Environmental Technology 33128 128-Ounce Kit Casting' Craft Casting Epoxy, Clear

I was well into my second gallon when I realized what I was doing wrong. I'm a scientist and do things rather systematically so, when quite to my chagrin, some batches refused to harden I was perplexed. As I'm encapsulating some interesting optics and some require several pours my frustration level was rising.It is a one to one ratio by volume, NOT MASS. I was weighing it out on a digital scale so that my ratio was exact to the tenth of a gram and yet my larger batches just refused to harden. The "hardener" has a lower density than the resin. If you weigh it out then you use more hardener than resin to get one to one using weight. Science people would say that they have different density.Of course, it says that in the directions, but it was way more fun solving this problem for myself.

I followed directions carefully and it worked the 2nd time for me. I am using very small amounts, about one ounce total after the products are combined. The first time I tried it, the solution would not harden. I put it aside and came back about an hour later and discovered it had eventually thickened but a little too much and that test sample was not usable, it just took a lot longer than anticiapted. Now that I figured out the thickening time for the amount i am using it works great. I am also using the product with a coloring powder. I found that adding a colorant powder after the solution has hardened a bit helps suspend the color in the mixture. I am using small disposable plastic shot glasses for my projects and once I figured out that I need to allow more time to harden or thicken it has worked great. Keep everything clean and measure exact.

I used this on a recent art project to coat the painting in a thick shiny encasement.I followed the instructions pretty much to the letter. The result was gorgeous and exactly what I expected.PROSIt dried crystal clear and hard as glass.It was self leveling and self degassing. I used a hair dryer as instructed to get out a few stubborn bubbles.It was low to medium odor, and as long as I kept a window open in the room I was working in I was fine.Suggestions: Mix the solutions in disposable plastic cups with a disposable stir stick because you probably will not want to reuse the mixing cups and sticks once they have dried, and it might dirty the next mixture.I can't wait to do more projects with this.Here are some image of the paintingmore at www.earthiwngdesign.com/portalsproject.html

I have used this resin and others for more than 11 years but lately I seem to be getting more batches with this that don't cure properly. I don't know if I got a bad batch or not, but I've had to redo several projects because even after a couple of days, they are still sticky and uncured. I've even tried adding a bit more hardener, which always worked in the past, but still I'm not getting the results I'm used to. This has always been a good resin for me and I've used it on casting and jewelry projects for years, so I think this is just a fluke. But maybe others have had this issue so I'm putting it out there.This is a great resin if you are filling molds because it's thinner than traditional resins so you can pour it thicker and it will release bubbles better. I've also used this with pigments and it takes color very well. Overall, I'm a fan of their product, but I'll keep trying with this batch to see if it was just me or if something is up. I would still recommend this.If you have never used resin before, read up and watch some tutorials because it seems like it would be difficult, but it's pretty easy to work with. Just be safe and work in a well-ventilated area and wear gloves because you don't want it on your skin. If that happens, some simple rubbing alcohol will take it off. If you are mixing up more than a tiny amount -- like a small cup for some jewelry pieces -- do wear a respirator. Especially if you are filling several large molds. Mixing this in large amounts will produce fumes and a respirator will protect you from that. I typically mix this resin in very small amounts -- around 1/8 of a cup -- so it's not an issue at that amount. But resins can be harmful so be safe.If you have any questions on this, please feel free to contact me. I'm always happy to help a fellow artist.

I make small stuff with this resin so this will last me a very long time. So far I have had no issues with this product so I think it was worth the money. I left these bottles in a non insulated shed for about 2 to 3 months because I was storing things and when I got them out to use them they still still worked perfectly. The resin still cured clear so I was really glad I didn't ruin the full bottles I had. I recomend this to anyone looking for a good clear long lasting casting resin.