I tested some resin hacks and tips and here's what happened

This video show me testing some resin tips and hacks and the results. here's what happened when I tried some of them. Not all of them work well and I would strongly recommend you don't use them. Others worked out brilliantly.
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Steve 😍
Although I often talk about health and safety in my videos, please make sure you do your own research and take the relevant precautions to ensure that you are protecting your health. I am not responsible for anyone using resin and not taking the correct safety precautions. Resin is a chemical and as such should be always treated with respect and the manufacturers safety advice taken.

[@ABJILL033]

A small tip for the moulds, once you know how much resin each one needs, write it with a permanent marker on the back of the mould so the info is always there.

[@leslierhoades2753]

That's great!!! thanks!

[@melaniereisner8375]

I do that, too, after testing it with water. It's so helpful

[@ChrisRasch]

If the mold is small enough, you could put it on a scale, tare the scale, then fill the mold with water. More precise volume measurement, and no risk of spilling the water out of the mold.

[@faieriemama64]

I agree and that's also the way we measure the resin

[@HughT08]

Water measure: it is easier to do it this way; make sure the water in the original container is at an identifiable mark, pour into the mold and simply deduct the remaining amount from the original volume.

[@Aimelizzette]

@@SteveMcDonaldArtsandCrafts I would def get the water everywhere trying to balance it to pour it in a cup

[@sanju5411]

Just measure WITHA a syringe

[@DeeEll86442]

Hi Steve, You showed us how to find out how much resin you need for a certain mold, then you mentioned marking the side of the measuring cup with the resin but I think another good tip would be to mark on the mold how much it actually takes to fill the mold once you find out , don’t you agree?🤷🏼‍♀️

[@NancyMcKellar]

Instead of the florist foam, I use a cup of fine grain salt to place my tall skinny molds.

[@toughtimes6596]

Rice also works well for doming items that are uneven like teddy bears or figurines. The rice keeps them stable and level

[@anastaciaflores8645]

I recently came across your channel and subscribed after watching 2 videos. It is quite hard to find informative quality videos on resin. Your channel is exactly what I was looking for and I already have learned quite a bit. Thank you for your hard work!

[@craftynanny1]

I use the baby wipes to clean pots but just put a small squirt of hand sanitizer to clean anything it's cheap and works really well. I dicovered this myself as I am a newbie reesin crafter and have since seen a few others doing the same. Cheap babywipes are fine with the sanitizer. HJope this is useful xx

[@cynthiameyers9717]

I use a measuring cup with extra water and subtract what I poured in the mold. I do it at the sink, no spillage.

[@hkreations5108]

I enjoyed your tips! I've seen the warming of the resin too, but they put the individual bottles of resin and hardener in the warm water. This helps make the viscosity thinner, once mixed. The bubbles will rise quicker, since the resin is thinner. It does however, take longer to cure.

[@e-l-t2279]

Another great video! Very helpful!. Enjoyable as always, especially 4 minutes and13 seconds in. "How to help pleasure accurately" lol

[@judy4345]

Good way to measure. I used water and it was a bit tippy cause I was pouring a seahorse. But it was fairly accurate. Will use rice next time. Thanks Steve!

[@wendyjohnson8218]

When using water to measure, use a pipette to “pick up and pour” into measuring cup.

[@HF-nf1db]

measure the water in what you're pouring out of before and after and work the difference out, it's a lot less effort haha

[@amberlindsey7112]

@@HF-nf1db that is exactly what I was thinking because I would have spilled the water also 😂

[@jjfe73]

Put the mold onto a scale. Zero it. Weigh how much water you put into it. 1L of water weighs 1kg. Simple.

[@Iosif127idita]

Regarding no.5 tip it is working as long as you put warm, not hot water and let the pot in the water for 10 to 15 minutes, not just 3 min.The idea is to warm slightly the resin ,not to heat it.The bubbles will dissapear and the resin becomes crystal clear.

