Hi guys, today we're gonna talk about dealing with bubbles in your resin work. So first we're gonna
go over how to avoid adding too many bubbles to our resin while we're mixing and pouring
and then go on to different methods of removing bubbles once they're in there. There's a list
down below of the different sections so feel free to use that if you want to skip around.
Okay, so the first tip is when you're pouring your resin, don't pour it straight down into
the middle of your cup because it can pull air down into your mix.
To avoid doing that what you can do instead is pour it down the edges of the cup and it'll flow
in without adding bubbles. If you use a resin that's measured by weight it can be a little
tricky to aim it because you need to keep the cup on the scale, but if you're just transferring the
resin between cups you can angle them as you pour so it'll flow down the side smoothly.
Now the next tip is to do with how we're mixing the resin. So popsicle sticks are a
popular thing to use because they're easy to get and they're cheap, but because these are
made of wood they're a little bit porous so they can sometimes leech tiny bubbles into the resin.
It's better to use something non-porous like plastic or silicone. Personally
I like to use a mini baking spatula because it has a good surface area and I can just
reuse it every time I'm mixing up resin so it makes less waste too.
When you're mixing it's also important not to mix too fast or you'll whip air into it,
it's better if you take your time and mix slow and steady. It's also easiest if you use a cup
that's a good size for the amount of resin you're using, because if it's just a thin layer on the
bottom of a large cup it's a lot harder to avoid stirring bubbles in even if you're going slow.
Okay so we've talked about how to avoid adding too many bubbles,
but what else can we do for the ones that get mixed in anyway? Well one of the things that
affects bubbles staying in is the viscosity of the resin, which is how thick the resin is.
Higher viscosity resins are more of a honey kind of consistency
and lower viscosity ones can be almost as thin as water. We can use this information to our
advantage because if we use a thinner resin the bubbles will rise out much easier. Using a slower
setting resin will also allow more time for the bubbles to rise out before it begins hardening.
Now if you don't want to buy a thinner resin, another option is to lower the viscosity of
any resin by warming it before you begin mixing. Warmer resin will have a lower viscosity so it'll
be both easier to mix and allow bubbles to rise out better. The easiest way to warm it is to place
the resin bottle in some warm water for a little while before you start, you just have to be
careful not to get any water inside the bottle. Personally I like to use a yogurt maker for this
because it's vacuum sealed so it keeps the warmth in and it prevents the bottle from tipping over.
Any sort of bowl or container will work though, just don't use anything that you're planning on
using for food again later. The only downside to this method is that it will speed the reaction
time up so you'll have less time to work with the resin before it begins to harden.
An ultrasonic cleaner is one of the cheaper options for something that will actually force
the bubbles out of the resin, and they work surprisingly well. All you have to do is place
your resin cup inside the chamber and fill it with water at least as high as your resin goes
and turn it on. Depending on how much resin you're mixing you might also need to weigh the cup down
with something on the top of it so that it doesn't float. As you can see, the ultrasonic waves slowly
force the bubbles out of the resin, and by the end of it you're left with clear, bubble-free resin.
Like with using heat though this will also speed your reaction time so be careful not to overdo
it. The main drawback of this method is that it only works for relatively small amounts of resin,
so if you're doing larger projects it might not be ideal,
but that's where the next option comes in...
If an ultrasonic cleaner isn't cutting it the next option is to use a vacuum chamber.
A vacuum chamber works by removing all the air out of the chamber your resin cup is in
which then forces the air out of the resin itself too. This works best on low viscosity
resins because thick ones tend to bubble up quite a lot. You can either buy a ready made
vacuum chamber or it's not too hard to make one yourself if you have the tools.
The last major way to remove bubbles is to use a pressure pot. These are usually made by modifying
a paint pot but a few ready made ones can be bought too. Technically a pressure pot doesn't
remove any air from your resin, it's actually the opposite of a vacuum chamber and works by forcing
lots of air into the pot. Doing this increases the pressure on the bubbles in your resin
and shrinks them down smaller than the eye can see and leaves you with a bubble-free cast.
Pressure casting works really well and is what professional resin artists use. If you have a
pressure pot setup you probably won't need to worry about any of the other points in this
video so far. The main drawbacks to a pressure pot are the size and the potential safety issues.
Generally, people use them without any trouble, but in a worst case scenario they can explode so
it's best to do your research. Overall though, as long as you're staying within the normal pressures
most casters use they're relatively safe and a great option to use to get bubble-free casts.
With a lot of the methods we've discussed so far you'll end up pulling the bubbles
out just fine but then they'll just sit on the surface being a nuisance.
Sometimes you can just crush them against the side of the cup but if that's not working there are
several other ways of dealing with them. First of all you can swipe a butane torch or a lighter over
the surface of the resin and the carbon dioxide from these will pop the bubbles super easily.
But this is only good for resin work that doesn't need silicone moulds like river tables or coating
artwork because otherwise it's super easy to accidentally fuse your resin to the silicone
which will wreck your mould. Instead, for mould based work you can breathe out hard
over your resin and the carbon dioxide from your breath will pop the bubbles. This only
tends to work on low viscosity resins though. Alternatively, you can also put some isopropyl
alcohol in a fine mist spray bottle and it'll pop the bubbles super easily too.
I've seen other people mention that vibration can also help bubbles rise out of resin faster,
I've never really tried it out though, but you might want to experiment.
Also, a good way to cut down on bubbles being introduced from things you're adding to it
is to dip them in the resin first before adding them to your mould,
it helps to break the surface tension so that they don't end up with bubbles clinging to them.
Thanks so much for watching this video, if you have any other suggestions for
dealing with bubbles or if you need any help please leave a comment down
below. I'm planning on making more resin tutorials so if you're interested in that
feel free to subscribe and don't forget to like this video if you found it helpful