[Katherine Swift]

Hi Mandi!

What a neat project!  Here are a couple of my thoughts:

First, to keep the resin from going off the edge, you will need to go around the edge with painters tape or masking tape.  Make sure it is securely attached the table.  This will give your resin something to stick to while curing.  Once the resin is cured, you will be able to pull away the tape.  Something to be aware of, if you do this method, your resin that was in contact with the tape will be cured, but will have a sandpaper appearance.  You will either need to go over it with a resin gloss sealer spray or brush on another thin layer of resin.

As for the choice of resins, it’s a bit tricky here.  If your project is going to stay indoors, use the Alumilite Amazing Clear cast epoxy. You can find it in several sizes in our store here:

https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/resin/alumilite

While you could use it for an outdoor table, all resins will yellow with time. It happens faster, though, with constant UV light exposure.

[Katherine Swift]

Nicole,

My first choice for liquid resin colorants are to use those specifically designed for resin.  Resin hates moisture, so I try to make sure to use those that should get along with the resin.

We have colorants designed for resin in our store here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/colorants

If you want to try other things to color your resin, try to use as little as possible so as not to impact the resin curing.

[Katherine Swift]

Mandi,

Would these happen to be thin epoxy resin castings?  Epoxy is not a hard curing resin (compared to some others), so I would expect that if they were thin, once you added some heat (from your hand or the friction of sanding) they would start to bend. I have also seen this happen with resin charms made with EasyCast resin.

[Katherine Swift]

George,

What a neat project!  Heres a couple of my thoughts about doing this:Is this the entire snake (versus just the skin)?  Im concerned that the snake organs will be wet enough that it may inhibit resin curing.  I don’t know anything about how to dehydrate a snake, but that would be my next step.  If this snake is something special to your friend, you may even want to consider having the snake taxidermied before embedding in the resin. 

Otherwise, if this is just for fun, I might try dehydrating it in alcohol first, then allowing it to thoroughly dry (several days to a week) before embedding in the resin.  Seal the snake with the resin gloss sealer spray before placing in the resin. You can find the spray here:

https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/tools-and-supplies/products/castin-craft-gloss-resin-sealer-spray

Be sure to use a casting resin for this. We have some in our store here:

https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/resin/casting

[Katherine Swift]

Belinda,

Based upon what youre telling me, I wonder if you warmed it up too much.  The first thing I think of when someone mentions that their resin started setting up very quickly is that it was very warm to begin with.  Warming speeds up the curing time?

Can you pour another layer over the top of your bezels?

[Katherine Swift]

Michael,

Any clear epoxy resin should be able to work with this project.  As how much resin to how much sand, I would expect it would depend on how coarse the sand is.  I would suggest doing a couple of practice pieces first.

Here’s a couple of articles showing how to use sand and resin:

https://resinobsession.com/resin-tutorials/seashell-resin-jewelry-and-magnets/
https://resinobsession.com/resin-tutorials/beach-crafts/

Make sure your sand is very dry.  (Let it dry in a warm oven for an hour or so.)  Any moisture will keep your resin from curing.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Kaye,

Great questions!  I will answer them one at a time:

I feel that since coating them in polyurethane varnish they dont feel sticky to touch, just sticky when removed from a surface.  Can this happen from polyurethane varnish?  Should I not use it to coat polyester resin?

I have never used polyurethane to coat polyester resin.  Mostly because polyurethane hates moisture, which we have plenty of in Florida.  I have always used an acrylic spray to coat my polyester castings if they were tacky.

Which is the clearest?

Polyester, polyurethane and epoxy can all come in clear formulas.

Which result lasts the longest (i.e. doesnt go yellowy)?

A clear when cast (no yellow) epoxy resin or polyurethane will stay clear the longest.  Polyester and some epoxies will eventually turn yellow, especially with repeated sun exposure.

How long they take to cure?

