[Aimee]

Hi, I’m new to this resin thing but have been trying to make a seashell, crushed shell sand and seaweed bracelet by trial and (mainly) error. I washed all the inclusions thoroughly and dried for a week or so before starting. In my first attempt I placed the inclusions and poured hoping for the best. The resin went off too quickly (Alumilite clear) so it got a bit messy. Aside from that tiny air bubbles appeared clumped all round the seaweed inclusions I have now sealed these and the shells. I was disappointed so thought I would try casting in layers. So I just tried to cast the crushed shell by itself and the outer edge looked fine but again, tiny air bubbles closer to the surface of the pour. I thought maybe the crushed shell was reacting with the resin so I painstakingly coated it with Mod Podge and tried again last night. This morning is the worst one yet, there are so many air bubbles the whole thing almost looks opaque. When I pour there doesn’t appear to be any bubbles and I pour it very slowly and check for visible bubbles before leaving it to cure. It is curing hard. The only thing I can think is that I didn’t mix it long enough but the pot time on the resin is 7 minutes so I am very conscious of this. Can you offer any advice?

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Aimee,

So sorry to hear you are having trouble. How frustrating! You can try coating your items in your cup of resin before putting them into your mold/bezel. That will break the surface tension and hopefully make it less likely you get bubbles. You can also try letting these items cure on wax paper after dipping them in the resin. (Once they have cured, you can peel them off the resin.) That will also seal any air in or out. I wonder if the nooks and crannies of the shells are trapping air bubbles that are coming out at the worst possible time.

[Katherine Swift]

This article also gives tips for getting rid of resin bubbles: https://resinobsession.com/resin-frequently-asked-questions/resin-bubbles/

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