Posted on by Katherine Swift
You’ve bought resin. Then you used it to make something cool like a candy necklace or flower pot stakes. And when you’re finished, you notice you didn’t use the entire resin kit. Now, you might be wondering how to store resin.
#1. Cap the lids securely and store them upright in their original containers.
You don’t want your liquids to leak and make a mess.
#2. Don’t store mixed resin.
Once it’s mixed, you have to use it or lose it. So while you can store mixed resin, you’ll have a hard block of cured resin when you go to use it.
#3. Store in a cool, dark place.
The bottom of an indoor closet works great to store resin. It keeps light from yellowing the resin. Plus, the closet stays at a stable temperature.
#4. Do not store in direct sunlight.
The UV light can speed up the yellowing of your resin.
#5. Store where the resin will not be subject to temperature swings.
That means NOT in a garage, attic, or freezer. The ideal resin temperature is in the low 70s F or low 20s C.
#6. Mark somewhere on your resin containers when you purchased the resin.
This will help you use it in a timely fashion.
#7. Store resin bottles in a plastic bag and/or larger plastic container.
If something does spill, it will be easier to contain the mess.
8. Familiarize yourself with the shelf life of the products you are using.
While most epoxy resins have a shelf life of a year, others, like polyesters and polyurethanes, have a much shorter useful life. Only buy the amount of resin you can comfortably use within half of the shelf lifetime.
If you have resin kits you no longer need, please specific guidelines on how to dispose of resin.
Once your resin bottles are open, here are a few other helpful resin tips:
- Only remove one cap at a time. Putting the hardener cap on the resin container (or vice versa) is all it takes to permanently close the bottles. I pour the contents from one bottle, then replace the cap before opening the next bottle.
- When I empty one container, even if I have some left in the other container, I always start a new kit. You want to use a fresh kit with new product instead of using an aged product from an old bottle.
- If the shelf life of resin has expired, don’t panic. You may still be able to use it for your resin projects. If you’ve stored it properly, it should cure, but may have an amber color.
Have more questions about creating with resin?
Confused by all the information out there? It’s enough to frustrate anyone! It’s why I wrote the ebook Resin Fundamentals. You don’t have time to spend hours learning resin. Instead, take an afternoon to read the PDF book and feel confident taking on your next resin project.
Unpublished Blog Posts of Resin Obsession, LLC © 2023 Resin Obsession, LLC
