its still sticky. Did I do something wrong? This is my first time I’ve ever used resin.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Samantha,

For the best results, I recommend using colors designed specifically for resin. Resin hates moisture, so other colorants such as paints, can keep the resin from curing. With that in mind, I certainly think it can be fun to experiment with other colorants. You can see my results here using some items I found around the studio: https://resinobsession.com/resin-resin-resin/experimenting-with-resin-colors I haven’t used the Pebeo based paints or a solvent based paint. I have used alcohol inks, however, and been mostly happy with the results.

[Julie]

I am now on my fifth fish bowl and I am still getting terrible results. I
did coat my polymer project with resin two times. I also sprayed my project
twice with Castin Craft Resin spray. After it dried I heated items under a
desk lamp and kept all items warm while curing. It seemed as if the clay did
“okay” but I am now getting the “force shield” result in the middle of
everything. I used 8oz of Castin Craft casting resin and 16 drops of
catalyst. Ugh..I am sooo frustrated. I am not sure how to attach pictures to this to show. Do I have to wait until SUMMER?????? When it is HOT all over? I am in Oregon and it is not cold. Sigh..

[Katherine Swift]

I would try using the clay and bowl with the lamp in a hot box shown here: https://resinobsession.com/resin-resin-resin/casting-resin-in-cold-temperatures The box will help keep the heat in.

I don’t know about warming the bowl in the microwave. I’m worried it would create hot spots (similar to reheating food) that may impact curing. Instead, I would put the bowl in a hot water bath to make sure it is warmed up evenly. Assuming it’s winter where you are, I don’t think house temperature is warm enough for inanimate objects. If you try heating the bowl in the microwave, let me know if that works.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Julie,

My thought here is that the film you see is air trapped next to your embedments. It could be from air released from the object during casting. Resin curing is a heat reaction. Sometimes that heat can cause air to be release during the curing process. The other possibility is that the surface tension of the embedded objects is trapping air. I don’t think the resin is a problem since you mentioned things are curing normally.

Here are a few suggestions on what you can try to prevent this in the future:

1. Dip your pieces in resin and allow them to cure on wax paper before embedding them in your fish bowl. That will reduce the surface tension. It will also seal any air in.

2. Seal the items with a two to three layers of our acrylic sealer spray before embedding. This will also seal air in.

3. Make sure your items are warm before including in the resin. That may allow air to escape before you put it in the resin. If I were going to do this, I would warm them up gently with a heat gun. https://shop.resinobsession.com/products/zap-embossing-heat-tool It wouldn’t be a bad idea to make sure your fish bowl is warm as well.

Let us know if this helps!

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Suzette,

The easiest way to make a frosted look would be to sand your pieces with wet/dry sandpaper once they are finished curing. I would suggest something in the 600 to 800 grit range. It will ‘frost’ the surface while still allowing you to see what’s underneath, colors are otherwise. Perhaps you have a couple of resin mistakes you can practice on first. 🙂

[Katherine Swift]

You can push the rhinestones in when the resin is tacky. They will stick, but the resin itself is very flexible. You have to be careful that you don’t distort the shape of the piece. You can see how resin is flexible partway through the curing process here: https://resinobsession.com/resin-tutorials/diy-tree-ornaments

As for casting resin stones, then casting a resin piece behind/under them, you will need to find a way to cast the stones in place first. That will require casting the stones in the mold (thus several turns and several castings).

[Erin]

Amazing clear cast, I figured out that the reason it was making the ugly bubbles is because the inside was curing faster than the outside and that was causing it to shrink. So to combat this, I took a lighter and heated the outside of the jar before the inside began to fully cure. It solved the bubble problem, but the resin then cracked. .-.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Tory,

Age of the resin is my concern. I recommend users only purchase the amount of resin they can comfortably use within a six month period. If your resin has collected moisture, that will certainly inhibit proper curing. Let me know how it goes with a new batch.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Kimi,

That’s a great question and one I’m working on in my experiment series. (Unfortunately, I don’t have enough experiment results yet to share.) Where the trouble comes is that clear resin itself has colors in it to achieve a final clear look. (Resins tend to be a bit on the yellow side whereas the hardeners tend to be on the blue side.) The problem is that one brand’s colorants may interact with another brand’s colors in the resin and/or hardener.

In general, I have had success using one brand’s colorants in another brand’s resin with the exception of Alumilite green. I have found despite everything curing appropriately, when used in at least two different brand of resins, it will turn blue.

At this point you have two choices:

1. When using a brand of resin, be sure to use their colorants.
2. Experiment a little, knowing you may run into a problem from time to time.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Tatiana,

Here are a couple of my thoughts to help you:

1. Are you absolutely sure you are measuring and mixing properly? It sounds like your castings are initially curing properly, but I would be 110% sure your measuring and mixing is spot on. I like to use graduated mixing cups to make sure I am exact, then mix for 2 to 3 minutes while scraping the sides of my cup and stir utensil.

2. Are you using anything else besides flowers in your resin and/or are your flowers dry? Excess moisture can keep resin from curing properly.

3. Are your resin charms going into metal settings? Metal settings when displayed in the heat, will pass that heat onto the resin. I have seen resin melt in these situations.

4. Are you castings thin? In general, Easy Cast resin is a relatively soft resin, even when cured. I could easily see a thin casting made with this resin and a little bit of heat applied make it ‘bendy’ rather quickly.

[Katherine Swift]

Christy emailed pictures to share:

Here is a close up of a panel before (totally clear surface –there is sand obscuring the back)…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and what was received….

 

 

 

 

 

 

the back of it also took on a rippled effect that was probably the cellophane. This suggests to me that it was not fully cured? These are 30″ long but only .5″ deep. After reading the instructions and watching the videos for the resin I used, I estimated a week of curing outside the mold would be plenty of time, but I think I might have been way off. I also did a few light layers of resin sealant to help the top harden. I’m wondering if that was the wrong thing to do. I live in a very dry area and they were shipped to an area with more humidity but about same temperatures (warm). I just wish I knew which factor to address. I don’t want to have to refund her money and quit the job if it is something I can fix.
Will it clear on its own? Is there a method to fix it? Do I need to let the panels cure for a LOT longer? Did I need to use more catalyst (using max quantities per the can instructions)?
So many unknowns to me. In the future if I continue to work with resins I will become a major fan of your website. I wish I had found it before I started this venture! Thank you for taking the time to troubleshoot. I really appreciate it.

 

 

 

 

 

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Nina,

Yes, I would suggest gluing the picture to the bottom of the bezel.  Otherwise, you may trap a bubble that can come up some time during the curing process but not escape the resin, leaving an annoying bubble in your otherwise perfect pendant.

If the picture is laminated with a good sealed edge, you do not need to seal it before including in the resin.  You can see what I mean by a sealed edge in this video on the Resin Obsession you tube channel:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86R7QBst4_o

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Teresa,

My first thought is that the resin stuck to the side of the cup hasnt mixed well enough.  Assuming you are scraping the cup at the end of pouring to get all your resin, this is probably why its wavy.  I make a point to scrape my cup and stir utensil several times during the mixing process to get a good mix. 

The other thing that may be happening is if your resin is starting to cure, but you are still adding it to the mold.  It wont go flat, but instead stack in layers or waves.

Luckily, though, it sounds like your resin is curing appropriately.  As you found out, you can just sand the waves off.