Every resin is different, but most all resins cure to be able to demold within 24 hours or less.  Some require a couple of extra days for a complete cure (to make sure you dont scratch it with a fingernail or something similar).

Which may still be tacky?

When casting with polyester, the surface exposed to air will cure tacky.  As you found out, you can sand this off or spray with a sealer.  I have seen others talk about covering the castings (so that it actually touches the resin) with papers, plastics, etc., but have not experimented with that myself.  If you mix epoxies and polyurethanes correctly, they should not be tacky after curing.

What coating should you use to finish if any?

I like our resin surface spray.  Its an acrylic spray that can seal a project or give it a final gloss.  This is optional if your project cured correctly.

Should a curing spray always be used?

Are you talking about applying something while the resin is curing?  I dont have experience with those except that I know while it can encourage curing (and no stickiness) it can make the surface cloudy.

What are your views on polyester resin?

I love that polyester cures hard enough that I can polish it with my buffing wheel and appropriate compound to get that super glossy finish without needing to coat it again.  I really dont like that I have to wear a respirator with it, which applies more to having to get things done in my studio.  (When I pour polyester, I close things up for at least 12 hours, which can be a scheduling nightmare.  For those that have never worked with it — the fumes are horrible.)  It can also cure brittle, which means it may break if dropped on a hard surface.

I initially started with polyester resin, I bought lots of pigments for polyester resin and wondered if they could be used to colour other type of resin, or if they can only be used with polyester resin?

I would think they would be okay, but try a few test pieces first.

I hope this helps!

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Kaye,Great questions!  I will answer them one at a time:

I feel that since coating them in polyurethane varnish they dont feel sticky to touch, just sticky when removed from a surface.  Can this happen from polyurethane varnish?  Should I not use it to coat polyester resin?

I have never used polyurethane to coat polyester resin.  Mostly because polyurethane hates moisture, which we have plenty of in Florida.  I have always used the resin gloss sealer spray to coat my polyester castings if they were tacky. You can find it in our store here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/tools-and-supplies/products/castin-craft-gloss-resin-sealer-spray

Which is the clearest?

Polyester, polyurethane and epoxy can all come in clear formulas.

Which result lasts the longest (i.e. doesnt go yellowy)?

A clear when cast (no yellow) epoxy resin or polyurethane will stay clear the longest, however you should know that all resins yellow with time.

How long they take to cure?

Every resin is different, but most all resins cure to be able to demold within 24 hours or less.  Some require a couple of extra days for a complete cure (to make sure you dont scratch it with a fingernail or something similar).

Which may still be tacky?

When casting with polyester, the surface exposed to air will cure tacky.  As you found out, you can sand this off or spray with a sealer.  I have seen others talk about covering the castings (so that it actually touches the resin) with papers, plastics, etc., but have not experimented with that myself.  If you mix epoxies and polyurethanes correctly, they should not be tacky after curing.

What coating should you use to finish if any?

I like our resin surface spray.  You can find it in our store here:
https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/tools-and-supplies/products/castin-craft-gloss-resin-sealer-spray

Should a curing spray always be used?

Are you talking about applying something while the resin is curing?  I don’t have experience with those except that I know while it can encourage curing (and no stickiness) it can make the surface cloudy.

What are your views on polyester resin?

I love that polyester cures hard enough that I can polish it with my buffing wheel and appropriate compound to get that super glossy finish without needing to coat it again.  I really don’t like that I have to wear a respirator with it, which applies more to having to get things done in my studio.  (When I pour polyester, I close things up for at least 12 hours, which can be a scheduling nightmare.  For those that have never worked with it — the fumes are horrible.)  It can also cure brittle, which means it may break if dropped on a hard surface.

I initially started with polyester resin, I bought lots of pigments for polyester resin and wondered if they could be used to colour other type of resin, or if they can only be used with polyester resin?

I would think they would be okay, but try a few test pieces first.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Kaye,

Here are my answers:

Are you able to tell me which is the most cost effective and which I should use for bezels and shallow castings?  

