Will UV Resin cure over cured polyurethane resin?

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    • #93379
      Amy
      Guest

      So glad there is a forum on the very specific and – let’s face it – critical topic of how to make things with resin! LOL! Thanks in advance for a reading.

      I am trying to figure out the best way to make mosaic guitar pickguards using resin.

      I found a post on a forum a couple weeks ago on which someone suggested polyurethane resin might be the best choice for making pickguards due to how it cures. (Now that I think of it, it might have actually been this forum…but I was so new to the search then.). I took that advice and ordered two part polyurethane resin (it cures to opaque off-white) along with a silicone mold making kit.

      My plan was to was to create the mold of the pickguard face down. I would then create the mosaic face-down in the bottom of the mold and pour the resin over it to fill the mold. Once cured, it would pop out of the mold, flip it over and voila- there’s your mosaic!

      Not so much. I attempted that and the mosaic tiles floated and moved around when I poured the resin over them.

      Next I went to the craft store and bought some Elmers craft adhesive spray (it said on the can that it could be temporary or permanent and it is repositionable.) So I sprayed a layer of that on the mold and began to lay down the mosaic tiles on that. However, I very quickly realized that was not going to work because when I tried repositioning, the glue layer lifted and peeled right off of the mold.

      I don’t want to throw any more money or time at this idea unless and until I feel pretty certain that it can work so I wanted to see if I could get your expert opinions and ideas on if this is doable and if so, how to best go about it.

      I am thinking of using a double sided adhesive sheet. Cutting that to fit the shape of the bottom of the mold, peeling off bottom side and sticking it to the bottom of the mold, peeling off the top side and applying the mosaic tiles face down to that. Then pouring the polyurethane resin on and letting it cure. Once it is cured, I would remove it from the mold flip it over and peel off the adhesive sheet to reveal the mosaic embedded in the resin. Right?

      However, I have questions: Will the adhesive sheet be sticky/strong enough to keep the tiles in place? Will the adhesive on the sheet react with the resin in a way that will make it cure poorly? Will the resin stick to the adhesive sheet to the point where it can’t be peeled off once it is cured? What am I not thinking of that could cause problems?

      Another thought I had was to cut out the adhesive sheet to the shape of the bottom of the mold, then create the mosaic face up right on the adhesive sheet (stick the backs of the tiles onto the sheet) THEN pour/paint a very thin layer of clear resin into the bottom of the mold. Then turn over the adhesive sheet so the tiles are hanging on the underside and lay the mosaic into the thin layer of clear resin and allow it to cure. The front/face of the tiles would then be cured into that clear layer of resin which would allow me to peel the adhesive sheet off of the back of the tiles and fill the mold the rest of the way with the opaque polyurethane resin.

      Questions on this method: (The first one has nothing to do with resin) Will the tiles even stick to the adhesive sheet once it is turned upside down – just long enough to lay it down in the mold? And will the opaque Polyurethane resin cure on top of the cured layer of clear resin in a way that will be solid and relatively durable?? What am I not thinking of that could be problematic?

      Lastly – Does anyone out there have any ideas on how to do this project in a way that is more of a “sure thing”? Your input would surely be appreciated! I apologize for the length of this post and I hope it’s not too confusing!

      Thanks again!!! Amy

    • #93381
      Katherine Swift
      Keymaster

      Hi Amy,

      While I haven’t done anything exactly like this, I would expect the adhesive sheet to work. You might want to consider a glue gun too.

      You could also use mixed resin in the bottom of the mold to put down the tiles, then cover with your polyurethane resin.

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