Polyester Resin

Dear Nikki, The product you are looking for is called Polyester
Resin. It comes in liquid form, you add a catalyst and it hardens
clear. It is used extensively in preserving insects. I used this
material throughout my degree and its great to experiment with and
you can get some amazing results and effects, but the fumes are
awful so make sure you have plenty of ventilation and use a mask
that has filters specific to resin. This looks like a gas mask and
is important if you intend to use resin for long periods of time. Do
not be tempted to add extra catalyst to speed up the reaction, this
causes a reaction which heats up too much and may cause cracking,
distortion and yellowing within several months. Resin will only
harden if it is airtight, so after you have poured it into the
containers cover them - OHP paper is good for this, if you get it to
contact the resin it will give the resin a smooth surface, saving
time on polishing, which is a pain with resin - it tends to heat up
when you polish it mechanically and the polishing compound sticks to
it - especially rouge - best to use the less greasy white polishing
compounds after sanding/wet and dry.

laura cowan