If you’re asking yourself how to make resin dry faster, you’re in the right place. I’m going to share those tips with you.
But…
It’s not without risk.
But with great risk comes great reward. (This guy said that in case you’re wondering.)
First, we need to have a beginner resin chemistry lesson.
WAIT! Don’t back out now. I promise I’ll make it short.
Two-part resin kits contain a bottle of resin and a bottle of hardener. They are sold together and designed to go with each other — like a lock and key.
Once you combine them, a chemical reaction occurs, causing the mixture to heat and solidify. Without heat production, the combination would never harden.
Likewise, if your resin casting area isn’t warm enough, the mixture won’t harden because it can’t stay warm enough. The surrounding environment has to support the reaction with warmth.
That means we can speed up resin curing by attacking one or both of those variables: the warmth of the reaction and your casting area temperature.
Warmth of resin reaction
1. Warm-up your clear casting resin bottles in a hot water bath for about five to ten minutes. By warming the bottles, you can jump-start the reaction with extra heat. This will make the resin dry faster.
⭐️ BONUS: If you want to see how to do this, check out the article what temperature should I mix resin.
2. Once you’ve used the resin, apply extra heat. You can do this with a heat gun or propane torch. But be careful. There can be ‘too much of a good thing.’ Applying too much heat in one area can make that spot cure quickly. Your resin can also crack. If you don’t believe me, see what happens when your resin overheats.
Casting area temperature
Resin likes a temperature in the low 70’s F or low 20’s C. So what are some ways you can raise the temperature?
1. Create a resin ‘hot box.’ Increasing the resin working area’s temperature can make resin dry faster. You can use a lamp with an incandescent bulb (do they even make those anymore?) over the resin. It produces enough heat to keep the air warm.
You can also add a heating pad to your resin hot box to create warmth.
⭐️ BONUS: Learn how to create a resin hot box in this article with cold weather resin tips
2. Cast your resin outside if the temperature is above the 70 to 75 F temperature range. The air temperature needs to stay above this temperature for the entire drying time.
3. Cure your resin in a warm oven. A 150F toaster oven is excellent for helping resin to cure faster.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Once you’ve used an oven for resin curing, don’t use it for food purposes again.
How should you NOT make resin dry faster?
❌ Don’t add more hardener than the resin kit directions say. This can reduce the pot time of your resin, and it may start to cure before you get it all poured.
❌ Don’t use a different hardener than the one that came with your kit. Hardener for jewelry resin is not the same as hardener for deep pour epoxy.
❌ Don’t mix more than the maximum of each component than what the directions say. Your resin and hardener will heat up too quickly and flash cure.
⭐️ BONUS: We’ve got all the maximum mixing amounts for the Resin Obsession epoxies in our resin buying guide.
❌ Don’t add anything extra like solvents to get your resin to dry faster. This can make your resin cure bendy.
Want to know a secret? Creating with resin is easier than it looks if you have the right help.
I’ve guided thousands of resin crafters worldwide, and I would love to help you too. I wrote the ebook Resin Fundamentals with the aspiring resin artist in mind. Learn from my fifteen years of resin artist experience. Once you follow these specifics, you won’t believe how easy crafting with resin can be. Buy the downloadable PDF book now, and you can read it in minutes.
Unpublished Blog Posts of Resin Obsession, LLC © 2023 Resin Obsession, LLC
I apply heat to my cast resin by setting up a small halogen goose-neck desk lamp 6-10 inches over the cast resin. The halogen light bulb gets very warm and cures my resin faster. (This would not work with an LED lamp-LED doesn’t get hot.)
That’s good to know Tera. I didn’t know halogen bulbs could get as warm as incandescent bulbs for this purpose.
Which helps out the electric bill, keeping your heater on or the mobile lighting? Also, how long does the temperature need to stay at 70 degrees? Throughout the entire cure of just the first few hours?
I like to keep it at 70F during the entire curing process.
