SEALING ARTWORK WITH RESIN - ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS

A very interesting post by Valorie Hunter, a member of the FB group FLUID ART ADDICTS.  Many artists seal their art with a coating of resin and Valorie has graciously shared several points and tips to help beginners avoid the same mistakes.  Other members of the group have also contributed to Valorie’s post with their own advice which we are sure all beginners will find very informative.
 

USING RESIN TO TOPCOAT ART

Valorie Hunter

So most of my paintings are sealed with resin because I embellish them with decals. I have struggled so much working with the stuff but have made some discoveries lately that I really wish someone had shared with me when I started, so I'm sharing in case even one person finds them helpful.

1. Don't skimp on the resin. I realized 90% of my struggles with coverage related issues such as divots and spots that resisted the resin went away when I was generous with how much I applied.

2. Be careful how you pour. I thought my abundance of air bubbles in my resin was due to temperatures and how I was stirring the two parts to mix them. I realized that it was the way I was pouring the parts into my mixing cup that was the problem. When I slowly and gently pour down the side of the cup instead of just dumping the parts in, the amount of air bubbles is hugely reduced.

3. The above being said, a warm environment and warm resin really is a must. And by warm I mean right around 80° works best for me.

4. Figure out what it really is that is floating into your resin. Since I started, I assumed that the little specs getting into my resin was little pieces of lint or dust. I tried running an air filter, spritzing the air and cleaning my space but without fail, they kept showing up. Quite by accident, I discovered that it's tiny little gnats. I have no idea where the b@st@rds are coming from but I'm adding a bug trap to my arsenal that will hopefully greatly reduce the issue.

5. Wear two pairs of gloves. When your gloves are covered with resin, strip the top layer off and pull a new layer on over your base pair. Keep doing this the whole time you’re working with this messy medium and it will save you a whole lot of grief trying to get resin off your hands when you’re done. I pull a glove over my torch handle too to help keep it at least a little cleaner.

If you have any tips I haven't included (or probably thought of) I would love it if you shared them!


RESIN BUMPS/DRIPS
 
Lori Mellen

Resin bumps or drips are the runoff of resin that drips from back of your piece underneath… if you don’t wipe them… they will harden into resin bumps.

APW

Use masking tape on the back to prevent resin drips underneath.  To remove tape, warm it with hot air from hairdryer or use a heat gun.  This will help to easily remove the tape on the resin edge.

Video:   Kanella Ciraco Art

If you did not tape the back, resin bumps/drips can be removed by sanding them off but it is of utmost importance to use a respirator mask as the resin particles are very fine and extremely dangerous if inhaled.

APPLYING RESIN WITH BRUSH

Philippa Perry

I brush on 3 thin coats of resin letting it dry for 24 hours between each coat.
Every brush is ruined afterwards!
Here is what it looks like finished.

Video:  Philippa Perry

Website:  www.philippaperry.com/

GLOVES

Phyllis Panchenko-Andrzejewski

Before I even start I put 3 pairs of gloves on and cover all my tools, heat gun, torch, etc. I use masking tape and my bottle of alcohol too. If a call comes in or someone at the door whatever happens as soon as I start a project, always happens, I can pull the first glove off and still have 2 on. It really helps. I use plastic boxes to cover my pieces. Hope this helps someone.

RESPIRATOR MASK

Bev Roney

I keep a spray bottle of 99% alcohol on hand to spray my gloves and tools. Wrap a baby wipe around the trigger to avoid getting resin on it. Paper towels to remove most of the resin in my measuring cups, then I wipe them out with a clean baby wipe.

Oh and get a good respirator mask. Not just those cheap $35 ones from Amazon. Make sure the seal fits tight against your face. Any air getting in around it you may as well not be wearing one.

Last but not least, if you can afford it, have a ventilation system put in your space. I have a whole house Heat Recovery Ventilator that will completely suck the air and all those harmful VOCs from my house 6x an hour. I can throw that sucker on when I’m resining for the added protection. It minimizes the fumes from circulating through the rest of my house.

CLEANING CANVAS BEFORE RESINING

Dina Zulkernain

Another tip: always wipe your painting surface beforehand to ensure there's no residue of silicone oil or oils from our hands or fingers or dust and lint. I usually use a wet wipe with a really light spritz of alcohol. Let it air dry then you can seal with resin. Also a good practice is to spritz the back of your canvas with water to make it taut before pouring the resin.

RESINING BIG CANVASES

Elizabeth Benner

I found for really big canvases, to keep the canvas taut and the resin from pooling in the middle, I turn the canvas upside down and put a thin layer of resin on the back.  It works wonders!  Sometimes I even do this before I paint.



QUALITY

Vicki Worthington

I've found the quality of resin makes a big difference too. I have one resin that is cheaper and no good on surfaces as EVERYTHING ends up with divots and pin holes. But in molds it's great. Another resin I buy is one of the most expensive ones I've seen and it gives a beautiful finish on tables and coasters etc. So my tip is, if you keep getting rubbish results but you're doing everything right. IT'S PROBABLY THE RESIN. Try a different one.

CLEANING OFF RESIN

Susan Brown

I have found that hand sanitizer will clean resin off hands well.

Monica Tarnas

If you do get resin on your hands or anywhere else on your body use any sort of cooking oil and rub well into your hands wash off with soap and you’ll be good to go. Works for me every time.



CHECKING RESIN

Lesly Smith

I keep tweezers on hand when I resin. After torching air bubbles and still not getting them all I just moved on. Only to see that it's tiny hair or dust in the resin when it dries. Now I use tweezers to remove them during the jelling time. I'm in Florida and a/c is on. Have to up the temperature to reach 78 in my studio. Now I have decided only to resin in the winter.

Barb Soyka

Yes! And different light sources so you can look at your pieces from side angles and identify divots, hair, etc. to eliminate.

We thank all the above for their helpful tips.  Should you have a tip that can help beginners, kindly add it in the comments below.

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