There’s been quite a lot of interest in my resin-cast paperweights containing quilling, so I’m going to try and tell you as much as I can about the technique of making them here.
Firstly, there’s a gallery of photos showing some of the paperweights I have made on my Flickr page, which you can access at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/philippa_reid/sets/72157623255693844/with/4342650457/
To do resin casting, you need the following materials:
A kitchen measuring jug
Clear acrylic resin
Catalyst (this is the chemical which is added to make the resin set)
Glass dropper bottle for dispensing the catalyst
Mixing cups and wooden mixing sticks
A flexible plastic mould in the shape of your choice
Acetone to clean up any spills (plus a few old fabric rags to apply it with - don’t use paper towels, they stick!!)
Pair of tweezers to pick up quilled motifs and dip them in the resin
A sharp pin to pierce air bubbles with.
You also need the following safety equipment:
Protective apron
Face mask (so that you don’t breathe in the chemical fumes)
Rubber gloves to protect your hands
Plastic sheet to protect your work area
Metal box (e.g. an old biscuit tin with tightly fitting lid) to store any rags that have been used to clean up or have accidentally come into contact with catalysed resin, as there is a very slight fire risk when these are left exposed to air during the drying process.)
For safety reasons, it’s also best to work in a well-ventilated room.
I bought my resin, catalyst, mixing cups/sticks and acetone from the following supplier in the UK: http://www.ecfibreglasssupplies.co.uk/category/product/tabid/61/productid/1592/sename/water-clear-casting-resin-inc-catalyst/default.aspx
However, you can also order from an American company called Environmental Technology Inc,at: http://www.eti-usa.com/consum/castresn/castresn.htm
Here’s how you do it:
1) Make a quilled motif that will fit easily into your chosen mould.
2) Next you have to work out how much resin and catalyst to use. Because the moulds are made in the US, their capacity is measured in fluid ounces, but the mixing cups tend to be marked in metric millilitres (ml) so you have to do a little maths!
Look at the packaging that came with your mould and note its capacity in fluid ounces. Then fill the mould with water, pour the water into a measuring jug and note the volume of the water in ml.
You will be pouring catalysed resin into the mould in two separate layers. For the first layer, you need to add 5 drops of catalyst per fluid ounce of resin. For the second layer, you need to add 4 drops of catalyst per fluid ounce of resin. This sounds complicated, but it’s not really. Here’s an example:
Say your mould has a total capacity of 4 fluid ounces, which equates to 106ml. The first layer of resin is going to be half this volume, i.e. 53ml (2 fluid ounces), so you are going to need to add 10 drops of catalyst to the resin for this layer. The second layer of resin is also going to be 53ml (2 fluid ounces), but this time you only need to add 8 drops of catalyst. OK, write all these figures down for reference!
Now comes the fun part.
3) Again using this example of a 4 fluid ounce mould, pour 53ml of resin into a mixing cup, and add 10 drops of catalyst using the dropper bottle. Stir vigorously with a mixing stick for about one minute. You will see lots of bubbles form - the is the catalysation process beginning! Pour the bubbling resin carefully into the bottom of your mould.
4) Leave it for 20 - 30 minutes. You will notice that lots of bubbles form and rise to the surface before bursting. Any that don’t seem to want to burst, you can pierce gently with a pin.
5) Wait until the resin starts to gel. You will know when this stage is reached - there are hardly any bubbles and the surface becomes semi-solid. This is obvious when you touch it gently with your pin.
6) Now it’s time to put the quilling in. Pick the motif up with tweezers and dip it in a little uncatalysed resin, making sure it is well coated all over. Then lay the motif gently down on top of the gelled resin in your mould. Remember to put the motif in UPSIDE-DOWN as the layer at the base of your mould is eventually going to be the top of your paperweight.
7) Now mix up the second layer of resin (53ml with 8 drops of catalyst), mix like before and pour it gently over the motif.
Again, while the resin is still liquid you can easily pierce any obvious air bubbles with your pin.
If the motif floats to the surface (which it shouldn’t if you’ve dipped it in sufficient resin), you can push it down gently with the tweezers before the second layer starts to gel.
9) That’s it! Now, LEAVE IT ALONE for 2 - 3 hours until the second layer has gelled. Don’t be tempted to touch the surface with your finger, because it will leave a mark. After 2 - 3 hours, slip the mould inside a small plastic bag to exclude air (but don’t let the side of the bag touch the surface of the resin). Then leave it untouched for about a week while it hardens off.
10) After this time, you can flex the mould with your fingers and your finished paperweight should pop out easily.
If the edges are a little rough due to unburst air bubbles which have gathered at the sides, you can sand them down gently with wet and dry abrasive paper, starting with 800 micron gauge and then progressively finer. Use the abrasive paper wet. Once you have a nice smooth surface on your paperweight, you can shine it up with a metal polish such as jewellers’ rouge. (The wet and dry paper is very effective - you can get rid of even quite deep scratches and blemishes if you rub it down hard enough - be bold!)
That’s it! A bit of a learning curve, but fun to do once you get into it! I’ll be interested to see how other members get on.
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