I poured my resin with a 1:1 ratio as instructed this was my first time using paint and it’s been 3 days but my rein is still gooey. Please help
Hi Dave, this is so frustrating! This article details reasons why your resin isn’t curing: https://resinobsession.com/resin-frequently-asked-questions/resin-didnt-cure/
UV light for resin which one because Im confused I want to try both of them
Sometime ago I used a heat lamp to make it cure faster.
I would be more specific about adding extra hardener.
A little too much and the resin will not cure at all but just stay as a slushy mess.
It’s one of the two typical curing problems “my epoxy didn’t cure”
The other main problem for a failed cure is measuring correctly but not carefully scraping the sides bottoms and corners of the mixing container.
Improper mixing also means that resin to hardener ratios are a bit out in places.
For consistently good work measure ratios accurately.
Heating the components is a good idea of course.
The other things you speak to are more appropriate techniques for post cure heating to get the highest level of crosslinking in the resin system.
A typical epoxy system will reach 90% cure in 10,000 minutes at ambient temperatures. It will never fully cure or crosslink not matter what. But a post cure heat schedule will get the system to greater than 97%.
In your post, I think that you are actually speaking to either polyester or vinylester thermoset systems.
You admonish against using more curative to increase the heat. In general that is good advice, however it is easy to alter the thermodynamics of both the resin and the curative if you are speaking about polyester or vinylesters.
Of course the biggest real issue is not the heat of the cure alone, it is a function of the mass of epoxy being mixed. Not much MEKP, diethylene triamine, dimethylaniline, and cobalt napthenate and cobalt octoate, usually supplied as a 6% solution, will change the cure temperature a lot. Almost all suppliers can get you these products. Easy to use.
However, if you were to cure say 5 gallons of adhesive, using the same level of hardener, promoters and catalysist used in curing 5 ounces of resin, one might find themselves with a very nasty fire on their hands. The flames are pretty but the smoke is horrible. Avoid this!
Lots of other factors are in play depending upon the base resins used, desired outcomes, and many chemistry issues.
Post cure heats are the best way to get real cures. There is lots in the literature about post cure heat schedules. Well worth knowning about
Isn’t 10,000 minutes almost 7 days? for a 90% cure? what does crosslink mean? I really don’t understand your post. I’m sorry if I”m not getting this.
Nice
Thank you for this article. I’m hoping this will help fix the problem I’m having. I’m essentially trying to make bookmarks with a couple different colors. I pour the colors and swirl them together to make a design. But when I leave it to cure, the colors/designs pull away from the sides of the mold and the colors just blur leaving no trace of the design. It even does this after I pour it toward the end of the pot time. I hope this heat method will help. If you have any other suggestions, by all means!
Do I need to spray end product with polyurethane. My cups become cloudy after washing? 🙁
Hi Brenda, I don’t know that there is a polyurethane spray that is safe for food contact. What resin are you using?
Yes, there is a polyurethane that is food grade. I used it to make a drinking horn from a cow horn, back in my ren faire days.
My very first resin cured something like 80%(hard-type resin) and feels like a hard stale gummy candy. They were rings, and I can pinch them and they tend to start to bend. My question is, will chemical toxins leech? Two rings are for my small kids who have been waiting for 9 days now. I want to know if they are safe to wear. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Jeff
I’ve just made a resin paper weight with a live fuchsia flower head! It’s my first so will always treasure it, warts (bubbles) and all. It’s actually clear but because it takes usually 45 minutes to harden and to the core 24 hours, my flower head has changed colour from a strong pink to torquoise, otherwise it’s beautiful!
