Resin experimentation {the results!}

Howdy folks! Yesterday I shared my bottle cap resin creations. The clear polyester resin took 3 days to cure at 69 degrees and 66% humidity. I used 15 drops of hardener to 1 oz of resin as the package directed for items 1/8″ thick. Today I am showing you my first cast resin pieces. I used the same ratio or 1oz resin and 15 drops hardener (catalyst) and I added a pea size dollop of green acrylic paint and some pearl ex to the mix. I think I was supposed to add the color and pearl to the resin before hardener but I forgot and added it after. No big deal, but the pearl-ex probably would have mixed in better, I had some lumps as you will see in the silicone mold. The cast resin took 5 days to cure, it was hard 24 hours after pouring but it was sticky for days. I tried a few different molds. The one that I liked the best was Casting Craft, it was smooth and the resin cured  quickest in here:

I had a duplicate mold of this one by Makin’s Clay so I decided to risk using it. It seems sometimes resin could be permanent in some plastics. This worked great and it took maybe 12 hours longer to cure than in the Casting Craft mold. I am excited because I have lots of this brand!

I LOVE the detail from the Martha Stewart silicone molds but they stayed sticky the longest. I know if the polyester resin is exposed to air (not touching the side of a mold for instance) it takes longer to cure or may remain sticky and maybe the matte finish of the mold affected the cure time. It has a slight tack to it at day 5 but it is getting much better each day.

Please note! Before I poured the resin in the molds I washed the molds, dried them, sprayed them with Casting Craft mold release/conditioner and let that dry overnight. Already this procedure is more work than anything I would ever cook, geez Louise, but I was determined to use up this expensive supply that has a shelf life 🙂 After all the pre-show prep I mixed the resin, poured it and left it alone. That is the hard part. Really. I kept visiting my resin (don’t do that) and touching it to see if it was sticky (hence the fingerprints on the back) and sometimes I’d take it outside and put it in the sun because I read somewhere it could speed up the process but I don’t think it did a lick of good. I feel like the weirdo who plays classical music for his plants. Really, you should pour the resin and leave town for a few days, that’s your best bet! 🙂 I’ll let you know if I discover anything else about this fascinating medium. I reckon the epoxy resin is a much more user friendly and forgiving resin but I will not be trying that until I use up this bulk can of ever-loving polyester stuff. That’s it for me today, thanks for stopping by and til next time happy crafting!