Working with Resin

Posted on January 11, 2006 by Leah
Resin is an alternative material that is gaining popularity with jewelry and mixed media artists. There are many different brands of resin available for artists and crafters to experiment with. The basics are the same though - follow the mixing instructions given by the manufacturer (resins come with two parts - resin and hardener - that have to be mixed together to startt he curing process - but the mixing ratios vary by brand), pour, drip or paint resin where you want it, and wait at least 24 hours, but often 72 hours, for the resin to completely cure. I recently took a one-day workshop with mixed media jewelry artist Susan Lenart Kazmer on using resin, and I enjoyed it so much that I've been experimenting a lot on my own since the class with different ways to use resin in my jewelry work. Some uses for resin:
  • Filling a bezel - this is something we did in class. It is one of the easiest ways to start playing with resin. You take a bezel - which could be a traditional bezel made from silver, or a small found object like a beer bottle cap. Then you add small pieces of paper or found objects inside the bezel and cover them with resin. Once dry, you can drill a hole through the piece to make a pendant or earring dangle.
  • Filling a mold - similar to filling a bezel, molds are available commercially (or can be created by the artist - but that's a topic for another time) and filled with resin and small objects the same way bezels are filled. The difference is that when the resin is cured, it is removed from the mold, resulting in a very different effect.
  • Covering objects - this is a little bit harder than filling molds and bezels, but objects can be covered in resin. I have successfully done this by painting thin layers of resin onto small objects and allowing each layer to cure before painting on the next layer. It is a very time consuming process, and it can be difficult to do without ending up with drips, but is also a means to create very unique pieces, as well as preserving small organic objects, such as small sticks. I heard about an art exhibit where parts of a human corpse were preserved in resin - definitely not something I'd ever want to attempt! But, it gives you an idea of what a versatile material resin is.
One of the things that is appealing to me about working with resin is that it is a relatively new material. There aren't very many experts on working with resin, so every experiment I do is exciting. Unlike working with silver, a material I can ask thousands of experts for advice on, most people working with resin today are just starting to discover it and try new things. And it is so different from metalwork, yet easily combines with the metalwork I do. Silver bezels can be filled with resin to add color, texture, even images to what would otherwise be a very simple piece of jewelry. I plan to write project tutorials for working with resin in the near future, but my advice to anyone thinking about trying resin is to experiment. Gather together some bezels, or found objects that could work as bezels, purchase some resin (the brand I use is called Colores and is available from Rio Grande), and see what you can come up with filling your bezels with the resin and small found objects. Color can be added by mixing in colored powders, such as the mica powders used by stampers. Almost any object small enough to put in a bezel can be embedded in resin. There aren't many teachers right now doing resin workshops, but if you can find one, it's a great introduction to the material, and having someone show you step by step how to mix, pour, color, etc. can be helpful.
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22 Responses to Working with Resin

  1. man says:
    August 29, 2008 at 2:08 am

    Hi, I have susan’s book..it’s great,
    do you know how to make bezels in one..without solder. the bottom and small sides made with one sheet of metal.is there something you can buy to form the shapes?

  2. Leah says:
    August 29, 2008 at 7:13 am

    The only way I know how to make bezels is with two pieces of metal – one for the bottom and one for the sides – but there are found objects you can use as bezels. I use little tiny tins, some people use bottle caps, and of course you can always buy bezels from a bead store or jewelry supply company. I think Susan sells them, actually.

  3. man says:
    August 30, 2008 at 12:33 am

    Thanks for the info, I really want to make bezel cups in the square. I will work it out and will let you know!!!

  4. shirley says:
    September 23, 2008 at 11:08 am

    Where do you get the tiny tins?

  5. Leah says:
    September 23, 2008 at 3:28 pm

    I’ve found little tins at bead stores and online. Try searching for “watchmaker tins”, I think that is what the ones I use are called.

  6. shirley says:
    September 25, 2008 at 3:23 am

    Cool, thanks! I found, while hiking, the rail trails where I live, a bike tire repair tin that holds patches. They look simular to yours but I just got luck in finding them. There where only two.

  7. Leah says:
    September 25, 2008 at 6:07 am

    Glad you found something that works!

  8. shirley says:
    September 25, 2008 at 6:48 am

    I just found http://www.trendyprincess.com/storagetins.htm and I was able to order 20 at 5.98. Since it was so cheap I ordered 3 sets of 20. After I ordered 20 went to 7.98. Guess I got lucky.