[@elizabethtorres8266]

Thanks for those tips. I. Very new and make a lot of mistakes. End up frustrated and having to toss them out!🤭😮‍💨

[@Iosif127idita]

@@elizabethtorres8266 so was I 😄 but now...crystal clear!

[@pourtopia]

I really like the tip with the rice.....will try this myself as I just guess how much resin a mold needs and that’s annoying! 😂

[@ZippedUpKitz]

@4:11 …. Extra Tip: How to help PLEASURE ACCURATELY……… 🤣 🤣 🤣…… ok now Steve…I know you love to help people and give out great advice…. But, umm… uh…. Yeah…. lol….I nearly choked when I saw that!

[@bubblemum]

I've been doing resin projects for a year, and only found your tips and videos yesterday. *Deep sigh* I wish it had been sooner! these are great!

[@amberlindsey7112]

I have been doing it for several years and don't know why I didn't think of measuring with rice or water before these tips!!!

[@nayfleww]

I have a tip instead of pouring the water in the mold first and trying to transfer it to the measuring cup. Pour the water in the measuring cup FIRST and measure that amount, then pour the water in the mold. See what is left in the measuring cup after that and subtract that amount from what you started with. So much easier!

[@juliexx1686]

Also could use acrylic sealer spray instead of tape. Dries in about a minute👍

[@J44acy]

Thank you so much for your helpful hints. I fill my moulds with water to see how much resin I will need, but I use a 5 ml syringe and just add up the total, that way if I spill any emptying the water out, I already have the total.

[@judithvanrooyen8410]

Hi i just want to say thank you for all this help as a first time user to resin i need loads to learn wiah i saw this video last night before i struggled with my clean up defnantly a super help thanks 😊

[@janette1694]

Great 👍 tips steve- alcohol ink !🤣🤣 oh you do give me a giggle x

[@leahrobson6499]

Genius!! I struggle with this every time. Great tip

[@janette1694]

What a great tutorial- helped me a lof- thank you 💕from Scotland UK x

[@Gregatron13]

For using water to measure the volume, just check the water level in your measuring cup before and after you pour water in your mold. Much easier and cleaner!

[@FluidArtwithErika]

Great tips, thank you! ❤️🌵✌🏻

[@aries456]

I love your channel! All of your videos are making me better at crafting!

[@carlycharlesworth1497]

Steve these tips are brilliant! Thank you for this really helpful video!

[@sandymartin6220]

This is a really helpful video! Thank you very much for doing this.

[@andreayawn6519]

That was soo informative! Thank you so much!❤

[@gillhedley3985]

Very useful video for people like me who are just starting the craft. Delaying getting started as I have become a bit paranoid about fumes

[@lnc-to4ku]

Such great tips, thank you so much for them! Also, loooove when you gave the 'resting the resin in hot water' a raspberry! 😂

[@redbootsproductions3577]

LOL. I put the mold on my scale. Weigh it empty and then put in the rice. That gives me the volume needed.

[@dulceteixeira9097]

Awesome tips 😊 I use the baby wipes to clean my resin pots! Thank you for sharing 🌹❤️

[@cartermayzik6494]

Wonderful. Thank you

[@sd4055]

Great tips. I've learned so much from your videos!

[@dodiayuob3662]

Thank you so much to learning us all the important tips .🌹🌹

[@danieldors1075]

To be honest, I think all the bubbles appearing at 10:45 are not from underneath the sticker but created by the quick motion you did with the stick. What I found to be working perfectly for me is to first dip the sticker/paper completely on a clear resin cup (using tweezers) and then place it on the mold and PRESS DOWN with my figers (of course, wearing gloves) and carefully move it where I want. After a while, the piece of paper will rise up a bit but not all the way to the top, and there will be no bubbles under.

