Hello there,
I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with cold epoxy resins or
as it’s sometimes marketed by manufacturers, cold enamelling resin.
I want to use it with brass, zinc and silver. Can you “paint” with
epoxy as if you’re painting a picture onto paper with a paint brush,
or are you only limited to using a syringe in application? I need to
add detail and a range of different mixed colours as I’m trying to
create an image of a kingfisher and as you can imagine, using a
syringe wouldn’t give me the detail I’m after. Also can anyone
recommend any good suppliers of epoxy resins?
Thanks for your time,
Saint Betty AKA Kate
Hello…
Well, not to be a sour-puss, but my in-laws bought wedding rings
with resin “enamels” in them, and they are breaking down after 4
years (not sure if this is due to general wear or not - my mother in
law compounded the breakdown by using hand sanitizer all the time…
they don’t mix!)
So… hopefully this is not for a ring?
Just my 2 cents,
Lynn
Hello Kate, If the colored opoxy all comes from the same company, you
can certainly use it for painting pictures. You can blend colors and
do fading when the epoxy is still wet. If you want a clear sudden
color change, wait until one of the colors has set before applying
the next one.
Have fun.
Tom Arnold
Kate,
I have used the Rio product, Colores, which is a resin, to paint on
sterling. I have used brushes and for very fine lines, I have used
toothpicks and hat pins. I also use the syringes for mixed colors.
You simply mix the colors in one of the plastic cups that is provided
with Colores then pour it in the syringe.
If you use the paint brush, you need to immediately wash the brush
when finished so it can be used again. I wash first with a simple
green product and then wash with goo gone.
When painting with Colores, the first color must be dry before the
second color is added. Drying time is minimum 36 hours for each color
in areas of high humidity. I have ignored the long drying time and
applied a second color after 12 hours and for certain things the
colors bleed together in an attractive way. However, this is not
always the case.
From an Orchid posting in Sept 2008 the following may help.
Colores is sold in the Rio catalogue. Read the instructions very
carefully. The colors are wonderful! The application is
challenging. It takes time to stir the colors and to mix the color
and the hardner. It takes time to learn to use the bottles with
the syringes. The drying time is minimum 24 hours. On my last piece
I applied a second color after 23 hours and the colors ran together
on the sterling. I am in the process of removing two layers of
Colores and re-reading the instructions. I will be sure I allow 72
hours for drying when I re-apply the Colores. Now that I better
understand the process I like it.
Rio teaches a Colores class occasionally. I took the class in Feb
2005 from Bruce and he was a good teacher. In the class, we practiced
on wax paper. After I bought the kit, Anne Larsen allowed me to use
her studio with five of her students and we “played” with Colores.
Everyone was trying something different. Ideas were flying all over
the room. Someone was always saying " Look at this!" and we all
learned significantly from working around the same table and
reviewing each others experiments.
The positives are fantastic color; non-toxic; clean-up with soap and
water then Goo Gone; you can drill with a flexshaft cleanly through
Colores on sterling; you can wipe the plastic cups clean and use
again; you can knock a mixing cup of Colores off the table onto the
floor and it stays in the cup when it hits the floor.
The negatives are difficult instructions; long drying time often
dependent on weather and humidity; it will finger print at 72 hours
under some conditions; Colores can spill during shipment even though
it appears very tightly closed; difficult to achieve hi lite effect
as it is not possible to duplicate “puffing”; you must work on a
completely level surface or your work can slide; if you use an oven
to dry the first color, you cannot use the oven for a second color
without damaging the color of the first layer; you need color mixing
skills.
Hope this helps.
Mary A
You can encourage Colores to set up faster by getting a desk lamp
with a bendable neck and a cardboard box big enough to cover the
lamp. Bend the neck so the lamp is shining down on your piece with 8
or 9 inches between the bulb and your piece. Cover it with the
cardboard box. Depending on the thickness of your first layer of
resin, it could be ready for a second layer in as little as 12 hours.
I have had good luck painting on copper as well as sterling.
Donna Rea
the actual company that makes the colores resin is called RBC and
the are located in rhode island; rio grande just takes them and
repackages them in the colores containers. but RBC makes some
catalyst thickeners that can be mixed in and then painted on
verticallywithout running. Also can be accelerated for curing. Just
tell them what you want the resin to do and they will help you
figure out how to do it, they are very helpfull.