It’s been my experience working with resins that the faster you try
to go, the slower it gets:-( I started out using plain pigmented resin
akin to your designs, and moved on from there to using gemstones set
into resin, so that my primary concern is to cool things down, not
heat them up. If you can cast a stone in place then it’s probably
safe to set it in resin, but it’s amazing just how many stones can be
ruined by the chemical processes involved. I’d suggest that you try
the mixing process much more slowly; never drop hardener or pigment
onto the surface of the resin, stir slowly and smoothly trying not to
introduce air into the mixture, and when you come to pour it into
your metal piece (or any other former) leave a small a gap as
possible between pourer and receptacle. If you are going for multiple
layers then again it’s unwise to try and accelerate the setting
process; you want it stable as possible, and that includes wanting
your surface to be as flat as possible to get crisply delineated
boundaries, particularly with multicoloured layers. In short, a
really satisfying piece of resin work takes nearly as long as a glass
enamelled piece, though of course it lacks the long term durability
of glass enamels, but you can do things with it that are impossible
with other mediums. In commercial terms you may find that people are
unwilling to pay for the sheer amount of time it takes to do it
right, because they are accustomed to mass produced pseudo enamels,
though setting even semi-precious stones into resin helps to counter
that impression… good luck and best wishes Stevie
Here’s a tip that works for me. Mix your resin (even small amounts)
and then place them into the bell of your vacuum caster and evacuate
the air! The smaller bubbles get bigger, rise to the top and
collapse - sometimes!
Tony Konrath
Key West Florida 33040
Here's a tip that works for me. Mix your resin (even small amounts) and then place them into the bell of your vacuum caster and evacuate the air! The smaller bubbles get bigger, rise to the top and collapse - sometimes!
We used to do that when plastic-embedding biological specimens for
preservation. I found out the hard way that more vacuum is not
better if you let things go on too long - the tiny bubbles will
indeed expand - and stay that way if you wait too long to release
the vacuum. So suck 'em out quickly and then let the unburst ones
shrink back to nothing while the resin is still very fluid.
Tas