Mix, pour, wait and you will be rewarded with a beautiful, hard, glass-like result to your work. Once in a while, you may find that your resin isn’t as solid as you had planned. In fact, the resin bends.
What can I do to stop this from happening?
Let’s talk about the WHY.
Short Cure Time
In most cases, the reason you have resin that bends is due to the fact that the resin needs more time to cure. Art Resin will have a 95% solidity after 24 hours. The resin will bend if you try to curve it or move it before the 24 hour mark. We recommend waiting three to five days for the resin to fully cure.
Thin Pour
Many artist creations require a thin layer of resin. Although Art Resin will fully cure on thin pours, expect your resin to be bendy if it is not thicker than ⅓ of an inch.
Inaccurate Measuring
Art Resin is a simple 1:1 mixing ratio by volume, not weight. To ensure a successful pour, you need to achieve this delicate balance. The chemical reaction will be affected if you add too much resin or hardener. Otherwise, the mixture will not cure properly. The mixture can turn from a liquid into a solid but it may end up with resin that bends.
Not Thoroughly Mixed
It’s important to mix both the Resin and hardener thoroughly or it cannot catalyze properly. The resin must be thoroughly mixed for at most 3 minutes. Improperly mixed resin could again turn the mixture into a solid but it won’t be 100% thoroughly cured, leading to bendy resin.
Too Much Colorant
Adding too much of a liquid or powdered colorant can also throw off the resin mixture’s delicate balance. Tinting resin can have a beautiful effect but any more than 6% of the total combined volume of the resin mixture could soften the resin’s final cure.
What can you do to fix it?
It is possible to fix it easily with patience. Allow the resin to cure for an additional 2-7 days. It will cure the resin longer and harden your piece. This will prevent it from bending.
If your piece is thin, a slight bend may be inevitable as the recommended thickness is ⅓ of an inch or more. To increase the strength of resin, a substrate like a bezel or canvas is always an option.
Unfortunately, resin that has been mixed incorrectly may not cure as well. You can try to measure the resin and then mix another batch to put on the benty piece. This will add strength and support.
Fear not! ArtResin can be very patient. There is always an answer and in most cases, a reason. Artists often use the 24-hour cure to their advantage, to shape and mold resin mixtures to create unique designs before it hardens fully. Bendy Resin can have its benefits.
So looking forward, here is a cheat sheet of things to remember in order to prevent bendy resin from happening again.
- You must measure the exact amount of resin and hardener.
- Mix well for at least three minutes.
- Pour in layers of ⅓ of an inch or more.
- Thin pours can be made with a substrate.
- Keep the colorants’ total volume under 6%.
- Allow your artwork to cure for at least 3 to 5 days.
And that’s it! Feel free to check out this video and this video that highlight ways in which you can bend and shape resin while still achieving a hard finish.
