[Katherine Swift]

This question comes through email by Jenn:

Hi!! I just poured some resin into the coaster mold this morning. I left it for a bit and when I checked on it – I found the resin to be pulling away from the mold and buckling! Eeeeekk! Can you help me with what I did wrong? If really appreciate any feedback. I’m going to try and attach a photo to try and show what I’m talking about. Thanks for any help!!

 

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Jenn, I have a few questions:

1. What kind/brand of resin are you using?
2. Did you use a mold release? If so, what kind/brand?
3. How much total resin did you mix at once?

[Jenn]

Hi! I used the resin and the mold release I bought along with the starter kit and I mixed 2oz of A and 1oz of B for a total of 3oz. The coaster hardened great though!

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Jenn,

My concern is whether or not the resin got mixed thoroughly. It could be two possibilities:

1. It looks like the resin may have over heated in that area and started to pull away from the edge. The three ounce limit is fine though, so I’m wondering it you had a ‘hot pocket’ of resin.

2. The other possibility is that it was resin that didn’t get mixed well (I’m sure you noticed it is much thicker than the hardener) and a big glob of unmixed resin happened to stay near the edge.

The good news is that the resin cured okay, so I’m thinking if you work on your mixing technique, the next pour will go much better.

Did you use a mold release? (I know there was one in the kit, but checking to see if you used it)

[Jenn]

I did use the mold release; and let it dry before I did anything else. When I started to stir the mixture; it was somewhat cloudy and as I kept mixing it became more clear. Is that normal?

Also, looking at the finished product again, the center of the coaster was slightly ‘bowed’ upwards. Could that be a mixing issue also?

[Katherine Swift]

HI Jen,

Yes, the resin will look ‘cloudy and swirly’ when you first start mixing it. As you found out, it will get more clear as you keep mixing.

The bowing in the center could possibly be related to mixing too. Did you scrape the sides of your cup and stir utensil several times during the process?

[Jenn]

Hi! Sorry took so long to answer; life got crazy. I scraped the stir utensil maybe once?..during the stirring process.

[Katherine Swift]

I like to scrape my cup and stir stix surface at least three times during the mixing process. I will stir for 20 to 30 seconds, then scrape. Repeat twice at least.

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