The 411 on Resin - Varnishing your Mandala Stones for a Professional Finished Look

Take your mandala stones to the next level with a protective and beautiful resin coating! Whether you have painted stones ready for their finishing touch or perfectly shaped stones that you love but are a little too rough on the surface for painting, this video will show you what to do!
I will take you through the resin process and also let you know everything you need to finish off your painted rocks and protect your artwork while leaving it with a professional look!
I apologize for the lighting at the begging of the video, I need to move my tripod from it's usual space to show you a bigger work area, note to self for next time - no camera facing towards the window! ;)
ArtResin:
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Heat Gun:
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USA: amzn.to/2IWrqnb
Mini Red Solo Cups:
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USA: amzn.to/2UbPkk4
Follow on Instagram and Facebook @kellytheresa.dotartist to see more artwork by Kelly Theresa!

[@craigcalame2219]

Get a digital scale that will gram and ounces. The scale can zero out the scale. Then you can pour the resin/Gardner in the cup. This way you will hace exactly the same amount in your fed cups

[@ninisince64]

Thank you, can you pre measure the disposable cup and pour equal liquid in that way this way no waste?

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi! Yes as long as both liquids are identical in amount 😁

[@jeroennietsdoenn]

Hey nice video thanks voor advising us, I have one question about the base layer down under the rock. What if you don't want a wax base layer, what if you don't want that visible spot where you can see the matt effect down under the stone? How to resin the whole stone without any spot visible down underneath the stone? Keep up the good work I'm gonna subscribe 👍🙂

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Jeroen! Thank you so much for watching and subscribing! 🤗 In answering you question... If you do not want a matte finish to the under side of your stone (after you have peeled off the wax/parchment paper) I would suggest that you resin the stone in two stages, resin the top and sides of the stone without putting resin on the bottom where it touches the paper (be careful to ensure the resin as a nice gradual layer towards the bottom because you don't want a line or drips that will show through when you do the next part, so keep watch as the resin sets to keep that resin line nice and flat) and once this has cured flip the stone over and repeat with resining the bottom of the stone and smooth down the sides again with a gradual edge covering part of the first layer as to not have a line of resin showing, and without putting more resin on the part of the stone resting on the paper. Let this side cure. This way you will have a nice shiny finish on both sides! 😁 Hope this helps!

[@jeroennietsdoenn]

@@KellyTheresa thankyou

[@mikeswain9085]

Have you ever tried to resin a stone in two parts so you get a glossy top and base? Resin the base first, let it dry and cure as normal then resin the top. That way you can avoid the dull patch on the base.

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi! The way I do the stones they are covered with resin on the top and bottom and the resin on the bottom actually creates a self leveling base so the rock has more stability when displaying 😁

[@SuperBeadgirl]

Mix your resin in a bath of hot water. Cuts down on the bubbles like you wouldn’t believe

[@KellyTheresa]

I haven't heard of that! I will definitely try that next time thank you so much for the tip Debbie! 😁 🙏

[@caseyfrost8347]

@@KellyTheresa I'm not exactly sure what is meant by a "bath of hot water." Did you try this tip Kelly and did it work? If it did, a little more explanation would be helpful to me. Thank you so much. Oh! and by the way, I love your videos and appreciate your help very much. I've been painting rocks for about four years now and am just now getting ready to start using resin instead of the Rustoleum Gloss. I love shiny. LOL

[@KellyTheresa]

@@caseyfrost8347 hi Casey! Yes this totally works 😁 a hot water bath mean putting the cup you are mixing resin into a larger bowl or cup of hot water while you are mixing the resin (kind of how you would heat up a baby bottle in warm water) and it warms the resin while decreasing the bubbles! 😁

[@KellyTheresa]

@@caseyfrost8347 and thank you so much for your ongoing support in watching my videos! 🤗🥰

[@caseyfrost8347]

@@KellyTheresa Thank you Kelly, I appreciate you getting back to me. I have about 30 painted rocks sitting here waiting for me to get brave enough to try to resin for the first time. Wish me luck! LOL

[@bevgle]

Can you help. I have tried this but it beaded and separated into peaks and troughs all over my stone. This was my first attempt on a lovely painted stone. Can I salvage it? Paint had been dried for a week.

[@KellyTheresa]

Aww I'm so sorry to hear that! I haven't had this happen before. Can you walk me through the process you did? What type of resin are you using? Can you send me a picture so I can try and problem solve? Is the resin dry now?

[@williamewing7960]

If you have a cat, be sure to do this resin project with the cat out of the room and the door closed. The cat must not have access to your work area, unless you want all your work and your cat to be ruined. Voice of experience talking here . . .

[@KellyTheresa]

Indeed!!

