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Hello!
I need some help with a few things…
The biggest thing I need help with is getting my resin pieces to be as opaque as possible. The resin I’m using is Easy Cast. I was watching a bunch of YouTube videos. People mainly mixed acrylic paint in with the resin and hardener, in order to color it. And the pieces all looked really pretty. I tried using this method. I was using the Craft Smart acrylic paint. I didn’t want to put too much acrylic paint into the mixture, since I was afraid of it not curing properly. I put 6 drops of paint into the resin mixture. It cured properly, but the pieces were completely translucent. In fact, it was pretty much clear with SPECKLES of paint color throughout. And that’s NOT what I want. I want the pieces to be completely opaque, all throughout. I was kind of disappointed that these people used LESS acrylic paint than I did, and their pieces were opaque. Whereas I used a little more and my pieces were completely translucent. I mixed everything thoroughly, but the paint just didn’t seem to dissolve properly into the resin mixture. And some of those people were also using Easy Cast resin, so I don’t think it had anything to do with the resin.
I know people suggest using Castin’ Craft opaque pigment. And other people have suggested using Alumilite Dye. But both of those cost a lot of money. I need numerous colors, for my projects, and I can’t afford to pay $6 or more for a bottle of one color.
People have also mentioned using oil paints. One girl said that she was able to use quite a bit of oil paint, without it effecting the curing process of her pieces. But oil paints are pretty expensive.
People also say that they’ve had luck with using powders, too. But the powders they mention are also pretty expensive.
That being said, I did stumble across one YouTube video. The lady in the video said that she was mixing “Tempera dry powder” in with the resin, to color it. And that’s within my budget. But I was just wondering if you’ve had experience using Tempera dry powder? Does it work? I can’t find anyone else that has used this method, so I can’t ask them. But it seemed to look okay, from the video. She used some sort of gray color, and it looked pretty opaque. But my concern is… Other people used acrylic paint, but mine didn’t seem to dissolve or color the same way. And I don’t want to spend more money on a powder that might not work for me.
Do you have any suggestions? Any cheap alternatives that will definitely work? I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. I’m mixing everything properly. I just need something as opaque as possible, and not translucent.
Please, please, please help me!
Thank you for your time,
Stephanie -
Hi Stephanie,
I understand your desire to keep your resin costs down. It can get expensive to load up on a bunch of colors, especially if you think you might only use a little. The advantage to using name brand colors designed for resin is just that — they are designed for resin. They have been tested and you can expect consistent results.
Like you, I have seen acrylic paints work well and other times not so much. If you want to try acrylic paints, I would suggest trying a different brand. Unfortunately, I don’t have any personal experience with a brand recommendation, but a guest blogger did a tutorial for us shown here: https://www.resinobsession.com/resin-tutorials/neon-leaves-resin-tutorial I don’t think oil paints generally work well in resin. There tends to be blemishes that show up later.
As for the tempera powder, you are going to have to try on that as well. Personally, I think powders can be sometimes difficult to use in resin as I tend to get lumps (think gravy). The technique in this video helps me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbN4YTIFkgA
The way I see it, it comes down to whether or not you want to spend more money on something you can rest assured will work (colors designed for resin) or spend your time experimenting with non-traditional colors. Both are certainly appropriate and could be a lot of fun for you.
P.S. If you are looking for other resin color options, we have some here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/colorants
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Katherine,
Thank you for getting back to me so quickly!
I really don’t want to take the chance of “trial and error”, considering how much resin I’ve already ruined. And resin is pretty expensive. So I think I WILL break down and get the Castin’ Craft opaque pigments. It’ll take some time, though, since I currently don’t have much of a budget to work with. So a couple weeks from now, perhaps. But at least I know it’ll work. Especially since Easy Cast and Castin’ Craft are by the same brand. But I’d rather spend money on something that I know will work, compared to something that may or may not work.
I did have one more question, though. Does Easy Cast epoxy resin stick to silicone? I just bought a silicone heart mold, today, for $6. And I just want to know if the epoxy resin will stick to the silicone or not.
I also bought your extra large, slightly puffy heart mold, on Etsy, too. I’ve already received that. I look forward to using it! I already know exactly what I want to do with it! I just hope everything goes well. I can’t use it until I buy the opaque pigments and receive my beads, but then I’m going to have fun with it! 🙂
Thank you again!
– Stephanie
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Hi Stephanie,
When using epoxy resin in a silicone mold, if all goes well, it should demold fine. I still recommend using a mold release though as it will prevent microtears that break down the mold and shorten its useful life. The mold release is also helpful if things don’t go well, it will make it easier to demold a mess.
Can’t wait to see what you make with your new heart mold!
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I have used colour powder pigments. I use a small tea strainer and it take the lumps out. Be sure you only add a little resin to the powder to mix.
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