How To Coat Rocks In Resin 

If you do read the label. This has to be coated in warmer temperature for a lot of epoxy resins and in a well ventilated area. I always suggest now to get a mask. You can get one on Amazon and with filters to protect yourself. It does heat up quickly but safe to use for a few minutes after mixing. Always wear gloves. I also suggest the normal clear spray for those who just need something a bit safer and quick. They have some nice cans of spray you can use. Also each epoxy you use will be different. Their are ones with non yellowing tint to them and some that are more flexible in eat or more brittle. Their are some for deep pours and small ones. Epoxy has come a long way since I made this video. They even have eco friendly resins out their too. To coat a rock on both side you can try putting blue painter tape around the edges and balancing them like on a cut ring of a toil roll or tape roll with out the tape on it. You know small white scotch tape. Just as the resin starts to harden up doesn't look like it's dripping fast anymore. Gently remove the painter tape it should slide away it if tears you waited too long. Then when you want to do the other side do the same thing. ( read on the instruction you get it will tell you how much work time you have with it and then just watch it carefully, suggest testing it first on rocks you don't care about first to get your times down) If you don't. The resin will run to the back an leave bumps of hard resin on one side of your rock/ underneath it. So you would only be able to show one side. I last summer coated some rocks and managed to make them look great on both sides and the tape worked. Good luck and they have tons of videos on different types of resin you can work with these days and how they work in different temperatures and hardness.

I believe the resins I saw that yellowed. Were from the 80's/70's. I also have read that resin over the years will slowly start to yellow and deteriorate. There are different types of resin. I noticed that my rocks do have a sight yellowing but not enough for me to care. I think it's because the resin I used has a slight yellow tint to it. Now Epoxy resins or Crystal Clear resin might not have this happen. Resin has improved a lot over the years. I had just used a spray varnish on the sea shells that had been washed and noticed a month later they yellowed and it all pealed. Thats when I tried a spray that was water based and it worked fine. Its more of testing them. I had to look up what sprays to use and water based one was suggested. So I tried it and it worked. I may go back and now try just a normal spray and see what happens. It could of just been the spray I used at the time which I can' t remember the name of it.

I think new resin these days are better made. I just read up that over time that some types of resin can brake down and yellow. Some may actually flack off and you have to just recoat. I have only had my resin on my rocks about two years now and haven't see any change but when I did the research on it that is what people said but also at thrift stores I have seen old resined items where it has flacked and turned yellow. So resin form the 80's was really bad. I looked up if it would be ok to put resin on rocks V.S. using a tumbler. They always go with the tumbler but it takes for EVER to tumble your rocks and they care costly and load. They have better tumblers these days with a plastic in it so they don't make as much noise. I do plan to buy a tumbler eventually. I used a varnish that was the wrong type on sea shells and that did yellow and crack and fall off. I needed to have a water based varnish that wouldn't crack and yellow. So watch your varnishes. Why I have a video on a type of water based spray that hasn't yellowed or chipped off. It gives a slight wet look to rocks but not as shiny as the resin. It's also faster. I was not happy about the damage to the shells either and had to throw them away when they yellowed. Lessoned learned...water based or Kylon spray is better way to go.

Elaine Burke hi after I did this I put my rocks outside in direct sunlight and they haven't changed. This resin is used on bar tables so I can see why it holds up.

Yes it gets warm and very hot but if you read the instruction. It actually has a little bit of play time before it starts to heat up and start to harden. I have waited to long before and it hurts when it gets to warm. I have worked with epoxy resin which this is a different type of resin both get warm but If you wait too long it gets sticky and you can't work with it. So you should always stay with in the time and plan ahead when using resin. So that way you mix and pour before it gets to difficult/hot to work with. You also should make sure to have it in cups that do not have a coating in them or will melt it. Also it's a one time use type of cup too. I have used plastic cups that are flexible once but they are still hard to clean out ( it wasn't really wroth it) and cheep disposable cups I felt worked the best. So like wax paper cups don't use them but he palstic disposable ones should be enough. I also wear a mask ( M3 Filters) now when using resin ( I do a lot of resin) and in an open area. This stuff is pretty smelly but toxic to breath in. So do it in your garage or out side. To prevent it from getting dirty...don't do this in a room you plan to sit in for the next two days. Cover with a plastic toat but allow room around the item. That way you wont have to worry about dust or hair falling on it while it cures for 72 hours. Resin is not for everyone. I have tons of space in my garage so I just have a table set up and tend to only do resin during warm times during the year. Make sure it's a table you covered in butter paper/ don't care about the table because anything it touches it will stay to and you wont be getting it off. The warmer it is the fast it cures. so if your in a warm climate it's going to harden faster. If your in a cold …get a heat lap to warm the area up or turn the heat on. ( not all heat laps are save so check that out/research before hand.) I work with a different resin and my hop this summer is get the new UV epoxy resin I saw a few months ago and try it out on my rocks to see if their is any yellowing or difference. I may paint a few coat them and throw them in my yard and see what happens. I also found the spray was much faster in getting a wet look. I have video on the spray too.