[@pai009]

I've got another tip for the stickers or little pictures you might want to put into resin, this also really helps with placing them as well. Instead of placing them face down in a clear resin layer when you first start, put them face up after you've popped the piece out of the mold and put a thin layer, or dome, over the image. This is after you've sealed it of course. Also you can use the way you seal it to adhere the image to the piece. If you use tape, just tape the side with the pic, cut around it a bit so it fits on with leaving a little clear around the edges, and push it down well so the tape sticks to the resin base. Also if you use glue, stick the piece down with a thin layer of glue, then do the top layer(s) of glue you use over the top and a little off around the pic as well. I've found this works really well and it gets rid of the problem of not positioning the images correctly, like I said before.

[@Nirrrina]

I had a bunch of nail files & I've found those are good to take off just that little lip on pieces.

[@daniellenunn-weinberg5381]

I first used resin years ago and all my bracelets that I cast had that nasty edge. I hadn't a clue what to do with them, since it was pre-KZbin days, and ended up tossing the lot and giving up on resin.

[@dcruicks1]

I'm new to resin and I love what you have taught me so far. I will say that what I have done with resin that the water measuring has worked for me every time. That's funny. Thanks for teaching me 😀

[@almacasiano]

lots of great information awesome video thank you for sharing

[@Emerald1dx3]

Just found your channel( subscribed) and really like it. I've just became interested in working with resin and your channel is going to help me save allot of time and mistakes. I also like watching you experiment with adding different things to the resin ie. nail polish, acrylic paint etc. That's really nice information to have for a beginner like myself. Thanks much .

[@Emerald1dx3]

@@SteveMcDonaldArtsandCrafts Thank you for posting terrific information. I'll learn allot from you.

[@gabrielleschmidt1435]

🎉Great video, 👍 lots of great ideas!😊

[@TeAsEnToRmEnT]

Use your sharpie and rub over the numbers for the measurements and you will be able to see them :)

[@cynthiacarr3294]

Great Video💯👏🏽👏🏽😁

[@dolleyferguson1861]

Thank you so much for sharing I’m a beginner 🤩🙏🤩🥰

[@theanniewoo2891]

Thank you Steve 👍

[@leslierhoades2753]

Thank you for all of these!!! Do you have a video on what to do if you DO accidentally overpour resin on a top coat? So many tutorials say 'make sure not to overpour' but I cant find any on what to do if/when it does happen. I'm the klutiest person I know, so I shpuld say 'when I overpaur, what can I do to fix it? Anyways, you're always a blast to watch & I really do appreciate this particular video! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@redrosemumcrafts2793]

Why didnt i think of that? Great ideas

[@CraftsbyShavon]

I like to color the measurements on the cup with a sharpie then lightly wipe off the excess. It should have gotten ink into the cracks and grooves of numbers and lines

[@cherylacampora670]

very informative!

[@michelemyers3122]

Very good

[@sandraroberts9400]

Thank you!!!!

[@mazmain9248]

When you are using water to find out how much you need put it on a scale and measure how much you need in gm and mix your resin in grams, I never it out in cup sizes always on a scale. Heating the resin before you mix it helps to get fewer bubbles

[@suzannegoodsonsasybb1473]

I love your videos and I wish I could try this but no resin and not sure where to get it

[@61crispy]

I have always laminated my stickers. I make a huge batch and then run them through the laminator and store them in containers ready for use. Tape is a great alternative, just takes a bit longer.

[@Rammy72Moni]

Thanks for the tip with the sticky tape for pictures and so on. Think I will try this with the feathers of my chickens, the fluffy part always has a lot of air bubbles. And maybe the white ones won´t go transparent with this technique. I saw a YT video about laminating feathers, that worked, but I don´t have a laminator. Great help here!

[@GmoneyGcode]

With stickers or a picture or paper pour the resin let it cure then glue your object down then pour a thin layer of resin on top depending on the object you may not have to use glue

[@offairhead]

@ 7:40 actually fussy-cutting is just cutting it out, not cutting it out with a boarder. This is a really great idea, though. …almost like laminating it but with packing tape.

