Sanding, inking, and polishing resin dice - 10 Tips for a low-tech mirror polish on handmade dice

Possibly my most requested video ever, watch to learn how to get a mirror polish on your handmade dice with minimal tools and expense! In this video, I cover the materials, process, and tips for success that I use to achieve shiny, gorgeously polished handmade resin dice. It's a bit of a long one, but well worth it to watch until the end.
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Materials:
1. Baby wipes (I used unscented Up&Up brand from target)
2. Hard flat surface (I recommend a pane of glass or countertop sample from the hardware store)
3. Exacto knife
4. Water container and dropper (I use a needleless syringe in the video)
5. Waterproof (aka "wet/dry") sandpaper in 800 or 1000 grit
6. Zona polishing papers in 15 micron (grey), 3 micron (Pink), 2 micron (blue), and 1 micron (white)
If you continue to inking...
7. Isopropyl alcohol
8. Acrylic paint (I used magicfly brand in the video)
9. Small paintbrush

[@angelicaapperson950]

I just finished sanding/polishing my first successful cast dice set using your method, and holy cow, I'm floored! I wish I could post a photo with my comment, because these dice are so shiny and pretty and super reflective! I have tried a few other "quick and cheap" methods for polishing resin and my dice have always ended up messed up somehow, I just couldn't seem to replicate the same results. Somehow this method worked perfectly, I fully sanded and polished my first set in less than 6 hours. Also, for those wondering, I used one corner of each sheet of zona paper, ended up using no more than 1/6 of the total surface area on each sheet. I did tear up the 2 micron aqua zona paper a bit when I did the final polish after painting the numbers. I had no damage to the paper with the first water polishing, but for some reason I had damage to the paper with the isopropyl alcohol polishing step to remove the excess paint. I rewatched the video and the only difference I noticed is that I used 91% isopropyl instead, so maybe that broke down the paper faster, I'm not certain. Sorry for the long comment, just wanted to say thank you for making this video, it was so worth spending about $30 total on Amazon for supplies to have such beautifully polished dice. They look like little mirrors and I love them. 🥰😍

[@KaitlinPierce]

I’m so so happy to hear that 😊. Thank you for sharing, you made my day!

[@angelicaapperson950]

Thank you for making such an awesome and useful tutorial, I appreciate it immensely. 😊

[@angelicaapperson950]

I just finished polishing another dice set I made for a friend's birthday this weekend. I can confirm that the higher alcohol percentage does indeed break down the zona paper faster, I diluted the isopropyl alcohol with some water this time and it didn't damage the zona paper like the first time. 😀

[@KaitlinPierce]

Great tip! Thanks for experimenting 🥰

[@Freightercharlotte]

Just watched a bunch of your videos and wow!! My girlfriend and I were confused why our dice weren’t coming out shiny like we wanted, and you’ve helped to answer so many of our questions (even ones we didn’t know we had!) Thank you for explaining so much about what you’re doing and why, some of the videos I watched leave out a lot of that really helpful information and make it hard to understand what I’m doing wrong. Great video, beautiful dice!

[@KaitlinPierce]

Thank you so much. I hope it helps

[@tarawood3191]

Thank you so much for this video, seriously. I've been having the worst trouble getting my dice polished, even after watching about half a dozen other videos. Most of the other videos I've seen have said "do x grit y number of times in this direction, then do the next grit, etc, etc", but this is the first time I've seen a good explanation for both how you know you're finished with a particular grit and how much pressure should be applied (and I've been absolutely ruining Zona papers as a result). I've polished maybe 30-ish sets of dice trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong, and the set I just polished after watching this is the first one that's even been close to looking right. Seriously, you're a lifesaver!

[@ryoga81]

Wow. As someone that's just starting out in this as a hobby, seeing what beauty can come from these little pieces of plastic brings me such joy. Thank you for sharing this.

[@VoidedLight]

ive been having troubles with my dice but watching your videos honestly makes me so much more optimistic about working without a pressure pot

[@pagansart]

I know this video is 2 years old but thank you for showing your troubleshooting process. it's very valuable. There are many videos on sanding dice but very few that cover how you navigate flaws from casting. Also, really handy to see you polish the crystal D4 points (they are soooo teeny tiny!).

[@samjemmett7226]

I bought a glossy bath tile to polish on and found that worked really well. It gave me a lot of space to work with as well and was very cheap.

