The List:
- Paper Cups
- Baby wipes
- Gloves
- Gram scale
- Butane torch
- Toothpicks
- Craft sticks
Paper Cups (Made from recycled paper is nice)
Paper cups may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to be a “no brainer”. Actually what makes paper cups an essential tool is to have various sizes of paper cups. Depending on what you are pouring you are going to need more or less resin. Having many sizes of paper cups helps cut back on any wasted resin.
Also depending on the style of resin pour you are doing you may need a bigger or smaller cup. A few pour styles require you to poke a hole in your cup. While other styles focus on adding multiple resin colors to a single cup. Keep an eye out for some of our upcoming posts about pour styles.
Baby Wipes (Cheaper than Clorox wipes)
If you have a kid that is currently in diapers or even fully potty trained you know the power of these little pieces of wet cloth paper. It is almost true that I haven’t found a mess this little “tool” hasn’t been able to clean up.
It is important to clean all your non-disposable tools immediately after use to keep the resin from building up and hardening. Not to mention all those random drips, drops, and spills. A quick wipe with these baby wipes will help keep your workstation clean.
Gloves (We like nitrile powder free)
Again this seems automatic, but I can’t tell you how many times I got myself into a pour without putting my gloves on first. Usually, it starts just thinking about a new idea or a new color combo. Then all of a sudden you have two cups of resin in your hands doing a pour.
Inevitably some of that resin is going to be dripping down the outside of your cup. Or you are going to want to add a swirl here and there and you are standing there gloveless…(a.k.a. helpless). Do yourself a favor and put the gloves on first.
Gram Scale (For Accuracy)
A gram scale is vital to the success of every pour! The beauty of working with a lot of the resins designed for artwork is that they are a 1 to 1 ratio. Meaning, you use equal parts of side A and side B. Typically it is a complex mix ratio that keeps people from jumping into resin pouring, but now you have no excuses.
I like to pour all my side A’s first, one for each color in the pour. Then write the number of grams used directly on the aforementioned paper cup as an easy and quick reminder of what the heck I was doing. A little trick I picked up at the local coffee shop. Tare your scale and simply pour side B to match the number on the cup.
Butane Torch (For those pesky bubbles)
Everything's better with a little firepower. And resin pouring is no different. Having a torch handy, or two or three torches, means you will never be in a rush to make sure the surface of your pour is free from bubbles.
The heat from the torch helps bring any bubbles forming in your resin to the surface to pop. Keeping your design smooth and consistent throughout. Get yourself a torch and you will get yourself a better end result.
Toothpicks (The paintbrush of the resin world)
A toothpick is almost royalty when it comes to DIY and art hobbies. Why should resin pouring be any different? Well...it’s not! We’ve found that the toothpick is the perfect tool for laying in that swoop or swirl right where you want it.
You can use the pointy tip to make small and precise movements in the resin. Or you can hold the toothpick on an angle and get a beautiful fuller and smoother look to your artwork. Try holding two or three toothpicks at a time.
Craft Sticks (not popsicle sticks… the bigger ones)
This is our go-to stirring tool. You don’t typically have time or don’t feel like you have time to use a non-disposable tool here. (cleaning required) It is handy to have several sticks available for each pour. You don’t have to worry about cross-contamination of your colors. Grab a craft stick and mix each color and you can focus on the pour.
Craft stick is code for a tongue depressor, but you get the idea. The key here is that I’m not talking about the standard popsicle stick. I mean that will work, but you just don’t get the mixing power you need with a popsicle stick.
Final Thoughts
Having the right tools for the job makes everything easier. It’s like those cooking shows where everything is already done; they are just combining the ingredients. Set up your workstation with these 7 tools within reach. Having these tools “at the ready” will allow you to focus on the artwork. You will be well resourced to spend your time perfecting each pour. And don’t forget to put your tools back where they belong so you can be ready for the next pour.Thanks for reading! We're Carved - we make 1 of one wood + resin cases, bracelets, wireless chargers and wallets in our shop in Elkhart, Indiana. Learn more about us here.
