Spent weeks on a diarama, it looked great. Bought a “beginner” 1:1 casting resin kit that had good reviews on Amazon. Followed directions to a T. Looked great when I poured it in but has it cured the bottom was a mess of bubbles and clouds that I couldn’t pop as the top layer had stiffened. Destroyed it.
Would love some help/advice, I don’t want to give up on my concept. Bad brand of resin? Is a quarter inch too much of a layer? I have no idea why it was a diaster.
Thanks much.
What material is your groundwork made from? Is it porous? Did you seal the area before covering it with resin?
It was a mix of plaster and sawdust…airbrushed w/ acrylic and some pigments put over the top. Have done a little snooping around since my post and it seems part of my problem was not doing several layers of no more than 1/8 inch thick?
Do I need to seal it too? You may have just saved me from another disaster.
Thanks so much for the help!
I think the problem is the pour. It really has to be a series of thin layers. Also there can’t be any bubbles in the resin when you pour it. Even tiny ones- they won’t go away.
Other problems are heat as it cures, and shrinkage. Assuming you are modeling a pond or something similar, plan to dress up the edge of the water with ground cover once it has fully cured.
I wouldn’t try to create a depth of more than 1/4" or so. Anything beyond that usually is best done with a piece of glass.
Thanks, makes sense. How is it possible to mix resin and hardener w/o any tiny air bubbles?
Slowly stir the resin/hardner mix. Do not shake or agitate quickly or you will induce bubbles.
Very carefully.
Got it. Yeah, I was stirring it like paint…
Thanks very much.
Good to ask questions. Can you describe what you are doing?
A river bank, using foam as the base with plaster/sawdust as the ground material. Airbrushed it and then used pigments…looked good. The earlier suggestion to seal the river bed is probably a good idea. I assume some clear coat would do the trick.
It can’t hurt.
Look at some of the diorama tutorials that Luke Towan has on Youtube for his Boulder Creek model railroad.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjRkUtHQ774mTg1vrQ6uA5A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEG3d0cMuv4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eogwfb4LPLs
He mixes a 1:1 clear resin, carefully to avoid introducing bubbles. He pours in a thin layer. Depth is accomplished by judicious painting. He goes over the resin before it begins to harden with a pencil torch. This brings any bubbles to the surface where they pop.
Your problem is that you poured too deep. Resin hardening is a exothermic reaction - that means it generated heat. Too much resin will warp the substrate
Thanks very much! Had read about using a torch, maybe it’s not as big a deal as it sounds initially.