Avoiding Sticky Resin and Recycling Resin Mixing Tools

AVOIDING STICKY RESIN

I've been working with EnviroTex Lite resin for several months now and seem to learn something new every time.

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I never read instructions (not a good thing) but recently the EnviroTex Lite hardener changed from a yellowish color to clear, just like the resin. Previously I had depended on seeing the clear resin and yellow hardener becoming an even, clear mix to know when I had mixed enough. So after a sticky resin batch I finally read the instructions and learned several new things.

Lots of the YouTube resin videos I had watched showed the demonstrator mixing the resin and hardener in a circular motion to avoid creating bubbles. The EnviroTex Lite PDF instructions however said to mix in a whipping motion from the bottom to the top and not to worry about creating too many bubbles. It also said to mix for only two minutes and to pour immediately.

I tried this and noticed two things. The first was that when whipping from bottom to top, the mixture immediately becomes cloudy. The second was that once the cloudiness clears, bubbles immediately started moving to the surface and bursting. In five minutes all bubbles cleared from the poured mixture. Following the instructions ensures a clear, hard resin that is NEVER sticky.

The instructions also said that it was okay to blow onto the resin (don't inhale over the resin mix) as carbon dioxide breaks up any stubborn bubbles. I still do this but have noticed that I don't need to do it as much as I did previously when the hardener was yellow.

I also learned that before adding more resin to a previous layer I needed to wipe the cured layer with alcohol. Oops, did not know that.

RECYCLING RESIN TOOLS

But the absolutely best thing I learned was how to recycle the tools I use such as the measuring cups and mixing cup. Simply add alcohol (I use 50% alcohol from the Dollar Tree) to the cups and use a paper towel to ensure the alcohol reaches all inside and outside surfaces. When the alcohol becomes milky pour it out and repeat the process. After the second alcohol cleaning simply wash the cups with dish detergent and set out to dry so they can be re-used.

I mentioned a sticky resin batch earlier in this post.  I had used my favorite paint palette for this very sticky resin batch and did not want to trash it. So I scraped out as much resin as I could onto wax paper and started using alcohol on the paint palette to remove the resin. It took about 30 minutes of cleaning but I ended up with a reusable paint palette.

SOME BUYING TIPS

I buy mixing sticks, 50% alcohol and large measuring cups at my local Dollar Tree for $1 each.

I buy the 16 oz EnviroTex Lite at Michaels using a 40% off coupon ($13.19) or a 50% off coupon ($10.99). That price is lower than I've seen online for the same size.

You can get 100 graduated medicine cups from Amazon.com for $2.58 with free Prime shipping. There may be cheaper options but this is the only one I could find after much hunting.