Over the past few years, we have had hundreds of phone calls from distraught customers, who have messed up their resin art. Often it’s because of some fairly common resin mistakes that sometimes come out of some myths.
Resin is super easy to play with, but these mistakes can cause your art project to go to bust.
Resin Mistake #1: Mixing your resin and hardener by volume instead of WEIGHT
This is a big one. Our customer reps, get so many calls every day with the same question: why is my resin not hardening. Unfortunately, 90% of the time its because of the same reason: the resin has been mixed in the wrong proportion. When working with resin, you need to use a weighing scale and be exact with your measurements. Make sure you mix them in the correct ratio according to their weight!
You can check out a basic weighing machine here.
Resin Mistake #2: Not drying your equipment
Water and resin are not friends. When water is introduced to uncured resin, it becomes difficult for resin to cure. This is why monsoons aren’t a great time for resin art. When working with resin, make sure all your equipment is 100% dry, and free from moisture. Make sure the base is cleaned with a dry cloth, and you should be good to go!
When resin is mixed with water it becomes milky.
Resin Mistake #3: Not using the right kind of resin
At Haksons, we make two kinds of resin. The Haksons High Gloss, and the Haksons Ultra Clear. While our Ultra Clear resin can be used for all purposes, the High Gloss Resin CANNOT be used for castings. The High Gloss Resin, has a shorter pot life and is specifically designed to be used on a base, for coating.
For castings, and pouring upto 15mm in a single pour, we have the Haksons Ultra Clear Resin.
Resin Mistake #4: Mixing the wrong kind of pigments
When mixing pigments in resin, you have to use pigments specifically designed to be mixed in resin! If you use acrylic paint, or god forbid, water colours, the formulation of the resin gets messed up- and will lead to your resin art project going to bust.
At Haksons, we make a variety of pigments that work really well with resin. Read about them here!
Resin Mistake #5: Not letting your resin cure in a well-ventilated space
Resin takes around 24 hours to cure, on an average. The room or space in which you leave the resin to harden, must be a well ventilated space with minimal footfall. It definitely must not happen in a air-conditioned room, and the lower the temperature, the harder it is for resin to cure.
Additionally, we recommend you read about some of our safety measures while working with resin here!
If you are guilty of making any of these resin mistakes, fret not, we have been there too! They definitely aren’t the end of the world, and just another step in your journey to becoming a resin artist.
We hope this blog helped you. Tell us other resin mistakes you have made in the comments below so we can learn from each other!
Happy crafting!
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