As our new Jewelry Resin makes its way onto the Michaels Craft Store shelves across North America I continue to work away on samples! I have been getting a lot of questions about using the new resin in molds so I thought I would write a post that explained which resin was best for certain pouring projects.
Let me begin by stating
the most important fact.
Environmental Technology Inc. (ETI) manufactures all the resin they sell.
This means they work with their own chemical engineers to create resins that are specially formulated for many different industries. They invented the first craft resin: Envirotex Lite.
Envirotex Lite is known as a resin that can be poured over table tops or canvas
and with one application is equal to 50 coats of varnish. That sure is a time saver! Then crafty jewelers and artists came along and started pouring it into interesting bezels and other enclosed shapes.
You need to remember though that this resin was formulated for shallow pours.
Envirotex Lite – For Pours No Deeper than 1/8 of an inch.
Seeing that so many consumers wanted to pour resin into deeper molds and cavities, ETI engineered EasyCast.
EasyCast was designed to be used in a mold. This is really important because if you are pouring resin into a one inch deep mold...
and you want to accomplish that in one step...this is the resin for you. The results are spectacular and I have several EasyCast posts on the blog already.
So when you think deep pour - think EasyCast.
And now the company is launching EnviroTex Jewelry Resin.
It is special and unique chemical engineering that created a resin that enhances the surface on which it is applied, resulting in brighter, deeper and more intense colors. EnviroTex® Jewelry Resin has amazing bubble release. It is easy and fun to use and has a pleasing citrus scent! Formulated for high resistance to light exposure and UV rays from the sun. When cured, the resin coating is extremely durable, waterproof, heat & chemical resistant.
This resin was designed to pour into bezels!
Again, working with the idea that most bezels are about 1/8 of an inch deep this resin works brilliantly for shallow pours. 
"So, can I use Jewelry Resin in a mold?"
Let's imagine I was snowed in and only had Jewelry Resin and needed to cast a mold on a deadline. Could it be done? The answer is YES. While my first choice would be to use EasyCast for my casting....I could use Envirotex Lite or Jewelry Resin. It would be a layered project with several pours. I would probably do three successive pours allowing each pour time to cure.
My first pour would be without any inclusions. I would just get the bottom of the mold filled to about 1/8 deep.
A day later I would add in my inclusions. They will look like they are floating since the first clear layer is already in place. I then add another shallow pour of resin and wait another 24 hours.
When you have this many inclusions you usually need to spend some time popping air bubbles. Jewelry Resin does most of this for you...but if you use beads...you never know when a bubble might release.
Then 24 hours later I mix one last batch of resin and fill my mold. I then let the mold sit somewhere safe and undisturbed for a full 48 hour cure.
So yes, you can use the new Jewelry Resin in a mold...you just need more time.
And as you can see, my molds turned out pretty darn great!
By the way, ETI has more resins than the three I highlighted.
These are just the one's most of you will want to understand.
Labels: EasyCast, Envirotex Jewelry Resin, Molds, Resin Facts