[@KaitlinPierce]

Great recommendation

[@blondylocks12000]

Thanks so much. I have a horrible time with figuring out how to sand and polish but have all the tools and this was perfect. Thanks so much.

[@chaidenSP]

Great tips!!❤

[@Ranmitita]

Thanks for this video, your voice is so soothing I really enjoyed watching you comment about the process!

[@KaleidoscopicJubil33]

I'm going to have to try this method! I've been a bit of a corner cutter and have just been using mirror finish gel top coat for nails. If you cure it long enough, it has the same feel as regular dice and gets you that beautiful finish really quick. With practice it also brings back any edges that may have been flubbed during sanding from small humans running around as you work.

[@syntheticvoid]

This is so useful! Thank you for posting this.

[@shinashayesteh564]

Thanks so much for this video!! I've been using a super inefficient polishing process that was causing me a lot of elbow pain, and this is gonna help so much with that!

[@nightwalker180]

Thank you again another great video.

[@ThemisadventuresofLu]

Thank you! Beautiful

[@jonathanmarquiss2435]

Thank you, that was supper informative!

[@dingdongsingsong420]

I was using more steps for both sanding and zona papers and getting far worse results. These techqniues saved me SO MUCH TIME and also produced WAYYY better results. Thank you for such a detailed video!

[@faelingbeans]

Super helpful!!!

[@Shizuka171]

That's very helpfull, thank you!

[@mishagrifka6545]

I would love to know how to get the almost stripey rainbow look that these dice have! they're so cool, I was distracted from the polishing!

[@godfatherfeederfather6350]

This is awesome! Thank you for sharing ❤ Do you sell the molds to make these? I would love to make a few sets for my sons

[@ravengateley7677]

the matte after sanding looks kinda cool though XD

[@IcsulX]

How did you make these dice? Can we please have a tutorial on this? The pigments are so nicely ordered

[@SalsaSomething]

I would love to know when you start sanding? I know the rockstar is surface dry at 6 hours and full cure at 32, do you ha e to wait the full time or is it better to do when the resin is a little softer?

[@2kovu4]

How long are Zona papers lasting? Can you reuse the surface that you've already used after it dries? I'm considering getting them but I'd need to buy them from abroad. I'm wondering if the price (plus shipping costs for me) are any better than getting some polishing pads in grids 1500 - 12000

[@KaitlinPierce]

It generally depends. The 15 micron doesn’t last as long as the others because the roughness of the dice tears it up faster. The 3, 2, and 1 micron (in my experience) last much longer. I think I get roughly 6-8 sets out of each sheet. It really depends how much work needs to be done on the dice which is usually a function of your molds.

[@2kovu4]

@@KaitlinPierce Thank you! I don't really make my own dice (only few times for fun, as I had a bottle of resin), usually I polish factory made dice that I bought to make them pop if they are a bit dull, or after reinking. I guess I will give Zona papers a go sometime soon :)

[@KaitlinPierce]

Cheapest way to try is to get a variety pack. It’s only one sheet each but it lets you play around with the grits you prefer. I think the variety packs are around $12 USD last I looked…

[@Offwego]

I found a conversion chart on a dice making site that got me confused. It states that 15 micron Zona paper is equivalent to 600 grit (then down to 1 micron being equivalent to 8000 grit). But in that case, that would make it even coarser than the 800 grit sandpaper you used on your d20. Does this make sense to you? Is the conversion chart incorrect?

[@4875Rome]

I’ve gotten 2 molds to make dice of Amazon, they do. Or seem to mold well or I’m doing something wrong. Do you know what is a good mold to buy? I really just want a D20 dice.

[@nylomuller5222]

Were these done with or without a pressure pot?

[@SasukeGER]

so .... first dry zona for corection afterwards the same zona wet ? Zona is not available here :(

[@KaitlinPierce]

I use my zonas wet. I start with 800-1000 grit sandpaper for correction and only use zona for smoothing and polishing. If zona is not available, I know several makers who use dremels and polishing compound instead!

[@SasukeGER]

@@KaitlinPierce well I only got "normal" sandpaper here ... I have 800-3000 Grit ... I tried all wet but seems they miss the polishing... seems the only way to get that matte finish away is to use some polish paste and go for it ... otherwise its always not clear dice