[@trekkieshazz]

Good video but I don’t use baby wipes as they take 100 years to decompose. I use the silicone cups. 👍

[@nancyhatcher1083]

I love your videos and the information you show!! I do have a couple of thoughts. 1) Initially pour the water into your glass, noting how much is in the glass. Pour water into mold and check the glass to see how much you poured out. Much simpler than what you were trying to do. 2)Also, other videos using water only use hot water - not boiling - and it seemed to work better. Thanks for great videos!!

[@cmcmillan7987]

Thanks

[@diedredunham7383]

I learned on my 2nd resin piece to cover them from then on. I had a piece that would have been great. Well a gnat was in it and I don't think a lacey pendant is better with a gnat!! I got it kind of off, but it was no longer pretty.

[@Thepaleone64]

I wish I would've known about taping the paper for.putting in resin I make memorial products and I've been laminating photos so I can use then in a pour

[@pattimilks461]

I always out mine in luke warn water and it works great

[@patriciacollier9864]

If you put a small piece of cork on the back of the coasters to "fill in" the ridge, it would keep the coasters from sliding on the furniture and scratching it.

[@driqbal316]

Wow! This is so good! Which sandpaper is used for resin art (grit size)?

[@1tera285]

White vinegar works well in cleaning up wet resin also you can let the resin dry and pull it out of the mixing jugs etc, for little bits of dry resin you can use sticky tape in cleaning up molds.

[@caroltaylor7000]

I have used my epoxy resin as instructions given. My resin on paintings have covered to a point but in large areas I have a puddle effect where no resin stayed in place can you help please. Great videos and very helpful

[@jennyconfer2483]

To do the resin to make the bubbles go away faster is ya put the unmixed resins side a and b into hot water before you mix then after you mix it you allow it to sit for 5min and the bubbles come to the surface who ever told you to use boiling water is definitely wrong it’s hot tap water and un mixed then mix and allow to settle 5minutes then take a torch to the top and itl be bubble less I use this every time I do my resins!! I never heard of doing it after it’s mixed already maybe to cure it faster definitely but not to rerelease bubbles

[@alicerobertson15]

Awesome with the rice! I do OK with the water not spilling (finally) but, its never "right"...I've been using it as a sorta guide...I'm trying rice TODAY...I gotta pour up some dominoes anyway...lol

[@suegore5929]

I put all the numbers on my measuring cup with a Sharpie and after one clean they came off. It will work the way you do it, temporarily.

[@DOTTYTIME]

I use the hot water method at times when the weather is cold and the resin is a bit thick, But I don't use boiling water

[@jacquelinelowe4439]

Hi steve, I fill a 150ml nut with water, then I pour it into the mold then see what's left in the jug. I have tremors so, if I do it this way, I no longer spill any water trying to transfer water into a jug. Hope that makes sense. 🤗

[@elizabethtorres8266]

Thank you! I always guess the amount and get it wrong!🤭

[@littlefeather9709]

I did the hot water hack the other day and ruined my best flower coaster I have made. The resin just was a blob. I'll sand it and I'll be ok I hope. Great hacks. Thanks.

[@markbeavis3249]

Water is defo more accurate I do mine on the sink edge so I don't need to lift it just tilt a bit plus remember some water will not come away from the mould then put it down in my resin diary for future reference or I use the epoxy calculator in the app store it's the dogs b's for all resin

[@barryparks4689]

Would it be easier to laminate the cutout?

[@clausnielsen3155]

put the mould on a scale, zero it, fill in water grams equals ml. So much easier

[@lydiastrawberryvaoga5911]

I think the heating in water to get rid of bubbles probably would work of it had a lid as the heat will suck out any air in the container and force the bubbles out of the resin. Like a vacuum seal when you seal jars of food.