Does anyone know if a faster hardening time would keep the colour the same. It’s a crystal clear resin from Hobbycraft and the mixing is easy. I would send a picture but I don’t think I can. Am gonna try again and do post mixing heating methods as suggested. I’m now obsessed lol x
Hi Alexandra, your flower changed color because it’s fresh. I recommend drying and sealing them before including in resin. We have articles on how to do that here: https://resinobsession.com/tag/drying-flowers/
What about dehydrators? Normally they are set to 165 degrees F (not far off the oven you recommended), and I’ve used them successfully for years. Set a tile on top of a level dehydrator, then a tote over it with a space for excess heat to escape and fresh air to get in (I’ve always done this outside, even in the rain and it’s worked.) However I recently stopped when a friend told me it destroys the silicone mold. Is that true? Even if I let it set and cool down for many hours after? If you would suggest it, how long would you let it set in the dehydrator?
I recently swapped to a slower curing resin (Dr Crafty) than I’m used to (Famowood) and want to maybe speed it up a tiny bit as it takes the full 3 days to fully harden where I don’t have to worry about it moving on me (but it’s gorgeous so its worth the time). Thank you for your time.
Can I use a toaster over to post cure resin and what temps and times. do I put it in heat right after I pour the resin.
Hi Wayne, yes you can. Make sure it’s no warmer than 150F and don’t use it for food again.
Thank you for the quick reply on using a toaster oven, but how long do I leave it in the oven, and is there any mount of resin
ps. I’ll never use it for food
thank you
Hi Wayne, it depends on the cure time of your resin. Plan on 1 to 4 hours.
Katherine, so if you use a toaster oven will it ruin your silicone molds? I don’t want to mess those up. What do I need to know about how to make sure I don’t ruin my silicone molds if I put things in the toaster over. I have one that we never use anymore, so I could donate it to my cause. LOL
Hi Melanie, I’ve never had a problem with silicone molds provided the toaster oven doesn’t go over 150F.
Hi Tera,
Thankyou for the tip on halogen lamp to cure some sticky areas on a 6 inch round resin coaster, cd you pls mention for how long i need to wait , till it cures
i done farded on my epoxy to help it dry faster but got a little diarrhea in it. how to fix????
Drink plenty of fluids, including electrolytes. Abstain from beverages with caffeine and alcohol. Add semisolid and low-fiber foods slowly as your bowel movements return to the ‘drop the kids off at the pool’ stage. Try eating crackers, dry toast, hard-boiled eggs, white rice or boiled chicken.
That’s the pep talk I needed. Thanks Katherine!
You’re welcome, Blarvis. Feel better soon!
Epoxy resin cure tips: dehydrator? Or toaster oven? I make small pieces with no bezels or molds; and taped ceramic tiles topped with resin. One commenter says she put her tiles on TOP of a dehydrator… but why not inside?
Debating which to buy (toaster oven or dehydrator ) Any advice appreciated…
Just wondering, do UV lights help resins to cure?
Unfortunately Andrew, UV lights don’t help two-part resin cure.
Hi, I made a few alphabet key rings on Saturday 11th March (afternoon) they looked pretty awesome with glitter etc (for grandsons birthday loot bags) we are now on the 15th March and they are still soft and bendy 🙁 I mixed the hardener & epoxy as described, followed instructions as specified,, I placed them outside yesterday morning in the sunshine to hopefully cure, but this morning they were still soft but able to demould and keep their shape, should I leave them out in the sun? I still need to make 2 more letters (hopefully not to remake all of them) any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Leyla, I’m sorry to hear you’ve got soft resin. There are a few reasons for that. This article explains them: https://resinobsession.com/resin-frequently-asked-questions/why-is-my-resin-bendy/
Hi Katherine
I have been considering purchasing a resin heated drying mat from Let’s Resin but wanted to get your input on whether or not it would be worth
the expense. I am a newbie to resin and don’t have a lot of experience or room to leave my castings for days. Any help would be so appreciated.
Thank you
Hi Teresa, I’m afraid we don’t sell their products. But you can buy a Resin Obsession drying mat here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/products/resin-obsession-drying-mat-for-resin-non-stick
Would putting the mold on top of a heated blanket/pad work as well?
Yes, you can see how to do that here: https://resinobsession.com/resin-resin-resin/resin-casting-in-cold-weather/