All About Epoxy Products

Few people will mention epoxy resin in the list of the greatest inventions of mankind, but in vain - it is malleable in processing, but at the same time strong, reliable and durable material. At least for creativity and crafts, it is very useful, not to mention the fact that in skillful hands it can turn into various useful things for the home. In short, if you still don't know much about epoxy, it's time to start fixing it.

The material was named resin because of some resemblance to the thick, sticky liquid secreted by trees, but in fact it is a purely synthetic product that has no natural ingredients.

The mass consists of two components, one of which is, in fact, the resin, and the second is a hardener for it. It is necessary to mix the components according to the instructions on the package, but at the same time the master focuses on his needs, choosing the correct proportions. Thanks to this, you can get both a very liquid and fluid, slowly cooling mass, and a thicker, and even quite dense.

The wide field of application of epoxy resin is due to a number of its useful properties:

• high strength;
• resistance to abrasive wear;
• transparency;
• the ability to waterproof;
• lack of toxic effects on humans after solidification.

It is important not to confuse resin with epoxy. - it is made on the basis of resin, but supplemented with several more components, including a plasticizer, a solvent and a filler. Such a substance cools down strictly within a certain time and it is impossible to influence the process in any way; it rather quickly begins to turn yellow, losing transparency, does not have the same high elasticity.

If you are just starting to work with epoxy and have never had this experience before, it is most reasonable to start with the use of molds - special casting molds. This, however, is an option mainly for women, because molds are good for making jewelry, but you cannot make a tabletop with their help.

In modern shops for creativity, the variety of molds is large enough so that you can freely turn on your imagination. - most often there are forms for the manufacture of various beads and pendants, key rings and pendants, but there are also more original forms for the production of bracelets and rings. Molds are different from molds - good ones are made only of high quality platinum silicone.

As an alternative, frames are also used - they look like flat metal rings of one shape or another, without a bottom or a cover. It will be more difficult to work with such a craft, because the temporary "bottom" will probably have to be created with the help of scotch tape. In the future, the product is not removed from the metal, but remains in a frame that keeps it in the desired shape.

If creativity, including a complex one, consisting of several stages, is not alien to you, and you do not want to limit the flight of your own imagination with ready-made molds and frames, you can create your own mold yourself. For making homemade frames, polymer clay, wire and wood are best - choose for yourself which option you like best.

Epoxy resin is a stable material, which is approximately the same for all manufacturers. The filling mass can differ significantly in density, but you will prepare this very mass yourself, mixing the resin with a hardener, which you also buy separately.

Mixing instructions are always written on the packaging of the epoxy resin, it can also be indicated on the hardener. For the convenience of the procedure, either measuring cups appropriate size, or disposable syringes - it's even more convenient. Please note that the measuring cups used for packaging epoxy cannot be used for other purposes - they cannot be washed. The thick mass will need to be stirred with something, so prepare skewers, toothpicks, or any other sticks, if only they fit in length and thickness and are clean at the same time.

Mixing takes place at a temperature not exceeding + 25 ° C. Do not mix the mass "in reserve", because in the glass it will polymerize in the same way as in the frame. While stirring, make the most gentle movements without adding air bubbles to the mass.

A finished epoxy resin craft is completely safe for humans, but the same cannot be said for an uncured substance. When solidified, it emits not only harmful vapors, but also heat, therefore there are certain instructions for working with epoxy.

Firstly, you should not allow contact between open skin and resin - at least it will be extremely difficult to wash it if it hardens in this form, so be sure to wear gloves... Secondly, you should not inhale vapors - you will have to stock up respirator or protective mask. After the completion of the work, you will still remove the protection, and the vapors will remain in the room, so it is reasonable to provide good ventilation.

In order for the craft to be of high quality and beautiful, you need to properly organize your workplace. Imagine that you are already working, and consider whether you have everything you need right at your fingertips. If not, make sure that everything is there, otherwise you will have to be distracted in the process, and this will definitely not benefit the business.

A beginner in this business probably does not have a special board for working with epoxy resin, and, for obvious reasons, it is a pity to spoil the tabletop. In fact, the problem is easily solved - take a thick cling film or an ordinary file and work on them.

Epoxy resin is good because you can make various useful or just beautiful things in a unique design out of it with your own hands. Ready-made items can be used to decorate your own home, donate for various reasons, or even sell if it works out well.... With a set of experience, it will become easier to make funny crafts, and for beginners it is worth looking for detailed master classes with a step-by-step description of how to make a particular thing. We have collected ideas of what you can do yourself from epoxy.

It is jewelry that is the type of crafts that a beginner should start with. The first product that is extremely simple to manufacture and allows you to fully appreciate all the properties of the material is beads. Simple forms for such rounded products are sold everywhere - to start, you just need to pour epoxy resin into silicone and wait until the mass hardens. Then carefully remove your first craft and rate it - how smooth and neat it is.

Develop your own skills by purchasing molds of other configurations. Be sure to try metal frames for pouring - beads are not very popular these days and will take a long time to collect, but a stylish pendant can be made in one try. At the same time, you can try another technique, filling a small flower or twig with epoxy resin.

Having mastered simple jewelry in the form of bijouterie, you can move on to decorating your own home. The pendant making scheme can be tried out on a large scale - take a whole bunch of wildflowers and fill it with epoxy to get a small exquisite painting.