[@sheilaolson5868]

Warm water bath is done prior to mixing the resin if the room is cool and your resin is cold. Don’t heat it too much because it does harden very fast.

[@horsehaircreationsbykaren]

I pour alcohol in the baby wipes package, works great!

[@susanhopemason]

With the water, it would be easier to fill the container to a certain level, then fill the mold, then subtract the amount in the mold from your original amount in the original container. It is almost impossible to not spill, if you try to pour it from the mold into a second container.

[@hillbillymal9351]

Fill the water Cup upto an even line ,100ml then pour it into the mold and when the mold is full look to see what left in the cup ,so if there 25ml left then the mold holds 75ml

[@sherry-lynnzwaan1432]

Hey Steve! I have a laminator. Do you think i could do a page of that with some stickers and drawings, fussy cut, to put in resin?

[@karenlloyd16]

I'm really paranoid about microplastics ending up out in our ocean so I'm not sure how to dispose of the soapy water after I've cleaned up my mixing containers. Have thought maybe putting a bit of material over a bucket and straining the water through that to catch any small bits of resin. Not sure of another way around it.

[@bohomebeautifulbygemmabake8562]

Which casting resin do you recommend?

[@sarakoenigmommasj.a.m.pack2701]

A recommendation would be to write down how much water was in the cup before you poured it and then assess How much water is left in the cup after you poured into the mold. The difference will give you how much the moon takes up.

[@hkreations5108]

I know you don't need a mold release for silicone molds, but what if you sprayed those molds anyway...would that eliminate the "shrinkage lip"?

[@rachelb3301]

Thanks Steve! Those were all really helpful. I’d also like to know: what do I do to remove loose glitter from moulds? I incorporate a lot of glitter into some of my resin art and a lot of times I’ll get glitter stuck on the mould

[@taniadelling4974]

Tape works great!

[@cindyfinn4845]

Happy Birthday Steve brilliant hacks and tips TFS , I will need these.

[@cindyfinn4845]

@@SteveMcDonaldArtsandCrafts You're welcome and birthday wishes do come true , thats awesome. I adore craft supplies.

[@cindyfinn4845]

@@SteveMcDonaldArtsandCrafts Can't wait to see what you make that sounds like a lot of fun to watch.

[@cindyfinn4845]

@@SteveMcDonaldArtsandCrafts That is how I feel about using resin for first time..you will do just fine..

[@cindyfinn4845]

@@SteveMcDonaldArtsandCrafts You're welcome and thank you for your vote of confidence..:)

[@cindyfinn4845]

@@SteveMcDonaldArtsandCrafts That is very kind and sweet of you and I am so excited to start yet keeping in mind it is a new medium and learn as I go.I also have some inkjet printable film that I will be doing some practice with it and maybe resin, I should be very busy .

[@jjfe73]

I would like to see the warmed resin done with resin mixed properly - not with deliberately filling it with bubble like you did here. To see if then it does make a difference with releasing any bubbles. Can't tell how effective it is when whipping up bubbles into it deliberately.

[@vickijohnson3783]

I'm going to use mod podge on photos placed on foam (2" insulation board), then I want to use resin. Which resin would you recommend?

[@annika6282]

hacks i didnt even know i needed!!!!!

[@blackdaimondheart8872]

How do you get hardened resin out of carpet?

[@Kathleen-kn5ch]

Regarding tip #2: How would I do this with a printed out picture. Is it the same as the sticker, and which would be best to use, tape or mod podge?

[@ProfessorJayTee]

You may also have been driving air out from between the layers of tape around your 'sticker.'

[@offairhead]

20:00 I have gotten enough resin out for it to be reusable but I haven’t ever been able to get them super clean.

[@Blitterbug]

For your little paper sticker, couldn't you paint each side lightly with UV resin, curing before flipping, to prep them? just thinking you might get a better match of refractive indexes rather than with just Sellotape...