[Katherine Swift]

This comes through email by C:

I had wanted to preserve a special sand dollar and thought I would do so with resin. I used "Amazing Clear Cast" resin and put it into a 3.75inch glass cube with the sand dollar. The result is a lot of cracks, bubbles, pulling away from the glass, and Im not sure that the yellow-tinge will go away so that it cures clear. Id like to salvage the sand dollar and still preserve it somehow if at all possible. Do you have any suggestions or would I be able to send this item to you to have it salvaged? Im looking for someone to assist me as Im not confident in my ability to fix the issue myself. Id rather have someone who knows what theyre doing handle it.

Thank you for any advice, assistance, or referrals you may be able to make.

[Katherine Swift]

Unfortunately, I dont know that you have many options.

If your resin hasnt cured, you can try to peel or scoop the sand dollar out of the resin.  You can then try to rub it down with industrial strength acetone (wear gloves while doing this) to get the resin to rub off.

If the resin has fully cured, I would suggest smashing off the glass (wear safety goggles).  Then, saw the sand dollar out of the resin.  You will need to sand off the extra resin as close as you can to the sand dollar without disturbing it.  Finish with a 1000 grit or higher sandpaper to make sure your sanding marks dont show.  You can then cast your sand dollar into another epoxy casting (the resin you used the first time is an epoxy).

The tough part is knowing that sand dollars are delicate.  It may be quite tedious to do this project without breaking it.

Good luck!

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