Resin is a liquid plastic or polymer that can harden into almost any shape you want. You can use it to make jewelry, crafts, and other products. If you’re a crafter, resin can be an incredibly useful product to have in your toolbox!
Resin is made of two parts: the resin itself and a hardener. When they are mixed together, they will react with each other and become solid. The best way to think of it is that one part will turn into glue when it reacts with the other part.
Can I cure resin without UV light?
There are different ways you can cure resin without UV light.Here are some methods for curing resin without UV light:
- Using a hair dryer
- Using a nail lamp
- Incandescent lights from overhead bulbs, table lamps or floor lamps
- Sunlight if you live in a hot climate where you can leave your resin project outside to cure
- LED lighting
Table of Contents
Can you dry resin with a hair dryer?
Unfortunately, using a hair dryer to dry resin doesn’t work.
However, you can use a hair dryer to help remove bubbles from the resin. Just be careful when you do; do not hold the hair dryer too close for too long as this could cause the resin to yellow.
- the heat from the hair dryer could cause the resin to yellow
Does all resin need UV light?
All resin started out as a liquid in which all of the components were evenly dispersed. The liquid is called a “precipitate” and it can be cured (or “cured” if you’re American) by heating the resin on its own to the point where the components in solution separate into layers and then allowed to cool.
This results in an uneven layer of cured material that looks entirely different from a solid resin because it has crystals instead of particles throughout the material.
The cured product looks like plastic or glass, and is called a “frit”, which you can see below:
The frit can be reformed into a solid twice as hard or harder than normal resins with heat or with ultraviolet light (UV light, also known as germicidal UV). However, since this process kills all bacteria present in the resin, there is usually little need to cure resin before casting.
Can you cure resin with a nail lamp?
It’s common for beginners to wonder if a nail lamp can cure resin.
The short answer is yes, you can use a nail lamp to cure resin.
Here’s the deal: You can successfully cure resin with any UV light source that emits 365 nm wavelength UV light, including LED lights.
This means that even though your nail lamp was designed for polishes, it also will work to harden epoxy resin!
Can you speed up drying resin?
So, how can you make resin dry faster? If you want to speed up the curing process for your resin, there are a few things you can do.
- Use a UV light or heat lamp
- Using a hairdryer
- Ensuring the right amount of curing agent is used
- Ensuring the temperature is as high as possible
- Ensuring the resin is applied in a thin layer
Why is my resin not drying?
If you’re having issues with resin not curing, here are five things to check:
- Is this the right kind of resin?
Check to make sure that you have the correct resin for your project. For example, if you want to make a clear casting or encapsulation, then ArtResin is the right choice. If you want to make a jewelry piece using molds, consider using EasyCast which is made specifically for mold making.
- Did I use enough hardener?
It’s tempting to add more resin and less hardener because it makes your work last longer. But keep in mind that proper mixing ratios are crucial and if you add too much resin and not enough hardener, it will never cure properly!
To make sure you’ve added the proper ratio of part A (resin) to part B (hardener), check out our blog post about pouring thick layers of ArtResin as it outlines exactly how much of each part is required for the thicknesses most people use when making tabletop pieces or artwork.
And if you are pouring smaller amounts such as cabochons or jewelry pieces into molds and need help with those measurements, check out our blog post about preparing small batches of EasyCast for mold making.
- Did I mix thoroughly?
When ArtResin has been mixed well together at an approximate 2:1 ratio by volume (this means 100 ml of liquid resin combined with 50 ml of liquid hardener), there should be no streaks or swirls visible in the cup indicating unmixed product underneath the surface.
It should look like honey in color and consistency when poured gently from one cup into another cup. If it’s still streaky or curdled-looking after 3 minutes of thorough mixing, stop mixing immediately – this indicates that there is still unmixed material underneath on top of your piece that will not cure properly and ruin your masterpiece! Start over with fresh material as mixing does NOT
Does resin melt in heat?
No. Resin does not need UV light to cure. In fact, the resin may be yellow if it is exposed to UV light during curing.
If your resin piece is exposed to sunlight, extreme heat, or cold temperatures, it can cause damage to the surface or cure of your piece.
Can you put resin in the oven?
For the purposes of heating epoxy resin, you might want to try an oven. However, this is a very bad idea for a few reasons.
First and foremost, many resins are flammable at high temperatures (about 400-500 degrees Fahrenheit). It’s far too likely that the resin will either catch on fire or pop in the oven.
This can cause a mess and damage your oven (and probably your epoxy project).
Secondly, overheating is dangerous because it can cause the resin to crack, melt or burn. Melted resin looks pretty cool when it’s in its liquid state but not so much once it hardens again.
Cracked or burned epoxy would also be obvious and undesirable flaws that would ruin any craft project. Lastly, some resins emit toxic fumes at high temperatures (about 300 degrees Fahrenheit), which can have harmful effects on your family’s health if inhaled over time
Conclusion
To recap, depending on the type of resin you use, you can cure resin without UV light. You can cure resin with a hair dryer, although it takes much longer than using UV light or sunlight.
Resin that cures with UV light will not cure with a nail lamp as nail lamps do not have the correct wavelengths to cure UV-cured resin.
If you are planning on working with resin and would like to use a non-UV curing method, be sure to check out what type of resin it is first.
Most resins are designed for use under a UV lamp, so trying to use them in another way may cost you more time or even ruin your project!