First what kind is it. Their are a lot of different types of resins out their. If you look up on RU-vid different types of resin. they will show you different colors, some are eco friendly, some depending were you live stay soft, and some get really hard but are brittle if bent snap or shatter like glass. The instruction if their isn't any should also be posted up on the website or you can contact them directly to get them. I didn't have to wait in order to coat these this this type of resin. They did pool at the bottom when dry in a warm climate around 70 degrees ( I am in the US). So they say about 72 hour to fully cure. I got them when the resin was still abit soft. Took an exacto to cut off the drips. then I used a pant brush to coat it. In you case your hanging them. So you just wear a mask ( with filters) in a very open area, hand them, and then spear them with the stuff as soon as you use it. It will drip and could leave drips. You can take a dremel or water sand paper (black) to rub down the drip. You can make some test of when it starts to thicken up but most instruction tell you you have this much time in which to work. You might want to watch a few videos of people who do the coating of tumblers. They coat them and wait till it's a bit sticky to remove the tape around the rim so that the resin wont be stuck to it and then peel it off before it's fully cured. People who do the coasters will put take around the bottom edge then peal that off before it has a chance to cure. So do your search on cure times and on resin before purchasing again. Use a timer and scale so you can weigh out your resin if needed. It's sticky because you didn't mix it right. Instruction will say that. Also weather in your area the warm it is the faster it will cure and the cold it is the slow it will cure. I have since stopped working with resin. It's just too hard to make stuff with it. I only use it for the rocks if I was in the mood. I actually learned to tumbler my stones and the large ones I just spray with clear spray and good enough for me. Hope this helps

What do you mean by low and high spots? ALWAYS read your instructions. Temperature can play a factor warmer it will be runnier and colder it will be thicker. Like you said warm weather it ready to go and shouldn't be sticky. It cures faster. Why I only do resin in the summer here in Oregon where it's humid. Also their is different types of resin for different things. Some are for deep casting and some are just for top coating. Some dry rock hard and others have a bit of flexibility to them. So that plays a huge factor on what your trying to do. If your trying to get something even...you want to have a flat surface and you may want to check to see if it actually is a level surface with a leveler. I have tired to do sheet of work and one side will pool up more than the other and that was because my surface leaned a bit.

@@Creative_Shopowner I coated a golf ball shaped rock and it looked like the resin was running when it hardened and when I blow through the straw to take out any bubbles my flat rocks looks like peaks and valleys, low and high spots of resin after it dries, am I blowing too hard? I still don’t know why it was running down the ball rock after it dried.

@@iluvwanesworld So your problem maybe when your taking out the bubbles. You can use a straw or flame to take them out but if it curing fast it will raise up. Resin has cure time when it becomes too sticky and not workable. So you live in a warm place so your work time will be shorter because it will start to cure faster. You may of not also mixed it well enough for when it drips after it cures. If it's mixed right you will know because it will still be sticky. It also could be the type of resin your working with wont work with the temperature you live in. The rock could of had air pockets in it or you didn't give it enough of a coat. If it's self leveling and you don't have enough liquid it can leave bare spot sometimes. You may just have to try a different type of resin out. I hope this helps. Yes when you blow and if it's to far in the curing process...it will stay where you blow it and wont go back down. Why you don't wait too long for bubbles to show up. To keep bubbles out/low they have machines for that now and you also can do a warm bath for the liquid. Never store your resin on cold cement floors and then try to use it. You can warm it up in the bottle with warm water kind of like a bath. Colder it is more bubble show up.

I just painted that one with acrylic paint randomly and then just put resin over it. Still holding up the color. So you don't have to coat them before you paint them.

I think it would. Depends on the resin their are different harnesses of epoxy resin out their these days. So you might look into impark resistant resins. Their should be a video out their talking about how hard they are. I watch one who said some can snap and other stay flexible. So depends on what your looking for.

You could try testing one but I do it out side. Were they sprayed? You could test it like on one rock and see. I used a spray the other day on my one rock that had lovely bubble on it but it was kind of muted. So I sprayed a gloss spray and it make it look lovely. I have yet to cover my rocks I sprayed in resin though since I was gong for the sprayed look. If they are glossy from like a tumbler I think it would still stick to them since this chemical heats up and gets a bit hot in order to cure. Tumbled rocks are just polished by sand. Why I wear gloves working with resin and I also wear a breathing mask now. I have felt it start to chemical react before on my hand and wiped my hand off quickly.

So your rock has already been through a tumbler? If it has then you most of not done all the stages of it. Their are usually 4 and sometimes 5 stages of tumbling. So if you want you can use resin on them shouldn't be any difference. The rocks you see were from the ocean which is a large tumbler since it's sand and water any ways. So if you did try a tumbler you can still coat your rocks. Tumbling is just grit that is slowly polishing your rocks anyways. Why it takes about a month to do. I now use a tumbler but finding some things are just better off coated rather then me taking weeks to tumble something. Hope this helps.

@Rachel_Creative_Shopowner I normally use 5 stages. This would be easier and less time

@@kermann-bv8um I know what you mean I have some Citrine, Amethyst, and Celestial blue that didn't come out the way I wanted. I have a machine though so I plane to just cut them up and free form them. But this is a good idea for those that I just wish to look nice in a planter or out in my yard. I have several rocks I just tossed out in my planters that I spent weeks polishing and once done they just were kind of bla. So The resin is a goo way to just coat rocks you don't care that much about or in your case once tumbled need a bit of help.

@@Creative_Shopowner I will definitely try this out.

Not sure. You might just test it out to see. I would try epoxy resin first since they have a good one out that is UV protected. You might want ot try to use the spray that I did in another video. The spay might work better for you and it's faster. I don't use this resin any more. I moved over to epoxy resin.

The rocks two years later still look good though but this resin did have slight yellow tint to it but didn't yellow over time.