[@zerozilchnada5373]

Stir the resin slowly otherwise you will incorporate bubbles. ArtResin is a very forgiving Resin, others not so much. Yes hot tap water baths too. Smaller projects a straw, heat gun, hairdryer or Bbq lighter are fine. Love your work. Its beautiful Tfs 🦉🎨

[@KellyTheresa]

Thank you so much! 😁 I have also recently discovered that a fine mist of rubbing alcohol will also help with bubbles I am still experimenting with this though. I agree Art Resin is a great product to work with.

[@adventuringjacquie2986]

Lovely video, thank you! Do you care what brand of resin you use?

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Jacquie! Thank you! I used a few different brands over the years, I don't find there is much difference when it comes to cover rocks which one you use, when I was pouring resin for projects that's when it made a difference

[@patriciaalessandri5146]

TY!! Today I made this exact question. What must I apply on a rock if the surface doesn't smooth? You have answered it 😊, but now I have a new one, lol. If I use resin, will the paint stay, or will it wring out? In the end, can I apply a final resin coat? Sorry for all my questions. 😬

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Tispa! I am happy to answer that for you! If you apply resin before paint be sure to sand the resin surface to create a matte finish for the paint to stick to. Then you will have no problem with the paint coming off, and yes for sure do a top coat of resin to secure the paint 😁 always happy to answer questions!

[@patriciaalessandri5146]

@@KellyTheresa TY for taking the time to answer me.

[@Grams5th]

Hi, I just started painting rocks and I came across your video. If you use resin on rocks before you paint will the paint adhere ok? Do you have to do another pour after you paint? Great video! Your rocks are awesome! Beautiful work! Thanks for sharing!!

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Connie! 😄 Thank you! And thank you for watching my tutorials! If I resin first then I give it a light sanding before I paint to help the paint stick better then I resin again after I have finished painting the rock 😊

[@alleynanci]

Oh yes, I wondered same thing.

[@maryvalpando4784]

After you resin then you paint the stone and resin again

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Mary if a stone is too rough to paint nice dots then I resin, sand, paint and then resin again 😊

[@Nathalieroy2624]

Thank you for this. Now I am ready to resin my rocks.

[@KellyTheresa]

Wonderful! You are most welcome and thank you so much for watching my video! 😊

[@agskou]

That looks really great with resin on, thank for showing how to do it ❤️

[@KellyTheresa]

You are most welcome! Thank you so much for watching my tutorials! 😁 💕

[@TMiL-x9o]

Hi Kelly, if you get chance, please could you tell me what tools you use to apply the paint to the stones? I'm interested in painting dots and circles onto some objects, but my brushes aren't very good for this!!! Thank you for this resin video (I can certainly use that to finish my pieces)

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Mark! Absolutely! I have a video here that goes through the tools I use and how to use them! Here is the link 😁 kzbin.info/www/bejne/aH_WapVsndaZqZI And thank you for watching my tutorials! 😁

[@TMiL-x9o]

@@KellyTheresa Hello, that's fantastic. Thank you for your help. Your videos are very useful. Best wishes for your channel 😀

[@KellyTheresa]

Thank you so much Mark! I am glad I could help! 😁

[@karymarie9786]

Can I use a lighter to get rid of bubbles

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Kary, I haven't used a lighter to get rid of bubbles, my concern would be if you are using a mold that it would damage the mold. If you want to try it on resin not in a mold I would test on something else first because I don't know how it would react, although I have seen people use torches so it may be a similar method 😊

[@drshaliniiyer4141]

Will a hairdryer do instead of a heat gun? Great video, thanks so much 💕

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi! I would be careful with the hairdryer as it has a more powerful force of air which could cause the resin to splatter. I have used heat gun, small blow torch (like the ones used for creme Brule) , a long BBQ lighter or a blowing on a straw to get rid of bubbles 😊

[@drshaliniiyer4141]

Thankyou so much Kelly for taking the time to answer

[@KellyTheresa]

My pleasure! Any time! 😁

[@chillin2150]

Thx for the wax paper tip!!!!

[@KellyTheresa]

You are most welcome Cindy! 😁

[@disneygal200016]

Thank you so much! Next stop.....stones! 🤗

[@KellyTheresa]

Yay! Stones are so fun to create!! 😁

[@daniellepretorius5336]

What do I do if I dont want that bottom build up of resin?

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Danielle great question! If I don't want a build up type of platform then I place my stone on something like a small cup where the drips can be released onto parchment paper, you will need to watch this carefully though and wipe away the drips that stay on the bottom of the stone before they harden 😊 if there are any drips missed just use a heatgun or hair dryer and soften them until they are pliable enough to scrape off

[@daniellepretorius5336]

Thank you. I realy want to try the resin on rocks. Looks amazing.

