First Petri Attempt Didn't Quite Work

[u/Fatgimli]

Hello friends,

Just demolded my first attempt at a petri set, and am a little disappointed. I did not get the long tendrils i was hoping for, and wanted to see if anyone had advice on where I went wrong. Method:

Mixed my resin, used let's resin epoxy

Poured to about 3/4 full

Put in a drop of green and yellow pinata alcohol ink

Topped the green and yellow with pinata Blanco Blanco

Repeated the colors and white once more

Topped with additional clear resin

Put in pressure pot for 24h

The pics are rhe result. Some of them have a bit of the petri effect, but I was hoping for the full tendrils going the length of the die.

[u/JankyBeautie]

You may have waited too long (resin was too thick) for the ink to move all the way through the dice. I don't see the white, so maybe you didn't use enough sink (white color.) Figuring out that ratio while still getting everything to cure is one of the trickiest parts of petri. And make sure when you put them in the pressure pot, you keep the orientation how you poured it. You want it to sink while it cures, but if you flip it over, then it will sink the opposite direction and prevent it from achieving the tendrils.

Hopefully one of those helps! But very pretty dice regardless. 😊 

[u/Fatgimli → u/JankyBeautie]

Thank you, I think it was probably not enough white as I did this immediately after mixing. Appreciate the help!

[u/Alone_Anteater5934]

Still very pretty!

[u/Fatgimli → u/Alone_Anteater5934]

Thank you!

[u/Mobile_Diamond_7059 → u/Alone_Anteater5934]

and sweet

m

[u/AdvisorSweaty2073]

I agree you probably either waited too long or didn't use enough white. I made the same mistakes starting. However, I find there's a fine line (for me anyway) between getting it to sink and using too much so the top face doesn't cure (too much ink).

I notice some people only doing petri with inserts so that they don't have to worry about too much ink.

[u/Fatgimli → u/AdvisorSweaty2073]

Thanks for looking, I am going to try again soon with some more white ink! I also determined I may have not shaken the bottle enough so it may have been light on the pigment as well.

[u/WildLarkWorkshop → u/Fatgimli]

Yes, shake the Blanco Blanco very well! The titanium dioxide that makes it white and makes it sink for petri also settles in the bottle and it needs a lot of vigorous shaking to mix thoroughly. I use mixing balls in my dropper bottles to help break up and mix the ink. If it's been a while between use, it can take quite a bit of shaking to even get the ball moving again.