Resin Troubleshooting - Problems with resin jewelry making
If you have worked with resin long enough, you will find it can be challenging (and sometimes not in a good way!). Here are a few of some commonly occuring problems with working in resin and some fixes:
1. "Water stains" on embedded items. This is when you embed papers and paper items into your resin castings only to see later that the paper has stains on it like it is wet.
The fix: Coat any paper items ahead of time with a glue sealant. (Ultra seal glue, mod podge, Elmer's glue just to name a few) Coat well, including the edges, allow to dry for several hours. A second coat is never a bad idea either.
2. Resin castings look like Alka Seltzer. I have had this happen when the resin reacted with the embedded items.
Possible fixes: Coat embedments in sealant before using. The resin can react with your embedments, especially if you are talking about vintage papers.
Make sure the resin in warm before mixing. Put in a warm water bath for 30 minutes before pouring. Be sure your containers are dry before working the resin to avoid any water contamination.
3. Resin is still tacky on top after curing time. This is probably one of the biggest problems I face from time to time.
The fix: Eliminating moisture and getting a thorough mix with the proper amounts of resin and hardener is essential to keeping this from happening. If it does happen to your pieces, you can try either sanding the tacky resin off (if it's just the surface) or you can try to recoat with resin.
What other problems do you experience when casting with resin?
