[Jess]

Hi there,

I’m hoping someone might be able to help me. I have just finished off some resin portholes and after adding a clear top coat of epoxycast clear casting resin, and curing time, “crocodile scales” appear all over the top. I feel I’m mixing the resin well, using a torch to get rid of air bubbles, rooms temp is not too cool, and the surface is level. I’m at my wits end as to what to do?

My tinted and coloured resin is fine, it’s just this top coat which is perfect and glassy – just with these smooth lines all through it?
[IMG]http://i67.tinypic.com/27zmc6a.jpg[/IMG]

[Katherine Swift]

I have not used this product, but here is my interpretation of what is going on.

‘Scales’ usually occur when the resin moves after it has started to cure or you are using a resin that is not self-leveling. With a quick search, assuming I looked at the right product, the resin you are using is designed for artwork purposes, so I would expect it to self-level as well. How long after you pour are you working with the resin?

[Jess]

Mixing and then pouring straight away.

Yeah it self levels perfectly. The initial first clear coat, I left over night to cure and suspected that the room temp might have dropped to being too cool then I’ve poured this second coat a week later to correct the first and it was left in a warm sunny room to cure but it happened again, not as bad but still not pretty. Could I be overheating it with the blowtorch?

[Katherine Swift]

Overheating? Possibly. If you are keeping the torch on it, then yes, it will heat the resin up enough that it will start to cure. If you are going over it quickly, that shouldn’t be the problem.

Have you tried a heat gun instead?
Have you asked the manufacturer for help?

[Serene A]

Hi Jess, did you ever find a solution to this? I am having the same problem. I mix a half cup of resin with a half cup of hardener, I mix for a few minutes then I pour it in. I attached a link to some pictures of what’s happening to my work and the brand of resin I use. This happens after a few weeks! Not right away. It’s very tedious.. someone help me! https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4imzvtxsu4ghkrc/AADWM8XPofvSZzRtb0WJnYw9a?dl=0

^^ this is the link to the pictures so you could see what’s happening to mine.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Serene, it looks like you are casting into glass? If so, that may be why things are cracking. Resin and glass don’t ‘move’ with each other. As the glass expands with heat, the resin doesn’t want to move with it and will crack.

[Author]

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