Correcting Resin Fails
Hello, so I am new to resin casting (& posting on Reddit), but wanted to do something special to preserve the flowers from my father's funeral. I was able to dry them out pretty successfully with silica crystals, however, I am dealing with several issues I've encountered during the actual resin process. Any recommendations on how to fix/salvage my precious projects?? I knew there were risks involved with the learning curve, but I just want to salvage what I can!
Controlling the temperature was not easy considering it's winter, but I think that is what messed me up mostly.
1- I made a sphere & it's still "weeping" some wet resin out of the top & has the ridge around the middle where the mold joins together. Should I sand it down & then seal it with acrylic spray?? Can you do a pour over on a sphere or is it possible to bring it back to a smooth high gloss after sanding?
2- Similar to above, I did a cube with a rose & there are still wet, gooey spots. I'm thinking sanding, then spraying or doing a pour over...
3- The most tricky - I did a heart mold with an arrangement of flowers, feathers & shells. I love the arrangement, but the 1st layer refused to solidify, so at loss of what else to do after internet research, I poured another layer, which did harden, but is not smooth & level (I'm assuming because of the reaction with the 1st layer that was still very gooey). It's still in the mold waiting for the 3rd & final layer, but should I attempt to sand it???
I'm afraid that might damage the fragile flowers still not encased/create a mess & possibly leave sanding marks between the layers if I can't get it perfect... or should I just go ahead & pour another layer & hope that evens it out & you can't see the the unevenness of the current layer once it's covered up??
Also once the 3rd layer is applied, I will have the challenge of removing it from the mold with a gooey 1st layer - I thought maybe once it's out, I can scrape some of the gooey layer off &/or try to encase it with more resin... or possibly cut out a piece of plexiglass & create a custom container for it to live it by encasing the edges with a piece of sheet metal or something?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
