Resin is essentially a polymer that hardens when exposed to UV light, which is known as curing. It’s a great way for both beginners and advanced crafters to make beautiful pieces of jewelry or other artwork.
But whether you’re just starting out with resin or have been creating pieces for years, it’s important to understand what you need in order to create a strong result.
If this is your first time working with resin, there are some terms you should know:
- Nail Lamp: A type of UV light used on nails to set gel polish
- UV Light: A type of radiation emitted by the sun (aka ultraviolet light)
- Resin: A material made from two compounds that combine into one solid piece when cured (hardened) using the two compounds required are usually called part A and part B
Can you use a nail light for resin?
Resin curing is a process that requires the right amount of UV light to work. If you want to cure your resin, it’s not just about selecting a UV light and waiting. Every material needs its own specific kind of lighting environment to cure properly.
The short answer is: no, you can’t use a nail lamp for resin. Resin requires a greater range of the UV spectrum than what’s provided by most nail lamps.
Additionally, even if you do have access to a nail lamp with enough UV output for resin, you’ll still have to consider other aspects like heat, distance from the source, and time exposure.
If you’re planning on curing with only natural light or indirect indoor lighting (i.e., without any artificial lights or sources), we suggest using an agent that will compensate for the lack of intensity or exposure time in these conditions—one example being Sun Cure from Polytek
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Does any UV light cure resin?
You may be wondering whether a nail lamp can cure resin, or if you can use any UV light to cure it. The answer is yes! Resin needs a wavelength of 365nm to cure. A nail lamp emits that wavelength, so it will cure your resin.
Black lights also emit that wavelength, so they will also work. Other types of UV lamps (like the ones used for sterilization) may or may not have the right kind of light.
Do I need UV lamp for resin?
Yes, you need a UV lamp to cure resin. The quality and efficiency of your lamp will greatly affect the outcome of the finished piece.
Some lamps can be purchased with accessories that help to measure performance and accuracy, such as a timer or digital display screen. If you are new to resin art, this may be helpful so that you can monitor your curing time.
How do you dry resin with a hair dryer?
- A hair dryer with cold setting is a good tool to use to speed up the curing process.
- Blow dry on low heat and medium speed over the resin till it has cured completely.
- If your hair dryer doesn’t come with a cold setting, you can use it for about 5 seconds at a time, leaving in-between intervals of 1 minute each.
Will a black light bulb cure resin?
You can use a black light bulb as long as it is a full spectrum light. You will have to be in the dark for this to work. A nail lamp that has 4 UV lamps it’s not going to work.
I haven’t tried it but I thought that you might want to know the best way to do it and what works. Resin needs a full spectrum light and not just the UV light bulbs that are used in black lights.
The resin will not cure fully if you only use a black light bulb or an LED nail lamp with 4 UV lights like most of them have now.
It also needs to be cured in the dark because they don’t emit enough UV rays so they need additional help from other sources of light like sunlight or fluorescent bulbs, etc…
How do you treat resin without the sun?
If you can’t get outside and expose your resin to sunlight, you can use any of these other UV sources. Just make sure that they’re the right kind of light so they will properly cure the resin.
How do you treat resin without the sun? Use a UV light! You may have heard that anything labeled “UV” is harmful to your skin or eyes.
This isn’t true, but if you get some goggles anyway, it’ll keep your eyes from getting tired when you’re staring at the glowing stuff for hours on end.
A nail lamp works great because it’s small and portable, so it’s easy to throw in a bag and take it wherever you need it.
If there aren’t any windows where you plan on working with resin (or if it’s cloudy out), UV flashlights are what I recommend using instead of just leaving an overhead light on all day long.
Conclusion
If you’ve been wondering if you can use a nail lamp to cure resin, I hope this article helped you understand how. We’ve learned the answer is yes, that a UV light can be used for resin.
You also have other options for curing your epoxy resin: a hair dryer, a black light bulb, or treating it with a UV lamp.
The best choice will depend on the type of projects you’re doing and what kind of supplies are available to you.
But no matter which option works best for your situation, there’s no need to buy an expensive new tool when what you already own will work just as well!
