Blog by Lindsay Gilbert
After creating and baking a polymer clay work of art, you can add an extra layer of sealant to protect, enhance, and strengthen the piece. UV resin is one of my go-to products for finishing projects, especially on jewelry, because of the way it leaves a domed, glossy finish. Working with resin can feel intimidating at first, so here’s some helpful tips to get you started.
What is UV resin?
UV resin uses ultraviolet light to cure, or harden, the resin. Most UV resins take just minutes to cure, and will likely go faster depending on the strength of the UV light used. Direct sunlight can be used, but there’s a chance that you may get an incomplete cure if the light is on the weaker side. You will also need to move your project outdoors, which increases the chance of accidents happening along the way.
Before jumping into covering all of your works of art with resin, there’s some important things you need to know:
● Work in a well-ventilated area
● Wear gloves and a respirator mask to protect against fumes and skin contact.
● Avoid working in direct sunlight. This can cause the resin to cure too quickly.
There are some helpful tools to apply the resin to your polymer clay projects:
● UV nail lamp or flashlight
● Small disposable or silicone mixing cup(s)
● Stir sticks (craft sticks work great)
● Small silicone brushes/tools
● Lighter (optional)
After baking the clay, make sure the surface is clean before applying resin. You can wash it in soapy water, use alcohol, or even use a damp cloth and then allow it to dry completely. Pour directly from the bottle, or add a small amount of UV resin into a mixing cup and use a stir stick to add a small drop of resin to the surface of the polymer clay piece.
Use a craft stick or silicone brush tool to carefully spread the resin to the edges of the piece. Alternatively, you could also use a brush to spread a thin layer over the surface, kind of like applying nail polish.
UV resin can also look like water drops! On projects like leaves, for instance, a few small drops of resin sporadically placed can give the effect of water droplets. Just be careful not to put the drops too close together to keep them from morphing together.
Once you are happy with the resin application, place the polymer clay pieces under UV light. Like I mentioned earlier, this can be via a UV nail light or even a strong UV flashlight. Depending on the thickness of the resin, curing can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes.
*I recommend running a lighter over the resin before curing to pop any air bubbles. This step is totally optional, but it does help to give that crystal clear finish.
Here’s a comparison between the full resin coating and droplets. You can also see the domed, glossy finish compared to the uncoated matte finish on the polymer clay piece with the droplets.
I hope this has helped you to get inspired to give UV resin a try to finish your next polymer clay piece. Be sure to share your favorite Sculpey creations with us by using the hashtag #HowDoYouSculpey and don’t forget to mention which clay you are using (#Premo or #Souffle)!
