You get lighter weight, racetrack style, and high performance features not found in their OEM counterparts when you install a set of our custom fenders. Here is my how to and lessons learned guide to resin art, organized in eight sections: Which art resin should I use to coat my art? Will resin work on my support? How do I avoid art resin bubbles? Other art resin issues and how do I deal with them? Resin art tips and tricks. Coloring resin. Resin art examples. Resin art resources. Which art resin should I use to coat my art? The materials available to artists for coating their artworks are: Epoxy resins, available as a two- part kit of resin and curing agent or hardener that is usually mixed in a 1: 1 or 2: 1 ratio (4: 1 or higher ratios for many industrial applications). Polyester resins, usually hardened by mixing with a liquid and highly toxic, high volatility catalyst (MEKP). Web portal for building-related information with a "whole building" focus provided by the National Institute of Building Sciences. Areas include Design Guidance. Your interior’s identity comes alive with a custom dash kit. Wood grain, carbon fiber, aluminum, even custom colors or camouflage will personalize your space. Felt Carbon frame repair 1 Felt Carbon frame repair 2 Felt frame repair down tube Felt frame repair top tube Felt frame repair logo Felt frame repair complete. Most polyester resins also use Styrene, a chemical that is on the watch list of a number of organizations for its potential link to cancer. They tend to be lower strength, more brittle and lower adhesion than Epoxy. Acrylic pouring medium, for use on flexible surfaces. They are safe and easy to use but will result in thiner coats with less transparency than Epoxy. Varnishes, which I will not cover here as they are impractical for thicker applications. I do use acrylic varnishes prior to applying Epoxy resin, as described in this article. Epoxy is relatively safe to use, as long as contact with the skin and eyes is avoided and proper precautions such as ventilation are taken when manipulating both the resin and hardener. Circular Saw Blades - For Cutting Sheet Plastic Without Chipping Or Melting P/N 1106064 - Plasti-Cut Blade 7.25"diam x 60 tooth x 5/8" arbor General Purpose, carbide. Fireplace Panels and Liners Fireplace refractory panels and fireplace liners offer a simple and cost-effective way to enhance the appearance of your hearth. Epoxy resin is available at your local Tap Plastics store or via a online merchants such as Art Resin, which specializes in UV resistant epoxy for artists.— A few things are important to know before using Epoxy resin, as they explain most of the issues artists can face when using them: Epoxies are thermo- setting plastics –heat is key to proper curing of the resin and hardener mix. Epoxy resin is combined with a hardener to form a third, solid plastic. The speed of that reaction depends on heat, humidity, size of the mix (large batches will cure faster as the reaction generates heat) and the type of hardener used (fast or slow). In general, slow curing equals a stronger end result. Proper mixing and exact volumes of resin and hardener are required for adequate curing. Most epoxies will be solid to the touch in 5 to 7 hours, but they require up to 4. Epoxy has poor UV resistance, and some can have poor water resistance as well. Additives are required to the hardener to improve UV resistance to a level that is adequate for art applications. In most cases, you will want to avoid Epoxies for outdoor applications. My top three Epoxy resins. After many experiments with epoxies, I have narrowed down my choices to three options: Entropy Super Sap BRT and CCR Epoxy - general purpose laminating (BRT) and casting (CCR) resins that are extremely clear, UV stabilized and with a low viscosity. Entropy is the most eco friendly epoxy resin as it contains no petroleum- based materials but rather uses pine oils and bio- fuels. As a result, Entropy has about half the carbon footprint of petroleum based epoxy resins (4 tons of CO2 per ton of resin, as opposed to 8 tons for most petroleum based resins). Ultra- Glo - a very easy to use resin that delivers great results extremely consistently. Unfortunately, it is not eco- friendly. Note that Environmental Technology, the company behind Ultra- Glo, also makes a pricier, “industrial” version with greater UV resistance called EX- 7. You can find both Ultra- Glo and EX- 7. Tap Plastics stores. They also sell a lower end solution called Enviro. Tex Lite via craft stores. All three resins are very similar in terms of handling and I use the term “Ultra- Glo” to describe all three in their application. Art Resin- an epoxy resin developed specifically for artists, with focus on ease of use and UV resistance. The resin is available via their web site, with free shipping. I have tested their new resin and find it extremely easy to use and perfect for my uses. Art Resin also has a great FAQ section on their web site that will tell you everything you need to know to start working with Epoxy resins. Art Resin focuses more on clarity and non yellowing resistance than Ultra- Glo - something that is difficult to either evaluate or measure, but that can make the difference in the long term. In particular, Art Resin uses hindered amine light stabilizers (abbreviated as HALS), agents that slow down the degradation of the resin when exposed to light. Art Resin is also distributed in Europe by http: //www. Which Epoxy resin to choose? If you care about avoiding CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions and reducing your carbon footprint, the Entropy resin is the way to go - unless you are a very occasional user, in which case your CO2 savings, unfortunately, make very little difference when looking at the massive amounts of epoxy resin used in industrial settings. If you do not care about the environmental impact of your resin use, then Art Resin is the way to go as it offers a few advantages for coating artworks - mostly it is easier to mix (1: 1 ratio of resin to hardener, as opposed to Entropy which has a 2: 1 ratio) and has slightly better viscosity and a better resistance to surface temperatures (which is key to remove air bubbles with a blow torch). The Entropy resin, however, produces a much lower number of bubbles when mixing resin and hardener than Ultra- Glo or Art Resin and is a great resin to work with overall - in my view, it can be worth the (limited) extra work and care. I recommend sticking with these three resins. If you are doing this for the first time, use Art Resin. If you have some experience using epoxy resins, try out Entropy and see if the bio benefits are worth the additional (slight) complications. Using other resins will lead in many cases to problems with curing times, yellowing, Amine blushing etc. It is simply not worth the risk associated with trying to save a few $ on the resin. As an alternative, I use the one gallon kit as it is much more economical. Will resin work on my support? Epoxy resin will adhere to any clean, dry, rigid and flat support. Metal, wood, stone, concrete, paper or canvas glued on masonite - all will work. You may have seen paintings on canvas with a thick, clear coat of resin in art galleries. While in most cases the canvas is glued to a masonite backing, ensuring rigidity and allowing for the use of Epoxy resin, you may see the same look achieved on stretched canvas. The edges are clean of any resin, and there are no cracks in the top layer despite the relative flexibility of the canvas. How is this done? In that case, Epoxy resins are typically not used. Rather, a flexible and UV resistant acrylic top coat is applied. Acrylic is water soluble and can be sprayed on; if applied with a roller, the edges can be taped and cleaned out of any acrylic before the top coat dries off, giving you a clean edge after removing the tape. Acrylic coating materials suitable for artwork protection include the Sunset Gloss Coat by Lexjet and equivalent solutions such as a Liquitex or Golden pouring medium. Those mediums are milky in appearance but will dry clear. Acrylics dry quickly, and you can apply multiple coats to achieve the desired thickness. The downside of using acrylic top coats is that the finish is not as clear or strong (and thick) as when using Epoxy resin. The main advantages are the easier application, low toxicity, greater flexibility and possible use on less stable or rigid supports. Therefore, while this articles focuses on Epoxy resins, you should explore acrylic mediums if you want to coat relatively flexible materials such as stretched canvas and paper prints. How do I avoid art resin bubbles? Bubbles are your number one enemy when layering resin - here is how to avoid them. Why are there bubbles in my resin? First let’s review why we end up with bubbles in the first case. Resin art bubbles appear for three main reasons: From mixing the Epoxy art resin with its hardener (air inclusion). Different resins seem to have different propensity to yield bubbles during the mixing process. Ultra- Glo for instance generates many bubbles, much more so than standard Epoxy resin. In my experience, it is nearly unavoidable to introduce air during the mixing of Ultra- Glo. Those bubbles are easy to get rid off however, so do not let the mixing process guide your resin selection. From the support itself (air and gas release, solvent contamination, support shrinkage or air trapping). The support you use for your artwork can generate bubbles throughout the curing process, which can make it extremely difficult to get rid of all the bubbles. From some form of contamination of the resin due to the presence of solvents, humidity, etc. Epoxy resin is less humidity sensitive than Urethane resin, and different epoxy resins seem to have different reactions to humidity. The fix is simple though - do not mix and cast resin when the air is humid and if the room temperature is too low. Seal your resin art panel. The single most important step to avoid resin art bubbles is to make sure your support will not release any air or gases during the resin curing process. A porous support creates bubbles; a sealed one doesn’t. If you are using thick wood panels for instance, you are almost certain to see bubbles forming throughout the curing of the epoxy or urethane resin. To avoid them, you must make sure that: Your support is as dry as possible. The top surface of the support or panel is completely sealed using an acrylic varnish or equivalent. The support is flat, with no air trapped between the panel and the artwork. If in doubt, pour a very thin layer of epoxy resin over your support. Let it cure fully, varnish it using an acrylic / archival varnish before gluing your artwork to the panel. Apply your second, thicker coat of epoxy art resin the following day. Benzomatic – The resin artist’s best friend. The second vital step is to apply heat to the surface of the resin as it cures to get rid of the bubbles that will emerge.
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