[Betsy Kristl]

Hi folks, I’m not a total newbie to resin, but I am not terribly experienced as you are about to find out. I found a tutorial online for casting cement inside a clear orb light fixture to make garden ornaments which made me wonder if I could do something similar with resin. Given that the glass mold has to be destroyed for this to work, I thought I’d consider something I already own and wish to dispose of – those three inch round lightbulbs surrrounding my bathroom mirror.

I had a funny feeling the answer might be something along the lines of “LOL!,” so I started by using my power drill to spin the bulb mold with a small amound resin around in my garage to see if the dispersion would make it coat the inside uniformly. Now you can laugh… So, I’m wondering if there is any hope for filling the sphere, even if it requires going 1/8″ at a time (though I’d rather pour it as deep as possible).

Of course, my next questions will be: Which kind of resin is best? and How do I remove the shards of glass after breaking the mold? and how long will it take to cure? and, everybody’s favorite, will this cost more money than I have in the bank?

Thanks…

[Katherine Swift]

Since resin sticks to glass very well, I don’t know how you could cast the resin in the bulb, then break the bulb without breaking the resin unfortunately.

[Darla Mason]

Just kicking some thoughts around, what if you lightly coated the inside of the bulb with mold release before pouring?

[Katherine Swift]

Mold release would definitely help. I don’t know how easy it would be to roll it around on the inside though and coat the entire surface.

[The Resin Art Studio]

Hi Betsy,
I have tried this out with two types of resin.
Polyester and Epoxy.
I tried the polyester resin in an old wine glass, and once I had done all the layers, I was able to break and peel away the glass pieces fairly easily.
The epoxy resin was an entirely different story, and till date I have not been able to get the glass to separate from the resin. I have tried various glass container, from mason jars, to light bulbs, to wine glasses. none of them have separated.
and they end up being quite dangerous, because of the shards of glass that keep falling off, really tiny ones that you can barely see.

Wish you luck, and let me know if you have a different technique that works.

[Katherine Swift]

That’s interesting! The polyester probably worked because it shrinks the most as it cures. It’s why polyester doesn’t work well when casting it with wood either. Everything cures, but when you take it out of the mold, it breaks off from the wood.

[Betsy Kristl]

I have just remembered that at Christmas time (ie: now…) you can buy empty plastic ornaments! Those will work for epoxy resin, won’t they? The most important part of my question is, how much resin can I add to the mold (approx. 4″ diameter) at one time, and how long will it take to cure? Any other thoughts are welcome!

[Katherine Swift]

Yes! Plastic ornaments will work. We have a couple of articles on using plastic ornaments and resin:

https://www.resinobsession.com/resin-tutorials/diorama-ornaments-diy
https://www.resinobsession.com/resin-tutorials/photo-christmas-ornament

As for how much resin to mix, stay within recommended guidelines for maximum mixing amounts. We have that information for the resins we sell in a PDF at this link: https://www.resinobsession.com/resin-frequently-asked-questions/resin-casting

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