[Katherine Swift]

This question came from the Missy on the Resin Obsession blog:

Hi! I just did a flat circle casting that was about 6 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. I thought everything was going well but when I checked on it the next day, it had hardened with a wavy pattern on the top. Any ideas why this happened?

[Katherine Swift]

Missy,

My first thought is that the resin wasnt mixed thoroughly.  Sometimes you can get that wavy-ness in resin that still needs to mix more.

Was your surface level?  Perhaps the resin will still trying to slide while it was trying to cure.

Is it very deep?  You may be able to sand off the affected part and recast.

[Victoria]

Hi there! I also am having this same problem! I noticed it first on some of my beginning pieces and am still seeing it. I have showed it and discussed it with others who seem to think it has to do with my pouring of the resin. The swirls seem to show up in the drying process and they actually appear where I have poured the resin.
Mixing doesnt seem to be the problem as I mix according to the manufactures instructions, even mixing a little more than need be. The resin that I have been using is fairly new also since I have only had it for about 3 months.
I store it in an air conditioned room and keep it in a dark spot in the room.
I add black fine grade glitter for the backs of my pendents and the swirl is less noticeable, but when I pour the clear top, thats where it is the most noticeable.
I have several pieces that have been ordered and now am dreading the final steps to them.

[Katherine Swift]

Victoria,

Heres a few other suggestions I will make about the waviness:

I too have seen this sometime when Im using the resin at the bottom of my mixing cup.  The first part of the pour went okay, but it got a little wavy at the end.

1.  Are you mixing thoroughly?  While it sounds like you are using enough time, are you scraping down the sides of your cup and stir utensil during the process?  I also like to pour in about half of my hardener into the resin and mix for a bit.  Then I pour in the rest.

2. How much total resin are you mixing? My personal rule is that if Im only mixing an ounce or less, I will pour the hardener into the resin.  If Im mixing more than that, I will measure resin and hardener into two separate cups, then pour these into a third up to mix.

3.  If youre doing these and still getting swirls, then I would suggest getting a good mix, then pouring it into the third cup to mix some more.  It can be very hard to get all material off the bottom of your cup.  This amount of liquid would stay in the cup when you poured into another cup.

Let me know if any of those work for you.

[Author]

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