If you are not alien to working with different materials, and you yourself are able to make complex forms for pouring, in the future you can come to the manufacture of the most impressive crafts.

Small pendants and key rings are also used as decorations, which may contain an insect, a fish, a small crab, and so on - you have probably seen such crafts on sale. Not all of these copies are a sign of a lack of humanity - you can easily do something similar by buying a plastic copy.

Men, as a rule, perceive epoxy from the most serious point of view - it is strong and durable, which means that you can make high-quality household items from it. The most famous and popular option for a home product is a tabletop.... How it will look depends only on the imagination of the master and the materials at his fingertips.

Very often, a tabletop is made from two large pieces of wood that cannot be folded together due to the edges that do not fit. And there is no need to cut and grind anything - they will be connected to each other by a transparent "crack" filled with epoxy resin. It looks impressive and is remembered for a long time.

Even more unusual, but also more complex, looks like a completely epoxy countertop. To make it look bright and unique, a large amount of glitter is mixed into the composition of the liquid mass, kneading them in epoxy even before pouring. As a result, instead of a countertop, you end up with an impromptu piece of the night sky, and if you highlight it correctly, such a piece of furniture can turn out to be almost the centerpiece for the whole apartment.

A kitchen apron, of course, is not entirely correct to call it furniture, but the principle of its manufacture is very similar, so such a craft is also here. Basically, you need to make the same countertop from any material - from pure resin, with the addition of wood, flowers, whatever. After that, the plate is placed vertically above the work surface and fixed to the wall.

Considering that in a cured form, epoxy is completely safe for humans, it can even be used to make dishes. Basically, You can buy dishes in a store for a penny, so in this case, the point of making is definitely not in saving money, but in realizing your own creative potential and creating something unique.

Love flowers - please let them be literally everywhere, even right in the thickness of a tray or bonfires (coasters for hot dishes). If you want to enjoy the beautiful color of your favorite tea even through the cup holder - this is easily realized thanks to the transparency of the epoxy.

Some craftsmen even make plates from epoxy resin. In a sense, they are still better used for decorative purposes, because they can be damaged by the cutlery.

Having mastered all of the above and having the skills to work with materials for making molds and forms, you can experiment with other crafts. The implementation will be difficult, but the output will be a real masterpiece that you can be proud of.

Probably the simplest is an epoxy phone case that protects the case from bumps and scratches. As a relatively inexpensive, but stylish gift, a large table ball on a stand with flowers or other decor inside, a transparent photo frame, a flash drive with the same body or a badge that says how dear its owner is written on it, will do.

Nobody forces you to make a craft entirely from epoxy resin - it is possible to make a resin "splash" with decor on a factory product, thanks to which the item will become more individual. You can do this with boxes, paperweights, vases, and even hairbrushes!

Another level is more difficult - a full-fledged homemade souvenir. For example, a chess or backgammon board can be made transparent, built-in LED backlighting is a task for a professional, but imagine the delight of those who receive it.

If a person likes wildlife, but he cannot start fish because of a busy schedule, make an aquarium for him, completely poured out of epoxy resin, with bright plastic fish inside. A geologist will surely love a geode or a cut of stone that is protected from crumbling resin. By analogy with the cut, you can make whole dioramas in the whole wall.

There are two ways to pour resin into molds. If you will not use decorative elements at all or there are no specific requirements for their exact location, then first, the decor is laid out on the bottom of the form, and then a thick liquid is poured on top with a thin stream, settled for half an hour. With this current, decorative details can be carried to one corner, and if this does not suit you, use another method. It consists in first fill the mold with liquid, and only then carefully immerse the decor in the mass with a toothpick - where he is supposed to be.

Pouring liquid mass into a mold is only half the battle. Even after the workpiece has solidified, it is not yet a fact that the product is already finished - in some cases the edge turns out to be uneven, in others instead of a transparent material, a cloudy one is formed, and unevenly. The mistake many newbies make is that they get frustrated and throw away the "bad" craft, when in reality it could just be modified.

The nature of the cloudy consistency is usually the same as that of irregularities. - the relief on the surface is too uneven, therefore it actively refracts light, or air bubbles have fallen into the thickness of the material near the surface. Both problems are solved in the same way - by grinding. If a lady is engaged in needlework, and she has a nail cutter, you can use it, but men use good old sandpaper.

Please note in advance that the cured epoxy resin produces huge amounts of dust during the polishing process. To protect your respiratory tract from unwanted ingress of dust particles, only wear a respirator.

Epoxy resin is an excellent material for making small jewelry. Use these crafts however you want - they can serve as buttons, brooches, pendants, pendants on earrings, and even as part of a set of beads.

Very stylish Christmas balls can be made from epoxy. Who said that the New Year should be strictly associated with winter and cold weather - after all, someday there will be summer, which you especially want in bitter frosts.

Epoxy aquarium in general, it should be considered one of the most beautiful souvenirs, and the smaller it is, the more affection and delight it evokes.

Epoxy dishes may seem a little awkward at first glance., but in a certain interior they look as authentic as possible, in addition, they tune in to a creative mood.

For information on how to make an epoxy pendant, see the next video.