I hate wasting resin. I realize a little leftover isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of what I have to get done every day, but I hate it nonetheless. There’s just something about throwing away epoxy resin that I worked so hard to measure, mix, and get bubble-free that seems so … well … wrong. Instead, I have a list of resin coloring experiments to try when I’ve got extra mixed resin. I thought it would be fun to show you what happens in the (resin) mad scientist lab.
Step 1: Find random things to use for your resin coloring experiments.
I scoured my house and studio to see what I had handy to mix in the leftover resin. Here’s what I found:
1) red kids’ paint (the label didn’t specify the ingredients, but I’m guessing it is a water-based paint)
2) blue sidewalk chalk
3) paprika (yes — that one — from the spice cabinet)
4) kids’ watercolor paints
Here’s what the resin samples looked like after I stirred each for about a minute.
Step 2: Add to a silicone mold.
I had an imperfect silicone mold to cast my resin into.
💡 Pro tip: When doing resin coloring experiments, you never know how your resin will turn out. Sometimes inclusions and colorants can keep the resin from curing. When deciding whether to pour your experiments into a mold, use one that you can afford to lose. Your resin may turn into a sticky, goopy mess. If you don’t have a ‘throwaway’ mold, let your resin cure in your resin mixing cups.
Step 3: Demold and assess the results of your resin coloring experiments.
Here are how the finished samples turned out. The red paint colored the resin well. I’m surprised the resin cured without any problems. Water-based paints have extra moisture that can cause resin curing problems. The chalk and paprika colored the resin more effectively than I thought they would. In fact, I wasn’t expecting the pastel chalk to color so darkly. The watercolor paint shavings managed to tint the resin some but couldn’t dissolve in the resin.
The effects are more pronounced when you hold them up to the light. You can see particles in all the ones where I used powder pigments.
⭐️ BONUS: If you hate wasting resin too, here are some other leftover resin project ideas.
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I’ve been using eye shadow to color my resin. It works out pretty well 🙂
I think I’ll give that a try. Any helpful tips or tricks I need to know before I try it?
Kathrine,
Thanks for the experiments. I often wonder what will and will not mix with resin and your “Mad Scientist” postings are a great help! Keep ’em coming!
These look pretty good to me. The one with paint shavings looks almost like amber! Think I’ll try this.
Great experiment. Thanks!
So far I’ve tried: eyeshadow, loose pigment, acrylic paints of several varieties and brands, and india ink – but I would still love to try: charcoal, oil paint (who knows?), turmeric (used to dye mustard yellow so it might work!),food dye, nail polish, and anything else I can think of. I love resin experiments- great post!
I use oil paint which works nicely, but i have to say eyeshadow has worked beautifully. I mix in some white oild paint first to give it an opaque look.
This is fabulous! It opens up the door to Creative Resin
Jewelry making and more.
@Diane, do you have pictures of what you’re trying to make? You can post them in our forum.
I am having trouble making the cameo cabachond to turn out. To use 2colors it is very hard to get the resin in the little spots without overflowing into the rest of the mold.
How about using left over ink jet printer inks into resin.
I tried gel food coloring and normal food coloring…gel left flecks…food coloring faded in the sun
I noticed today that your transparent colors contain epoxy resin. Can I mix them with Polyester resin?
I have not tried that, however, our chief chemist expects that they will work to color polyester resin.
I’m experimenting with resin and colours and I’m new to this. I’m trying to make small flowers. I bought some moulds but to be honest they are rubbish so I’m going to try some amazing putty and try to make my own. I want to achieve a solid colour but beautiful pastel shades. I’ve tried acrylic paints but I just can’t seem to achieve the colours I need. Can anyone help please.
Have you looked at any of these liquids? https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/colorants/Liquid
Thank you, yes I have but I’m reluctant to experiment with them. I hoped someone would know for sure how I could achieve the opaque pastel colours.
If you try mixing white with some of the opaques, you should get something closer to pastel. This post on our blog may help you too: https://www.resinobsession.com/resin-resin-resin/how-to-mix-colors
Try going to your favorite paint store and get some paint pigment. It won’t contain stuff you don’t want in your resin, and it is more concentrated, and will color more solidly. You could also try powdered pigments, metalflake, pearl powder, etc from your automotive paint store.
i know you used watercolor flakes here but what about the tube of water color paint that is already liquidy? would it mix better and have a more opaque color? im trying to get a opaque white from a clear resin. ( i knwo itd be easier to get resin that cures white most likely) i’ve tried chalk pastel but it was more off white, i tried acrylic paint but getting the mix right was stressful and gave me flakey color or off white as well. any suggestions if the liquid watercolor wouldnt work?
I haven’t tried liquid watercolor, so I don’t know if they would work. I’m not hopeful as those colors have a lot of water in them, which resin doesn’t like. We do have opaque white colorants designed to make clear resin white. You can find them in our store in the opaque colorant section here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/colorants/opaque
Thanks so much.
Hi. I read here about using eye shadow to dye the resin. So I gave it a go and it worked brilliantly so happy with the results. Looks amazing.
I like the watercolor paint and paprika the best. I would suggest trying powdered tempera paint. You normally mix it with a little water to make the paint, and I expect it’d work great for dyeing resin. Dying or dyeing?
Tempera paint powder also comes in all kinds of colors.
I’m New to resin. I have a slice of beautiful wood which has a hole in the middle. I want to use glass chips and a dye that would give me a turquoise transparent effect in the wood. What resin will work best on wood, I plan on making a small side table out of the wood so it needs to be able to take hot and cold drinks without effecting the surface. I also need to know the best dye to use to give me the turquoise transparent look.
Hi Jo An, this article should help you get started with choosing a resin: https://www.resinobsession.com/resin-frequently-asked-questions/advice-on-what-resin-to-use
As for a transparent turquoise color, we have a transparent teal resin pigment in our store here: https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/colorants/products/resin-obsession-transparent-color-pigments-single-1-ounce-colors?variant=6787892737
Hi all
i have a oak kitchen worktop and where the tap has leaked has cause varnish to disappear and slightly rot the wood – so I’m thinking route the bad wood out and add resin and dye
What resin and dye would be best – where best place to purchase resin etc thanks in advance
The Resin Obsession super clear resin and colorants will work great for this project. You can find them in our store here:
https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/resin/resin-obsession
https://shop.resinobsession.com/collections/colorants/resin-obsession
Try Kool Aid, Crystal Light or Tang
Jb great idea!