Resin Experiments Follow-Up

My little jar had tiny air bubbles throughout. They aren't hideous - they actually look like little sparkles. You have to look for them, but they're there. So I thought next time I try that, I'd use an actual casting resin, rather than a doming resin. I'm still experimenting and looking for the perfect casting resin for that type of project.

Meanwhile,  I got some AMAZING Two-part Epoxy Resin in the 8 ounce kit.

AMAZING 2-Part Epoxy Casting Resin, 8-oz. kit

This two-part clear coating and casting resin is easy to use.

It's great for small items and pieces less than 3/8" thick and excellent for doming bezels or polymer clay pendants and medallions. However, it’s just thick enough that if you use this for cast items thicker or deeper than the recommended 3/8 inch, you are likely to notice tiny air bubbles in your finished product.

You use it like this:

Combine equal parts of Part A and Part B, as measured out in your mixing cups. I find it helpful to mark the increments I want to pour to with a magic marker, like so: (whoops, I forgot to get that picture! Will edit and add that photo tomorrow when the light is better!)

Stir slowly and gently for 2 to 3 minutes, so as to avoid introducing too many air bubbles into your resin. A popsicle stick is perfect for this. I recommend you use the plain wooden popsicle sticks and not the brightly colored dyed ones unless you're okay with some of that color transferring into your resin. 

Plain wooden popsicle sticks

Once combined, you have up to 30 minutes working time, so allow the mixed resin to rest 5 to 10 minutes in order to release air bubbles before pouring onto your piece or into your mold. 

Once you’ve poured your resin, watch for air bubbles to emerge on the surface of your resin. When those appear (and they will!) there are a few ways to deal with them:

1. You can blow on them gently with your mouth. I've heard it’s the carbon dioxide in your breath that pops the bubbles.
2. You can blow on them gently with a drinking straw. This concentrates the breath (and CO2), and is a little more effective than simply blowing on them.  
3. You can use a flame, like from a long-neck lighter or a cooking torch, to EVER SO LIGHTLY AND QUICKLY brush the tip of the flame across the resin surface. There's a link to a video below that shows this technique. You'll want to see how it's done before attempting this method, as it is easy to get carried away with the flame and cause a fire hazard.

Pieces can generally be de-molded in 18 to 24 hours, but will still be what I call "tender" - they may feel firm, but you can accidentally imprint or damage the surface of the resin even though it seems hard - so allow the finished piece to cure a good 48 hours before any sanding, polishing, drilling, or other rough handling.

Use a release agent when using a non-silicone mold for resin casting.

This kit includes a couple of measured mixing cups.

I'll report on my results with this product in my next post.

How to Mix AMAZING 2-Part Epoxy Resin Video		Drinking Straws
Popping Air Bubbles with a flame		Long-neck lighter
Mold Release Spray for non-Silicone Molds		Cooking Torch
Silicone Pendant Mold for Jewelrymaking		Fuel for lighter or Kitchen Torch

Silicone Coaster Mold

Ice Resin Experiment

Here's what I did today

The last time I did a resin project, I was using a workspace out in the garage. It's a perfectly nice workspace, but apparently it had been longer than I realized since I'd been out there. 

A couple of reasons for that - one, I've been negotiating with my hip for comfort and mobility. Unfortunately, it's been a rather demanding and hard-to-please hip. And while my garage space is a very nice creative space, it isn't quite the friendliest place for a sore and difficult hip to hang out. Secondly, Mother Nature got mixed up and sent us Tuscon's summer this year (we're in Fort Worth). So many days over 100, days in the one hundred teens - It was pretty rugged. I'm certainly grateful for air conditioning. That said, I know I didn't make any work-days in the garage this year, and it may have been a bit longer than I realized. 

I recently had occasion to make some shifts and do some rearranging in the house and, in the process, opened up a creative space right here inside (yay!). So today I went out to the garage to collect some resin-project materials to do a project. 

When I'm working with Ice Resin, I often prop the bottles upside-down in plastic cups (one for the resin, and a second one for the hardener) so the material, which is pretty thick, will already be at the "top" of the bottle and ready to pour into my measuring cup. Otherwise, since it is so thick and moves so slowly, it can be a drag to wait for it to come out of the bottle. I have no idea when was the last time I did a resin project, but I know for sure it was before summer, so those bottles stood upside down like that all summer, and then some. 

Ordinarily it wouldn't be an issue. They've got their lids on, and the material has always stayed in the bottles, no problem. But in this summer's heat, something expanded - the air above them?  the resin itself? maybe both - and both the resin and the hardener had seeped out into their respective holding cups.

Resin seeped out of the bottle into the cup

Not the end of the world, but messy, for sure. So Big Lesson Number One is, if you're going to store your resin bottles upside down, you better be using them pretty regularly so they don't have time to make a mess that you'll have to clean up before you start your next project. Big Lesson Number Two is, don't leave them out in the garage during summer, where the heat makes everything expand, guaranteeing that your resin bottles will leak!

Having gotten that all put back in order, I was eager to proceed with some new materials and molds that I recently acquired.  I will include links to everything at the end of this blog post.

Following is the order of operations for today's projects:

Using Ice Resin, I poured 7.5 ml Ice Resin into a measuring container, and mixed in 1 drop Transparent Teal Resin Colorant into the resin, according to product instructions. 

Then I added 7.5 ml Ice Resin hardener and stirred 2 minutes; then let it rest 5 min, again, according to product instructions.

I blew emerging bubbles off the surface of the resting resin as they came up. 

Then I poured the base of the Round Trinket Box first (very slowly and carefully, so the resin can seep down the sides and release the air bubbles from there), and then the lid to the round storage box.

I still had a bit of resin left, so I poured 3 Cube Beads. 

With still a bit of resin left after that, I mixed in some Ice Resin Crystal Opals into the remaining resin, and poured the last 3 cube beads.

Ever little bit I would blow emerging air bubbles off the resin surfaces. 

I noticed several 2-3mm air bubbles that worked their way up from the sides of the round box mold, and found these amazingly resistant to being popped with a tool. I was able to pop them with the corner of an alcohol wipe, which I keep at my work station for cleanup. (As soon as I retrieved my torch, those bubbles stopped appearing!) Next time I make this piece, I will have some kind of slender tool, like a toothpick or a needle tool to work down the sides of the mold and help facilitate the resin in, and the air out. 

I swept the torch flame over all resin surfaces, popping all those tiny air bubbles. I'm checking it about every 20-30 minutes, and right now everything looks as smooth as glass.

All those pieces need to sit at least twelve hours, so I'll post again (with pictures, of course!) once I've unmolded them. See you then!

Supply Links:

Ice Resin - https://amzn.to/2zpsLiL 

Transparent Teal Resin Colorant - https://amzn.to/2QYQ0H8 

Measuring cups - https://amzn.to/2DqS9Zk 

Stir Sticks - https://amzn.to/2xHaTh6 

Silicone Round Trinket Box Mold - https://amzn.to/2zoEgXF

Cube Bead Mold - https://amzn.to/2xxZ51v 

Ice Resin Crystals - https://amzn.to/2DokP53 

Needle Tool - https://amzn.to/2zpLXg4 

Alcohol Wipes - https://amzn.to/2xB2pbY

Torch - https://amzn.to/2xxDNRC 

Torch Fuel - https://amzn.to/2zpqcNo 

Non-Stick Silicone Craft Mat -  https://amzn.to/2xzqqAq 

Latex-Free Disposable Gloves - https://amzn.to/2DnLKy7