I recommend an epoxy resin.  While not as hard as polyester or polyurethane, the bezel will protect the resin.  Epoxy resin is also easier to use versus the other two. We have several epoxy resins in our store here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/resin/epoxy

Is there a difference between ice resin and epoxy resin?  No, ice resin is an epoxy resin. 

Is polyester resin the least popular for jewellery making and if so, is this due to it being more toxic, or just that they others are easier to use and more reliable?

I would say it is because polyester resin is meant to go in molds and not bezels. It is a casting resin and doesn’t dome. The surface exposed to air remains tacky, even after fully curing. I talk more about polyester resin in this article: https://resinobsession.com/resin-resin-resin/polyester-casting-resin

Would I just be better off with a different type of resin?  Are other resins more reliable (for beginners anyway)?

Yes, I always recommend epoxy resins for beginners.  Easiest to use.

Im hoping to order some items from you soon, but had noticed that there may be extra charges when delivered.  Is this usual or something that doesn’t happen very often?

Duty charges may be incurred when purchasing items from Resin Obsession and them being delivered to a different country.  I don’t know exactly how much they are, but I know it varies between countries.

[christy]

i glossed the resin, but now that you said that, i wonder if that would work.

i found a product called oomoo 25 a silicone rubber two part liquid 1:1 ratio.

it copies exact and things come out shiny too.

I am having issues on curing also, the top shiny part of the cast is sticky.
sometimes just a little and dries in a day or two, other times it doesnt dry at all.  put on a gloss coat of sculpey and that works to end tackiness, but sometimes i want it to be less glossy as in cameos.

going to try another brand and see if it works better.

i bought a few molds from mold muse on etsy and these are pink in color where mine were blue, her molds dont have this issue, i asked her what she uses and all she would tell me was that it was a 10:1 ratio product.

i dont mind buying her molds, but i want to cast my custom pieces, so i need to make my own.

[Katherine Swift]

Katie,

While you may not have seen the bubbles after you poured your resin, they were there while it is curing.  Unless you’re creating extreme heat to sand your pieces (an industrial belt sander or something similar), they were there all along.

I have also had this happen with some of my castings.  I don’t know the exact physics of this, but there is enough surface tension (or something like it) to get the bubbles to cling to the edge of your casting rather than rising to the top.  (see how all your bubbles are along the edge?)

The best way to fix this in the future is to make sure you mix your resin in such a way as to get as few as bubbles as possible in your casting. 

Since your resin is colored, it may be difficult to see the bubbles.  I like to use a very bright LED nightlight to shine like a spotlight over my castings after I have poured.  It has helped me a lot to find bubbles that I didn’t see before. 

As for saving the project you have here, you have two options:

1.  Continue to sand until all the bubbles are gone.
2.  Try to repour resin into the holes the bubbles have created.  This way is a bit more tricky as it is almost impossible (for me anyway) to recreate the same color in resin from one batch to the next.  Your project appears to be dark, so just dabbing in a bit of clear may work just fine for you.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Kevin,

I wouldn’t expect this to work very well. I don’t know that it will take the heat of curing resin, plus, I would expect it to release a lot of bubbles into your resin casting.

We have mold making supplies in our store here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/mold-making-materials

[Katherine Swift]

Heres a few of my random thoughts about things to try differently:

Sometimes if there is sulfur in the original model for the silicone, it can cause problems with curing (even if the silicone looks cured).

Are you sure the molds are silicone? I haven’t had a problem with silicone molds sticking to resin, but polyurethane molds, yes.

Here are two mold release we sell in our store. Both work very well for silicone molds:

https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/tools-and-supplies/products/petrolease-non-silicone-food-grade-mold-release

https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/tools-and-supplies/products/ultra-4-polyester-parfilm-paintable-mold-release-12-oz

Are your molds old? Unfortunately, they don’t last forever. It may be that they are starting to breakdown.