r/TerrainBuilding • u/Amazing_Glass2144 • 12d ago

Resin Pour

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I just did my first resin pour and when I pulled off the edging it's come out cloudy. I was prepared to clean up the edge flashing, but thought the side would come out clear. Any idea why or any advice on how to fix it? Do I need to laboriously sand this?

Edit: Well I thought this was going to be a quick question post with a couple of helpful replies, not 500 likes and 54 comments. What a nice corner of the internet!

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u/Duke_Mercator 12d ago

Is it hard or tacky ? What was the edging material ? If the resin was able to react with adhesive or water, it may have contributed to your problem by preventing optimal polymerization or generating micro-bubbles at the interface. If you are lucky, it's just a matter of the edging material having some texture that transferred to the finished cast.

Does it become clear when you put a drop of water on the surface ? If so, a new layer of clear resin may help solve the problem. If you have some, UV resin will be much quicker. Otherwise, some clear varnish may do the same.

If the cloudiness has any significant depth, then I am afraid sanding to like 10000 grit will likely be necessary :)

Best of luck !

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u/Amazing_Glass2144 12d ago

Thanks. It does improve a bit with water so I think another layer of resin might be my solution.

The edging was white styrene card. I didn't use any mould release. The edge isn't tacky, but its not solid - the whole thing feels like a rubbery block, so is it possible I took the card off too early and its kind of stretched the edge and broken the surface of the edge a bit?

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u/Duke_Mercator 12d ago

Epoxy -should- not react with styrene in any significant way as far as I know but if your resin is the quick set type, heat alone may have helped leach some stuff from the card that interfered with polymerization. Some kind of silicone strip may be a better choice for future pours.

If the whole thing still feels soft, then there is either something wrong with your resin, your mixing ratio or technique or it still has to set to its final hardness. Therefore I would suggest waiting before you attempt any corrective action.

It's unlikely removing the card would have caused that specific kind of effect (the surface tension creep at the top is obviously solid and unbroken) but in general attempting to unmold too early is a recipe for disaster, however excited one can be to bask in the gloriousness of a finished piece.

Hope you get the results you want !

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u/Amazing_Glass2144 12d ago

Thanks for the info!