I wonder if you have the same experience as me. When I first tried to make resin jewelry, I found that the glitter always sinks to the bottom after the epoxy solidifies. No matter how hard I tried to mix it evenly or how much glitter I added, it still didn’t improve. The glitter is not distributed in the product as I expected. I tried various methods and consulted many other resin craft enthusiasts. I found several ways to solve this problem. I’ll share these with you, and I hope they will be helpful to you.
Why does my glitter sink?
First of all, why does the glitter sink to the bottom? The reason is simple: it’s too heavy. Although the glitter looks pretty light, it is heavier than epoxy resin, so it will sink slowly before the resin hardens.
Most epoxy enthusiasts will add flash immediately after mixing the epoxy. That makes sense, as you can easily add filler when the epoxy is still liquid. However, this partly causes the glitter to sink to the bottom eventually.
“Glitter” and “heavy” don’t seem to go together, but they can end up being too heavy and sink. It takes 8 hours or more for the resin to cure. While the resin is curing, the glitter will slowly sink. If the resin does not fully set until after the glitter has completely settled, you will have a failed piece.
Understanding this can help us solve this problem better.
How to add glitter to resin?
How do you correctly add glitter to epoxy resin?
Actually, there are many ways you can try. But first, adding glitter directly to an already mixed epoxy is wrong. As we said above, it will sink to the bottom.
However, you shouldn’t overlook another important factor – humidity and temperature- in determining how long your epoxy will take to cure.
Make it in a warm space.
The temperature has a significant impact on how fast the epoxy resin sets. Resins take longer to harden at lower temperatures. Likewise, if the humidity is too high, the epoxy will not cure in a short time. It will give the flash more time to settle to the bottom of your piece.
On the other hand, warmer temperatures will set faster, thus reducing the settling time of the glitter. We recommend making epoxy and adding glitter in an environment above room temperature. This temperature range is from 24 to 30 degrees Celsius. However, it does not mean that a warm temperature will prevent the glitter from settling completely; it will only slow down the process.
Once you have controlled the temperature of your production environment, you can try adding glitter as follows:
1. Add glitter layer by layer, keeping the glitter suspended
2. Let the epoxy resin stand until it is thick, then add it
3. Try the “sandwich method.”
4. Use a lighter glitter
Tips: If you are not trying to make a particular pattern out of the glitter, it is an excellent choice to fill the epoxy with glitter. To get the glitter to fill the entire epoxy, you need to add enough so that it doesn’t sink to the bottom of the mold.
Based on the experience of some epoxy artists, they tend to use the 6% rule. That means the glitter should not exceed 6% of the total volume of the resin. At this percentage, the amount of glitter in the epoxy will tend to saturate and no longer sink to the bottom.
How do I stop glitter from sinking in resin?
1.Add glitter layer by layer.
When you pour the resin into the mold for the first time, do not fill it up. Add the glitter and stir evenly. When it is almost solidified, start to pour the second layer, and then add the glitter to begin mixing. Repeat this step until you finish your product completely. But doing so would be too cumbersome and time-consuming. Also, the finished product is prone to evident delamination, which affects the appearance.
2.Leave it for a while, and then add glitter.
After you have mixed the resin and poured it into the mold, leave it for a while (the time depends on the temperature, the resin, etc.). When your resin becomes viscous, add some glitter and start to stir. The glitter can be better distributed throughout your product. I have a friend who is also a resin enthusiast. He once did a small test. After mixing the resin, he divided it into several portions. After different times, he added the glitter, stirred, and finally checked the sinking of the glitter.
The conclusion of the test is as follows: With the temperature of 19-25°C, leave the resin for 2.5-3.5 hours. And then add the glitter. Under these circumstances, the glitter will not sink easily. Note: If you wait too long, the resin will become very viscous, and stirring will become very difficult. And it will generate a lot of small bubbles and eventually destroy your product.
3.Try the sandwich method.
More and more epoxy enthusiasts are proving the effectiveness of the “sandwich method.” It can help you successfully suspend glitter in resin. Just like making a sandwich, you need to layer the bottom, the glitter layer, and the top.
We will describe this method in more detail:
step1：Mix epoxy resin and hardener
Pay attention to the ratio and air bubbles. You can also finish this step if you want to add pigment.
step2: Pour the epoxy resin into the mold
The key step! Depending on how long your resin is expected to take to set, you will need to fill the mold only a quarter to halfway on the first pour.
step3: Let the epoxy resin sit for 4 to 6 hours, or heat the resin until it becomes sticky
You don’t need to do anything, but always pay attention to the state of the epoxy resin. It would help if you let it take on a gel-like appearance.
step4: Pour in the resin mixed with flash powder
Take out some of the remaining epoxy resin, mix it with the glitter, stir it, and pour it into the mold. The glitter will sink at its speed, or you can stir it a little to speed up the process.
step5: Capping
After the epoxy artwork has cured, the glitter should be suspended rather than sinking to the bottom. At this point, use a thin layer of epoxy to pour a layer over the surface. That will make the surface of the epoxy smooth and prevent the roughness caused by the glitter.
4.Try finer and lighter glitter.
There are many such ‘extra fine’ glitters in the market, but the quality is uneven. I have tried several by myself, but the effect is not particularly good. You can also try and identify it yourself and share it with me!
How do you make black glitter sparkle under the epoxy?
Some people will tell me that they added black glitter to the epoxy, but it didn’t work well. The epoxy resin becomes very dull as a result.
But they want to have a glowing effect even with black glitter.
Well, this is a common problem.
If you use black glitter that is not reflective, it will not glow. You need to add extra glitter that can reflect light, such as silver glitter or dark sequins. Be careful not to add too much to prevent contaminating the overall effect.
If you are using black glitter that can reflect light, then you may have added too much to the resin. Or the overall transparency of the epoxy resin has been destroyed. Using color paste or highly saturated color essence can eliminate the clarity of the epoxy resin. That makes the black glitter not reflect enough light.
How do you stop objects from sinking in resin?
In addition to glitter, you may also want to add other fillers.
Many objects can be added to epoxy resin, dried flowers, rocks, and plastic models. However, many of these fillers are heavier than the resin, so they will also sink.
How do you make things float?
Similar to glitter, you can use ways to prevent them from sinking.
If the mold you use is very shallow, you can just fill it.
And if you’re making a resin artwork with depth, you’ll have to think about the proper method.
The usual practice is to wait until the epoxy is still liquid but very sticky and place the filler correctly. As the resin cures, the filler will appear in the right place. This method can handle some relatively light objects.
When adding a heavy object, such as a stone, the “sandwich method” is recommended. Find the position you need and add a portion of the resin to the bottom of the mold first. After the resin at the bottom has cured, pour the epoxy resin and put the filler in. Repeat this process until all the fillers are in place.
Summary
In short, since glitter is heavier than resin, it will inevitably always sink. We can solve the problem of glittering powder by 1. Add glitter layer by layer 2. Add glitter after leaving it for a while 3. Use finer glitter powder. I hope the above content can be helpful to you.