[@alleynanci]

Thanks, love the way you took the time to clarify and give good directions. Just wondering if it’s best to resin before you paint rocks or after painting?

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi! Thank you for watching my tutorial, I'm happy to hear it was clear and easy to follow! As for the resin before or after, it depends on your stone, if it's too rough or has small holes, both make it difficult to get nice even dots then resin first and then once cured give it a light sand before painting to help the paint adhere best. Then I would resin again after to protect the paint. 😊

[@jayshreetolani512]

If we don't have wax paper can we use anything else to put the resin stones?

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Jayshree, my default is most often parchment paper, but you can also use a silicone mat to put the stones on and the resin will not stick to it

[@jayshreetolani512]

@@KellyTheresa thanks Kelly. Ur work is wonderful. I really wait for ur videos. Keep posting

[@KellyTheresa]

Thank you so much! I will be working on a few new ones very soon, thank you for your support in watching my tutorials 🤗💕🙏

[@janetrankin7172]

I have just started dotting on canvas and wooden disks. Would you recommend doing a base resin to those?

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Janet! Great question! I do not resin my canvases or wood disk, you can just do a priming base coat with acrylic paint 😊 I only resin coat the base if it's on a rough stone that I want to smooth out a bit

[@denisecavanagh5376]

I followed your process and it looked good when the resin was wet but when it cured there were ripples in the resin which spoilt the whole rock, do you know what causes this, did I not put enough resin on?

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Denise! Wow I'm not sure what would cause ripples I haven't had that happen before, I have only had to deal with bubbles hmmm maybe blowing out the bubbles too late after the resin started to set and it waved the resin? I would say if you can see some areas where there is no resin that that would be not enough but I don't ripples would be caused by not enough, I'm not sure, are you able to send a photo? Maybe I can try and see from that?

[@catgir5x]

Enjoyed you video and work...I too resin my stones and love the look it achieves.

[@KellyTheresa]

Thank you so much Miss D! 😁 🙏

[@PatDonathan123]

Excellent video. Thanks

[@KellyTheresa]

Thank you Patty! 😁🙏

[@starrnewcombe8505]

You are on fire with the videos!!!

[@KellyTheresa]

Aww thank you Starr!! 😁 🙏 I hope you are enjoying them as much as I am in creating them! 💕

[@jenniferbayliss3411]

Thank you for the info 🤗👍🏻

[@KellyTheresa]

You are most welcome! 😁

[@aliciasegarra2565]

Will a blower work on high heat if someone doesn’t have a heat gun?

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi Alicia! I would be very careful using a blower and moving the resin around too much, I haven't tried it but my guess is it would have to be a very low setting to not blow the resin too much. You just want to get the bubbles popped not move the resin 😊 if you don't have a heatgun then I would suggest a straw and blowing on it because you have more control that way of the amount of air force on the resin. 😊 Hope this helps!! 😁

[@aliciasegarra2565]

@@KellyTheresa thank you for your reply. I don’t know where to find a heat gun. I’ve watched a few videos and they use a kitchen blow torch. I don’t own anything like that. I’ve painted on rocks but only used a liquid varnish that I use on my canvases. I’m looking at videos to learn what materials to buy. Some people use wax paper, some store their rocks in a flat Tupperware for drying. I’m new to resin. And nervous to mess up.

[@KellyTheresa]

In the description of this video you will find links to the heatgun I use that I purchased on Amazon if that helps! 😁 It's definitely a process in growing and gathering all the tools and supplies, I'm still experimenting and learning as I go and have been this for a number of years now haha it's all part of the journey and believe me I have messed up more than a few times, again that's all part of the growth and experience 😁🤗 keep painting, keep exploring, keep learning and you will get more and more confident and less nervous, promise! 🤗💕

[@caseyfrost8347]

@@KellyTheresa Very good advice. People love my rocks and are always surprised when I tell them I could build a rock fireplace with my discards in the backyard. LOL ~ Hands-on learning that's called.

[@KellyTheresa]

Haha right?! The growth and mastery comes most from those disgards 🤗😁 each one is so important along the journey even if they end up as a rock fireplace in the backyard haha 😉

[@soulstrong14]

Very informative. I am just starting now to resin my stones. I was really unsure on how I should proceed, whether I follow this method that you showed or applying with a paintbrush.

[@KellyTheresa]

Hi! Thank you for watching my video! 😁 I haven't tried applying with a paintbrush because then I would need to toss the brush as I'm not sure you could get it cleaned properly after but it might work! 😊 I hope that whichever way you choose it turns out beautifully for you! 🤗