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