[Sydney]

I have been trying to perfect making glitter stainless steel tumblers. I place a decal on the tumbler, spray paint a color on it, spray glitter spray paint, top it with a clear spray paint/sealer, and then I remove the decal (once it has completely dried). I then cover it in FDA approved epoxy resin to give it that glossy finish and protect the color and glitter. (I used a glitter sealer before the epoxy to try and eliminate the glitter getting on the design.) I follow the mixing directions and use a slow rotating tumbler stand (cuptisserie) to ensure even drying. However, I continue to get that ‘fish eye’ effect?! Is the epoxy resin not reacting to the chemicals in something I am using?

Here is a list of the products I use:
Krylon Spray Paint- http://www.krylon.com/products/colormaster-paint-primer-25-more/
Rust-Oleum Glitter Spray Paint- http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/specialty/glitter
Rust-Oleum Glitter Sealer- http://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/specialty/glitter
Alumilite Amazing Clear Cast 2 Part Epoxy

Please help me resolve this issue before I go insane!

[Katherine Swift]

Can you link to a picture of the ‘fish eye’ I can see? I want to be sure I completely understand what’s going on.

[Sydney]

I forgot to take a picture of my tumbler before I sanded it but this link shows a picture of the “fish eye” look that appears on my tumblers http://www.epoxyproducts.com/fisheye.html
You have to scroll down a little but it shows an example on this on a wooden piece.

[Katherine Swift]

Got it! (The picture is very helpful)

It has been my experience this happens when you use a resin that doesn’t have enough surface tension to stay in a thick layer. You are using the Amazing clear cast, which is a thick doming resin, so by itself, fish eyes shouldn’t be a problem. Here are a few other thoughts:

How slow is the tumbler rotating? Maybe it’s going slow enough to allow the resin to completely pull away from the surface. I don’t have a machine to do this for me, but when I do it by hand, I turn my tumbler 180 degrees every 5 minutes for the first hour and a half.

The second possibility is that there is something in the sprays you use that is ‘thinning’ the resin. Alcohols are great for doing this. Perhaps your paints aren’t fully cured before applying the resin. That alcohol in turn is leaching through to the resin and causing it to thin out. It’s simply a guess here since I haven’t tried this myself.

Does everything even out with a second layer of resin?

[Sydney]

I think I fixed my problem! I changed my top coat to Krylon Triple Glaze Clear Coat and let it dry for about 24 hours before applying the resin and I didn’t get a single “fish eye”! I still need to apply a second layer to cover some rough spots from the glitter, would you recommend sanding before I do that?

[Katherine Swift]

If it were me, I would try it without sanding first. I think the second coat will be thick enough to cover the glitter. Plus, I hate sanding! LOL

[Sydney]

Haha I totally agree about the sanding! I am about to do a second coat without sanding and if there are any problems, I will post them on here as feedback. Thank you so much for your input!

[Kathy Howington]

Hello I am responding to the question about fish eye I use the same Allumilite easy cast resin and never have I ever experienced fish eye before but the last 3 cups ( Tumblers) I have done has had BAD fish eye. I have been doing Tumblers 18 months . But there was the mention of using Krylon Triple Glaze Clear is that a spray or do you use a brush ? And do you still use resin as well? Thanks so much !

[Wendy]

What about hydrodipped tumblers? I dipped them and still got fisheyes when I put the resin on. You think it’s because the paint had not fully cured yet?

[Mandy Watson]

So do you guys spray a clear coat, mod podge (or adhesive of choice), glitter, second coat of adhesive and glitter, then epoxy? I’m still getting fishe eye almost every single cup:(

[Conni]

Use a heat gun. It gets out bubbles and fish eyes.. I use a heat gun right after I am done applying the epoxy and then I check my cups a couple hours later and if I see any bubbles I hit them with the heat gun again.

[Stephen]

For you guys/gals using spray paints “rattle cans”,
Trust me if you can still smell chemical smells on the piece you’re painting, it’s NOT fully cured..!!!
Rattle cans are thinned so much to be able to spray out of a metal can by pressure. The paint will dry on top fooling you into thinking it’s dry, ( that’s why most cans say “Dry to touch in so many minutes”) while in fact the paint is still leaching fumes and stuff from the thinners and will continue to do so for a long time… always go by the recommended drying times and then add another day..!!! I know it’s adding time to your project but I’d rather be safe than sorry….
With that being said I’m still having fish eyes on the few cups I do. I wait until the resin starts to thicken then rub my finger or brush over it again covering the parts completely again. Usually that fixes the problems but not always… it’s very frustrating having to babysit something when you could be working on something else….

[Candice Renee Blevins]

After u do 1st coat of epoxy n apply decal, such as waterslide or photo can u seal it with spray again n let dry before applying send coat of epoxy?

[Katherine Swift]

Why do you want to seal it with spray before applying another coat of resin?

[Candice Renee Blevins]

I spray all my decals before applying them but some colors still tend to run or bleed thru once I epoxy. I have heard you can spray seal them lightly once on tumbler to help with that and just kind of want verification. Thought maybe after I applied it and it dries that if I spray clear coat sealer on it that it would not bleed but I dont know how it will interact with the epoxy…

[Katherine Swift]

If you want to give this a try, this is the spray sealer I recommend:
https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/tools-and-supplies/products/castin-craft-gloss-resin-sealer-spray

[Donna Howle]

Stephen… quote: “With that being said I’m still having fish eyes on the few cups I do. I wait until the resin starts to thicken then rub my finger or brush over it again covering the parts completely again. Usually that fixes the problems but not always… it’s very frustrating having to babysit something when you could be working on something else….”

Thanks for the tip… how do you know when the resin starts to thicken? less than 30 mins? Your solution may fix my problem area…

[Tammy]

I am making coaster with tile and paint, and tile with pictures. I keep getting fish eyes. I have sanded it, poured resin 4 times and still getting them. Please advise.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Tammy,

I’m sorry this is happening to you. This article will help: https://resinobsession.com/resin-frequently-asked-questions/fix-holes-and-dents-in-resin/

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