Unfortunately, resin kits don’t always stay clear. Sometimes, you go to use your clear resin only to find it’s turning yellow.
Ugh.
What’s. Going. On??!
It’s completely normal for a two-part resin kit to yellow, and should be expected.
All resin kits will yellow eventually. The tough part is knowing exactly when that will happen. The hardener will yellow first. While the resin part may yellow, the hardener yellows quicker.
Resin kit components turn yellow for two reasons:
Reason 1: The kit is old.
You should use epoxy resin kits produced within one year of manufacture. Only buy enough resin you can use within six months, knowing that you can go a little longer if necessary. Like whoever throws out extra resin??
Reason 2: The kit is oxidizing.
Open bottles allow the exposure of the clear resin liquid to oxygen in the air, turning them yellow. After opening a resin kit, you should use it up as quickly as possible, preferably within thirty days.
By the way, I’m over the top fussy about rotating our stock of epoxy resins. Know that if you buy resin from us, you will get the freshest, clearest quality resin anywhere.
So what should you do if your clear resin is turning yellow?
If you’ve stored your resin properly, it should cure.
Use it for your resin projects where you’re adding resin colors. Here are the results of using yellow resin in a casting project.
If you decide you don’t want to use it, you must not really have a resin obsession. Okay, just kidding. (We’re a thrifty bunch too.) Instead, dispose of your resin appropriately.
Moving forward, buy smaller clear resin kits that you can use within 30 to 60 days of opening.
For example, don’t buy a gallon kit of resin that will take you six months or more to use. Instead, buy four sixteen-ounce kits of resin. Then, use a kit completely before opening a new kit.
Frustrated that your resin projects aren’t turning out like the picture in your head?
I get it. Spending your time and energy making something you wouldn’t show anyone is so disheartening. It’s why I wrote the ebook Resin Fundamentals. I’ve condensed my 17 years of resin experience into a PDF book that will take you from confused to confident with resin in an afternoon. Buy now, and a download link arrives in your email in minutes.
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I made a white cup for my husband this past summer and now it is ugly and yellowing. How can I make sure white cups don’t turn ugly yellow?
Hi Sylvia, unfortunately, all resins are going to yellow over time. Resins with UV inhibitors and stabilizers help extend the time before yellowing occurs. However, things such as mixing off ratio (even though it still can cure without tackiness), putting over an improperly cured lacquer, excessive heat, and or constant exposure to sunlight can speed up the yellowing process. How long the epoxy will last in its clear state is very difficult to predict.
Why is the uv resin sticky on my jewelry pieces even after curing 24 hrs.? Would a U.V. lamp help in this problem?
Jan, in my opinion, it’s because it is not cured all the way. I also use UV machine and if I take piece out too soon, it will have stickiness, but after curing longer, it’s nice and hard. Hope this helps.
Yes, thank you but the ones I took out already I used clear nail polish on them and it solved the stickiness problem, have you tried this?
No, I put it back in to cure if it’s UV, if not let 24 hours cure, Clear nail polish will yellow over time.
Won’t use clear polish-found that tarnish forms under polish.
Thanks for your response, so what do you use for stickiness?
I want to make a table but I am scared of changing resin color what resin should I use for my table project
Hi Uzma, are you looking to coat a table with resin or make the resin and wood come together?
I make about 500 resin based pendants a month using non UV resin. 1. If you are placing resin over a painted surface make sure the acrylic paint used has dried-water, moisture and resin don’t get along! At 12 hours after resin coat, my items are only slightly sticky and at 24 wearable and at 48 solid 2. Measuring-I use 2 5 cc syringes which allows for accurate measurements. 3. Curing occurs in a room that is 74-78F. 4. Resin stored at the same temperature in tightly closed bottles in a dark area.
Why is my UV resin lifting from my stones after curing to hard & clear
Just out of curiosity, if I use a hand-pump screwed into the top of the resin and hardener jugs, does that cut down on the exposure to air (and subsequent yellowing) after opening the resin and hardener bottles the first time? It seems like it should, but maybe it doesn’t really help much?
Hi Cindy, while these pumps are great for working with large bottles of resin and hardener, they don’t do anything to reduce the amount of air in the bottle.
After opening, squeeze the excess air out of the bottle then screw lid on firmly preventing the air from returning. This will help.
Hi Billy, I can certainly see where this would be helpful when the bottles are full or almost full. Thanks for sharing your insight!
Seems like it would be more efficient and less costly if they packaged these in air tight flexible packaging that can be squeezed out and have a valve that doesn’t allow the air to flow back in. Just a thought.
Hi Susan, wouldn’t that be nice? Resin packaging has to be able to safely ship via courier in addition to meeting safety regulations. Unfortunately, flexible packaging doesn’t do well in those circumstances.
well I guess you could dispense it into a flexible container which can be squeezed?
Hi Jane, that’s a great idea! I have seen other people do that as well.
I use a 1:1 epoxy clear resin…I purchased some of your UV resin for a project I needed to dry quick. My question is m; acrylic paint works great as pigment for that resin can I use in your resin too? Or will it inhibit curing?
Hi Dhyana, I’m not sure I understand your question. Are you asking about using acrylic paint to color UV resin? If so, I don’t have any experience in that situation.
Katherine, it’s so nice that you have this Q&A and that you take the time to answer these questions. It is so helpful!
You are welcome Denice. It means a lot that I can help. 🙂
I was wondering what your thought were on bloxygen? It’s used on opened bottles of resin.
I’m afraid I don’t have any experience with that.
Hi, I read that we cannot laser cut epoxy resin, does this also apply to other resin types?
Someone suggested using Lycal Resin 1011 but cannot find any datasheet about it