Resin Troubleshooting Tips - Preventing "Wet Out"

People often contact me for tips on the resin making process. In this resin making series, I hope to touch on some of the common problems that occur with the process and offer solutions on how to correct them. Much of what I will share with you is based on my own trial and error in making my own projects.

One of the most common issues which occurs is something called "wet out." "Wet out" occurs when the resin makes contact with images. It can make your image look like it got wet, and in severe cases, it can make your whole image turn transparent. The photo to the right shows "wet out" where the angel's wings meet her dress. As you can see, it ruins the whole design.

The chemicals in resin break down delicate items such as paper. In order to preserve your images, you have to protect them by coating them with sealant before you place them in resin. Coating both the back and the front of the design with white glue is usually a popular method given in books to prevent "wet out" from occurring. I was not satisfied with this method. I experimented with several different brands of white glue to seal my images and still encountered problems. The first problem was that "wet out" still occurred; the second was that I had applied the glue too thickly to the image, which resulted in it appearing as though a milky substance was floating over it.

Another method that was recommended in a book I read is to cover both sides of the image with clear packing tape. Trust me when I tell you that this suggestion definitely does not work, as the resin still seeps into the tape and damages the image at hand.

My favorite method to prevent "wet out" is to use glossy (not matte) gel medium. I have used both Golden's and Liquitex gel medium brands and they work equally well for this process.

Here's the step-by-step process I use to protect my images:





STEP ONE: With sharp scissors, cut out the images you will be embedding in resin.




STEP TWO: Tear off a sheet of wax paper.
Lay it on a flat working surface. Place your
images face down on top of the wax paper. Brush a thin coat of glossy gel medium on the back of each image. Let dry.





STEP THREE: Turn over the images so they face right side up. Brush a thin coat of the gel medium on the image. Let dry. Note: The gel will look milky white when it is wet, but it will dry clear.


STEP FOUR: Carefully peel the images off of the wax paper. You will have dried medium that extends past the image. With scissors, carefully trim off the excess medium but do not trim the image itself. If you accidentally cut into the image, you will need to reapply gel medium to the cut area. The cut area is susceptible to "wet out" damage from the resin. (Trust me on this one, I learned this the hard way.)
And there you have it. Please be sure to check back for additional resin making tips and projects (among other cool crafty things). Happy creating! :)