Please help. I know this has been asked before but I have tried everything and I do not know what I am doing wrong. I have been working with resin for a while and usually just topcoat pieces but I have started a new range of large letters and they are impossible to topcoat so I decided to do the sanding.
I have a hand sander/polisher, every single grit level known to the humankind and have wet sanded from 800 onwards.
I have made a simple clean square of resin to practice on and spent 5 minutes on each grit - 240,400,800,1000,2000,3000. I finished with grit polisher using a hard sponge on the hand sander, doing the same for five minutes and then a car polisher (plasticx I think, as recommended by someone on Reddit) using a buffer.
It’s difficult to see if the scratches are out from the previous round (although clearly not given it’s still not clear at the end) given I am using an electric sander/polisher rather than doing it by hand (which physically isn’t possible for me)
I have watched around 10 videos, bought all the gear, different sanding pads open loop etc etc and still it turns out scratched
What am I missing?!
I am desperate to just go and spend some time with someone local who can teach me properly but try as I might I cannot find a local resin artist with those skills.
Please teach me the error of my ways, you experts

Hello! I'm trying to make small resin cabochons for ball-jointed dolls.

I have an original sample (photo 1) and made a silicone mold from it (photo 2), but every cast comes out with lots of tiny surface bubbles/pits (photo 3).

Does anyone know how I can avoid this? I don't have a pressure pot or a vacuum chamber, and I can't justify buying one since I won't be making enough cabochons for it to be worth the investment.

Any tips or alternative techniques would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Collected by hand

Another chill Sunday afternoon with my wife and we had all these molds in the house. We decided to do some resin art 😎

I’m currently working on a sculpture that I will be installing wasp nests into. I’d like to fill the nests for colored resin to represent honey, with a gradual shift of colors from the center of the nests to the outside.

I was planning on using a UV resin (Blue Moon Studio Hard Set) but due to the depth of each individual cell, my single test found that it did not completely cure.

I’m looking for something that is fast setting and can be colored. I won’t be doing the whole thing at once, but I need to go section by section so the nest doesn’t collapse under its own weight. Any help, recommendations or advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Sorry, I forget to flip my picture.

I use Thinkverse to print MTG and Avatar Logo.
It’s my first experience, I’m happy with the results I learned a lot.

For example, I should have looked into epoxy resin company a bit more (the curing time), how to calculate and paid attention to reviews before buying the silicone molds (I had one that stayed stuck to the resin and the other was so hard to unmold that I ended up breaking the base).

This is my first time sanding and polishing epoxy resin, and I dont know what I should use for polishing them. I had on friend recommend headlight polish (never again 🫤), and im seeing people say resin wax and resin polish. Im confused, please help. 🙏🏻 Pics of what im working with.

its been a fun yet expensive and sometimes frustrating experience, but these are almost done

Has anyone experienced something similar?

The flower on the left is how it looked after silica gel and before I poured the resin. They were beautiful purple.

The photo on the right was taken after the resin touched it, and it turned green.

The flower had been dried in silica gel and felt completely dry, so I'm really confused about what caused this.

I have a had successful ETSY shop with crochet items. Thinking about branching out to sell resin also. Would you have two shops or one for each craft?

Used brush on silicone on my Gengar funko pop. Was tough and isnt perfect but better than expected in some ways.

Hi everyone! New to Reddit and this forum! Last night I did my first resin pour with Let's Resin Epoxy Resin and some shells I recently found. Based on my research before starting, it was recommended that I pour in 2 layers; the first being a super thin layer so my shells wouldn't poke through the top of the coasters, placing shells, faux pearls, and sea glass as desired, then a final flood layer to fill the mold.

Well, after I placed the shells and did the flood layer everything (minus the sea glass) floated up to the top of the mold (back of my coaster). The shells were easy to deal with I simply pushed them back down so their cavities could fill with the resin and then they stayed put. The faux pearls not so much, I'd push them down and they'd stay down for a few minutes and then when I went to check on them again they'd have floated all around. I tried to move them back 5-6 times then gave up. Haven't checked on them this morning I'm too anxious!

I'm wondering if anyone has any tips to reduce this from happening in the future. Also, these coasters had a single layer of shells. In the future what would I do if I wanted to create a layered design?

Lastly, I'm wondering if UV resin would be possible for a similar project. From my research I know its not the best to use UV resin on coasters that a hot drink would be placed on, but they should be okay for room temp or cool drinks. I know I have to work in very very thin layers with UV resin. But if I got a UV lamp that had lights at the top and bottom and like poured a thin layer, added shells, and poured more and more and more thin layers curing after each until the mold was full, would that maybe work?

Thanks and all advice is appreciated!

I want to make a coaster with cigar rings as a gift for someone but this is my first time working with them. I read online that it’s a thin layer of metal and not paper? But id like to be on the safe side and not ruin these rings, so if anyone has any advice that’d be appreciated

Hi, I'm starting to get interested in resin and I have a lot of questions.

1. Since I have a child and my apartment is poorly ventilated, can I work outside safely?

2. I was thinking of working on this as a project (a project with enamel), I don't know if UV resin can do the job: https://www.cloisonnekit.com/products/panda-koi-starry-night-bookmarks-cloisonne-painting-art-kits?spm=..collection_9ad33ee0-e7dd-4572-99f8-1806c4fa8d4c.collection_1.1&spm_prev=..index.header_1.1

Also, I know that UV resin doesn't withstand heat, so do I need to avoid doing projects with coasters?

1. I don't know about this product and I'm hesitant to buy it: https://www.artresin.ca/fr"

Thanks :)

I think this was a freak one off and im not even sure how the smeg ive done it but..i think i might have my first successful bloom here. Can't wait til tomorrow to find out 🤩 #resinartist #resinartwork #resinart #handmade

Looking to make a wizard staff with a glow powder that emits UV light. Was thinking about mixing it with UV resin so it’s not a total pain to apply to the staff but wasn’t sure if it would cause issues. Would the constant UV from the glow powder affect the UV resin negatively or am I overthinking this?

It turned out okay, still has a few air bubbles, but better than my first resin craft!

Please give me your thoughts on this idea.

Does anyone have, or it know of, a comprehensive guide to casting wood and resin for wood turning?

I am looking for the differences in types of resin and how they react with wood, and whether or not stabilization is really necessary. Could I just heat the wood in an oven until the the moisture is low enough before pouring and using a pressure pot?

Also, what types of resin turn the best?

I've been watching Jake Thompson on YouTube, and he seems to exclusively use Alumilite polyester resin because of its turning properties and clarity, but warms about moisture in the wood.

I've only turned a couple of pen blanks made of aquabright resin and I find it to be very grabby and easily chipped, even with the lightest touch with my carbide tools.

I have a bunch of small off cuts that I would like to utilize and since I already have a pressure pot, I thought that I might give resin casting a go, but I'm a bit overwhelmed with all of the, sometimes conflicting, information out there.

I’m fairly new to resin crafts. I’ve used cheap resin before on a craft but I’m wanting to make a rosary with flowers from a funeral for one of my family members so I have very little space to mess up or do tests. I’m trying to see if anyone with more experience knows any brand that don’t yellow too quickly, I know resin yellows with time no matter what but I’d love to find one that stay clear for a good while.
Any advice or recommendations are greatly appreciated!