Resin coating panels - any tips?

[Vapaneezer Scrooge]

You may get on alright just setting a photo in with clear resin mate. Coating the panel and trying to hide the print with colours or making swirls though I’d say you have no hope.

Here is a panel I found discarded in my vape box from some time last year, you can see what I mean by it looks shit...

The back unsanded just for an idea of how thick that was on there over the print.

View attachment 185809View attachment 185810

No plans messing around with pigments thankfully, I see what you mean and can see why it's frustrating, close though.

Did you mask off the back?

 

[Lee]

I’m not sure now, I think I may have hot glued it into a container or something and brushed it on. Was a while ago now before Xmas.

That’s just one of many I fucked up trying to make something work, the only one that survived the bin that I can find [emoji23]

 

[Vapaneezer Scrooge]

Looks like I'm going to be making Resin jewellery and coasters then - earings with a vape coil embedded anyone?

 

[Lee]

Looks like I'm going to be making Resin jewellery and coasters then - earings with a vape coil embedded anyone?

Tbh I think the idea of making a lip around the panel and pouring clear resin over a photo - I don’t see why that won’t work. If it’s very thin and you can get the surface it’s sat on smack on level I don’t see a issue with that at all. Sounds pretty straight forward!

 

[Rickster]

Looks like I'm going to be making Resin jewellery and coasters then - earings with a vape coil embedded anyone?

Cock rings.....don't forget about them

 

[Slanger]

Yeah I seen this stuff mate, looks wicked for prepping models to paint but I don’t think it will work well for making resin patterns or even colouring with a single colour tbh.

The trouble is with resins, you have to be a bit careful with some brands what you’re mixing with them. Some types of pigments react with the resin, some don’t. It’s really just a case of research and some educated guesses to try it. But as said, it is bloody expensive. Before you look around you’re a few hundred deep with no promising results. That’s what I found anyways with thin coats. To get a full coverage deep colour completely hiding the 3D printed base, you’ll be needing some seriously thick coats taking into account the sanding.

Then anything thicker blocks and blanks and shit you really need to pressure cast them - compressor, pressure pot, god knows how many fittings. Not to mention the cost of the materials. In my opinion by the time you spend all that, wait for hours for the panels to print in the first place, fuck around mixing resin and god knows how many hours sanding and polishing - you’ll be asking for what the others sell panels for £100 plus. For a product that looks worse, on a 3D printed base...

It’s a great idea and like I said I tried this exactly how he’s said in the first post - just a shame it doesn’t work. I would hate to sit back and watch this guy waste hundreds of pounds of his hard earned cash and time!

Hats off if you give it a blast and make it work, it was far too long winded and expensive for me to make it viable [emoji16]

As always some good points covered and no doubt one day I will try that stuff just thought I would throw it up encase you guys not seen it.

 

[Vapaneezer Scrooge]

Well I've tried it and had reasonable results, learned some lessons to make the next batch better, it seemed to work best straight onto the PLA, yet to try anything fancy with pigments yet but my main usage will be clear coat anyway, here's my first efforts.

My cutting skills need to improve (I blame the knife lol) but practice makes perfect.

They are a lot more vibrant and shiny in real life.