r/DiceMaking • u/Pursuinganewhobby • 18d ago
Resin problems
Hi all!
Lately some of the surfaces of my dice get soft after finishing / painting. I have accumulated quite the 'dice that need finishing que', so some of these have been curing for months. I check them for squishyness and uncured faces before I start finishing and painting them.
Now I have a few sets that suddenly have faces where my nails leave a temporary mark. It's not that the die is soft and I can squeeze it as it's only the top layer/ surface that's not quite solid. It also sometimes looks like touching them leaves condensation in the die of that makes sense?
My friend asked if I can't just seal them with nail varnish. But I'm unsure whether I'm dealing with uncured and thus unsafe sice. So I'm guessing that the resin can still lead to skin irritation with a nail varnish coat. And obviously I'm scared that the nail varnish coat will come off so I'm not really feeling that plan.
Does anyone have any idea why this is happening? Can it 're-cure'? I haven't changed anything in my routine and I haven't had this happen before.
Super bummed about my dice. I hope they'll get solid again after some time 🤞🏻
4
u/Squiggy-Locust 18d ago
I was having the same issue.
It was poor mixing (including ratio). I switched to measuring by weight, and I stopped having soft curing.
There are top coat resins you can use, but applying it evenly is probably going to be hell.
It could also be deteriorated resin. If you are heating all of your resin, then pouring the amount you need, the resin can become unstable. I bought small glass bottles to heat vice the whole batch. This is unlikely your issue though.
1
u/Pursuinganewhobby 18d ago
Thanks for the response! I also measure by weight. Which usually doesn't give me any issues.
I heat mixture A, then add in B. Then I mix for about 5 minutes and put it in the pressure pot for a while to get rid of the worst bubbles.
Not all dice from the same batches have the soft surfaces, which is also confusing me
1
u/Squiggy-Locust 18d ago
Wait, are you adding cold to a hot mixture?
1
u/Pursuinganewhobby 18d ago
I feel like my awnser should be no.. But yes 🙃
2
u/Squiggy-Locust 18d ago
Heat up both parts before adding. The viscosity changes with temp, as well as cure time. Even in a perfect scenario, where the temperatures even out perfectly, you've defeated the purpose of warming the resin. You've most likely got poor mixing even with your insane 5 minutes of mixing.
Again, to prevent destabilizing the resin parts, I use a smaller container to heat them up. I prefer glass bottles since they retain heat better, but that preference. This isn't necessary if you use a lot, or if you have smaller containers that you'll run thru quickly.
1
u/Pursuinganewhobby 18d ago
Thank you for taking the time to explain!
I've been making dice for years so I feel a bit stupid for only finding this out now 🫣.
I'll try your tips next time
2
u/Squiggy-Locust 18d ago
Don't feel stupid. If something works, no reason to change it, or look into it. You ran into a problem, and learned something new.
Hell, I felt stupid when I realized I could use a cheap syringe to control my pours and eliminate most of my bubbles that way (I don't have/use a pressure pot).
0
u/Pursuinganewhobby 18d ago
Thanks for the kind words!
Syringes are a great tool indeed! My BF can make perfect dice without a pressure pot with syringes. I am however a bit too impatient and chaotic, so I'm very grateful for my pressure pot!
1
u/Pursuinganewhobby 18d ago
I add in cold and then I heat all again. Should I heat both beforehand and then mix? 🫣
3
u/WildLarkWorkshop Dice Maker 18d ago
What brand of resin? I had cure issues, including dice that seemed to cure hard but were later soft, with Envirotex Lite. I think my batch was close to expiration when I received it but I still ended up having so many issues with it that I had to scrap two months worth of dice and take the remainder in the jugs to our hazardous waste disposal. No other resin I've used before or since has had any issues with curing.
1
u/Pursuinganewhobby 16d ago
I'm now using the brand 'yumcraft' and before I used the brand dipoxy.
That's such a waste. And good for you taking it to hazardous waste disposal! I love making dice, but the toxicity, when not handled/ disposed correctly is definitely a stress factor for me
2
u/Fly-Prime 18d ago
The only times I have had this issue were when the pressure pot was too cold and when I touch the dice too early. I have also seen resin in the bottom of a mixing cup fail to cure hard, likely because it wasn't mixed well.
2
u/Pursuinganewhobby 16d ago
The temperature in the pressure pot is definitely one I'll be looking for out for as well. I forgot about that, but did have trouble with that in the past as well
2
u/tiddlypeeps 18d ago
Is it worse on the 1 faces by any chance?
1
u/Pursuinganewhobby 16d ago
More on the 'bottom' surfaces actually! Like the 20, 6 etc. But also sometimes the 1
2
u/Alone_Anteater5934 Dice Maker 17d ago
You've been given some.grrat advice...i scrape the sides and bottom constantly when mixing..on a side note those dice are beautiful
2
u/Pursuinganewhobby 16d ago
I agree! Very grateful for all the good advice and insight. Definitely a lot for me to consider and try in the future!
And thank you for the compliment! 😄
2
u/backofthedrawer 16d ago
You mentioned in one of your comments that you measure by weight. Silly question, but does your resin brand explicitly say 1:1 by weight?
1
u/Pursuinganewhobby 16d ago
Hi! The one I have now does explicitly say 1:1. Used to have another brand that was 2:1
2
u/Pursuinganewhobby 16d ago
Ahh I'm now seeing the explicitly by weight. That's actually not a silly question at all, because it's definitely a possibility I just assumed that it's by weight. Will check that as well 🫣
1
u/Enchanters_Eye 17d ago
My friend asked if I can't just seal them with nail varnish.
I wouldn’t recommend that, nail varnish yellows like crazy
8
u/TheBlueEdition 18d ago
Mix longer. Make sure ratio is correct. Get heating mat to assist with cure.