  9. Leah says:
    September 26, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    Sounds like you got a deal!

    I’m working on a tutorial for using bottle caps as bezels – not quite as polished a look as the tins, but you can’t beat the price :)

  10. shirley says:
    September 29, 2008 at 3:48 am

    Hey Leah I have a question for you. I made some pieces a few days ago using a mold. For some reason a few of the pieces never got hard just sticky. Is there anything I can do to get them to harden? I have tried low heat, and cold. Could I just dip them in resin? Would the new resin harden around the stickyness?

  11. Leah says:
    September 29, 2008 at 7:03 am

    In my experience, if a piece stays sticky, either I didn’t mix the resin enough, or I didn’t use enough catalyst. Sometimes, putting a drop of catalyst (the hardener) on the piece & leaving it alone for a while (12 hours or so) will help.

  12. shirley says:
    September 29, 2008 at 10:56 am

    ok I’ll try that thanks

  13. Susie says:
    October 4, 2008 at 4:42 pm

    I am looking for larger sterling silver bezel cups especially square. Does anyone have a good resource for those?

  15. Eva says:
    December 14, 2008 at 4:28 pm

    I want to make ornaments that can be attached as pin to be worn on your jacket.Can resin be poured on top of plastic (I would create my own mold). My figures will have different colors and levels (3D effect). Can resin be used to create whimsical figures?

  16. Leah says:
    December 15, 2008 at 8:15 am

    Eva, yes, you can use resin in molds to make figures. Susan Lenart Kazmer does that in her work.

  17. Eva says:
    December 15, 2008 at 6:47 pm

    thank you so much! I will google her name and find out more information

  18. Leah says:
    December 21, 2008 at 10:18 am

    you’re welcome – she teaches all over the place – I first learned about using resin in a class I took from her.

  19. Thia says:
    January 16, 2009 at 12:11 am

    Hello. Thanks for the info. I do hope someone can help me with this. I made trays out of Super Sculpey, and then painted them with the “Apple Barrel” type Acrylic paints (the cheap .79 cent bottles). I used EnviroTex Lite resin (epoxy resin I think). I poured it into the painted tray and brushed it up the tray’s sides and let the rest form about a 1/4 inch thick layer in the base- I “breathed” out the bubbles and it looked wonderful.

    It has now cured and there are awful clouds and on the surface it appears like a few bubbles popped leaving little circular indents there.

    Sorry so long, my question is, should I have sealed the acrylic paints with something before applying this resin? What caused these clouds?

    Please, any suggestions?

  20. Leah says:
    January 16, 2009 at 7:38 am

    I’ve used resin over acrylic paint and did not have to seal it, so I don’t think that’s the problem – although I was using a different brand of paint, so it’s possible. If you think it has to do with the paint, try painting on a VERY thin layer of resin using a small brush, let it cure completely, and then pour the thicker layer of resin over that.

    Other possible problems: it is possible you didn’t stir the resin well enough, or that you didn’t add enough of the hardener, or that the resin cured at a low temperature. I’ve heard of people getting cloudiness for these reasons. Unfortunately, without being right there watching how you did it, it’s hard for me to say for sure what went wrong.

    FWIW, I get less bubbles if I use the resin sold by Rio Grande rather than the Envirotex Lite. Also, after you get rid of bubbles, you should check the resin again in 15 minutes because sometimes new bubbles will form. You might not be able to blow on these to get rid of them, but you can poke them with a pin – once the resin is cured to a certain point, it’s hard to get rid of the bubbles. Another thing that helps with bubbles is pouring very thin layers of resin & letting each layer partially cure before adding more resin. 1/4 inch doesn’t seem thick, but if you poured half that, you’ll probably have an easier time with the bubbles.

  21. Denise says:
    March 10, 2009 at 7:31 am

    I would like to make a worktop with resin for my breakfast bar using crushed glass, glitter and other charms and objects. Does the tray I make need to be metal? Does it all need to be poured in one go? Should I pour a small amount, place the objects and pour more? I like the idea of bubbles trapped in it for sparkle. Many thanks, The Musing Artist :-)

  22. Leah says:
    March 10, 2009 at 2:02 pm

    I don’t think the tray needs to be metal. Resin “sticks” to most surfaces, other that certain types of plastics (maybe sillicone?) that are used to make resin molds. You definitely don’t have to pour it all at once – my resin pieces are made with many layers that cure, at least partially, before adding the next layer. But since I’ve never made a large piece like you are describing, I can’t say what the best way to do it is. Good luck!