Top 3 Tips for Working with 2-Part Resin!

One of the very first techniques that got me hooked on jewelry-making was resin. I saw some resin jewelry in a boutique and then shortly thereafter saw resin and jewelry-making supplies for sale. I was instantly fascinated and just amazed that I could make this type of jewelry at home. I started with bottle cap jewelry and then expanded from there, but in the beginning, I must say, I was absolutely terrible at working with resin.

One of my biggest challenges was that the resin would never cure for me. Even days later, I could still dent the resin. Besides it remaining “soft”, I also struggled with it not looking clear. So here I was, trying batch after batch of resin, and it never looking the way it was supposed to, the way I had seen so many other people’s resin look. It was frustrating but I refused to give up. I spent months experimenting and below are my top working-with-resin tips.

Tip #1

Make sure to measure VERY carefully. There is a recipe to mixing the different parts of the resin, just like there is a recipe for making bread. If you do not measure exactly right, the finished result will not turn out well. What I learned is that I needed to make permanent marker lines on my measuring cup so that I could see the measure-points better, then I needed to kneel and look at the cup at eye level when I poured. Once I got my measurements correct, my resin finally cured properly and was no longer squishy. 

Tip #2

Stir slowly and let your resin sit for a few minutes after mixing. I was noticing that I had lot of cloudy bubbles in my finished resin pieces. They did not have that nice clear look to them. What I discovered was that I was “whipping” my resin when stirring, really going as fast as I could to get it really mixed. What this was doing with creating lots of little foamy bubbles. Here is what worked better: stir slowly and carefully, scraping the sides of the cup. It’s almost like you are folding the resin parts into each other with your stir stick. After you have stirred, you need to let your resin cup sit for a few minutes. While it is sitting, some of the bubbles will rise to the surface and pop on their own BEFORE your pour. This resulted in a lot clearer look.

Tip# 3

Create a cover for your resin to prevent dust or pet hair getting on it. This is a little tricky at first, but you want a cover over your work – you don’t want it to be air-tight though, you want good ventilation, and you definitely don’t want the cover to touch your resin. There is nothing more frustrating than doing a good pour and then coming back later to find little bits of dust and other things permanently stuck in your resin. Here is my set up: I work on a nice flat table covered in plastic. I then have a flat box (not folded up, just flat/collapsed) sitting on my table (about 20” x 20”). I put a plastic cover over this too. I put 4 little empty jam jars on the flat box, one on each corner. I lay out my resin pieces, do my pour, and then I put an identically sized flat box over the resin, resting on those jam jars. This creates a cover with good ventilation and one that hovers above my pieces.

Bonus Tips

If using a fan, don’t put it too close to the resin! It will blow on it and cause it to spill/get dust in it.

Check the weather! Humidity can affect how the resin cures. I never do resin pours when it’s raining out or too hot or too cold.

If at all possible, don’t move your resin after you pour it – this can cause it to spill.

If using images, always seal them with a clear sealant that is fully dry before you pour resin on top. I use two coats of sealant.

If new to resin, make sure you have some practice pieces that you don’t mind throwing away if they don’t turn out. Bottle caps are great for this!

To learn more about working with resin, see our Resin 101 guide and check out all our resin videos here!