How to High Gloss Resin a Painting?

HIGH GLOSS RESIN ARTWORK


I use a product called Crafsmart Liquid Gloss or Glass Coat. It is the same product just branded differently for Spotlight and Bunnings in Australia.

I have successfully been using resin to protect my organic mosaics. I use the pour on technique. THe resin coats the organic materials used and protects them.

I have been experimenting with resin to gloss both acrylic and oil paintings. As Liquid Gloss does not like oil based paint I have found that it is necessary to apply a sealer before glossing. I use Glass Coat Timber Sealer on oil paintings. On acrylic painting I use Cabots Cabothane Water Based. I usually apply two coats to make sure the artwork is sealed before applying the resin.

I have only used resin on small paintings on canvas and have also applied to hand painted place mats.
Liquid Gloss is best used when mixing small amounts of Resin and Hardener to achieve a consistent mix.

Equipment Needed:

Liquid Gloss: Resin and Hardener
Cabots Cabothane Waterbased Varnish or other non oil based varnish.
Disposable Goves: Liquid Gloss is extemely sticky and hard to get of your hands
Plastic Cups:
Ice Cream Sticks or wooden stirrer
Drop Sheet, Tarp or other material to place under artwork to be resined.
Plastic or wood to raise artwork.

Steps used to Resin Artwork:

Finished atwork

 First you will need a finished artwork and seal it using Cabots Cabothane or any other waterbased varnish.  You may need to test first. I know Cabots Cabothane works.
 Setup your site with a dropsheet and have everything prepared and organised. I raise the artwork of the ground using plastic pieces. You could use wood pieces. I use plastic as the resin does not stick to the liquid gloss.

Mixing the Resin for at least 1 minute

Make sure you have gloves on. Pour Part A - Hardener and Part B - Resin into seperate containers of equal quantity.Once you have equal quantities place Part A into Container then Part B. I find that the resin is thicker than the hardener. Mix for recommended time of at least 1 minute using a stirrer such as an ice cream stick or the one provided.

Pouring Resin onto artwork

Pour resin onto artwork from the centre outwards. Spread around with your hand or other scraper. The resin will start to spread and run off the edges. Make sure the whole artwork is covered. Remove air bubbles in the resin by blowing through a straw or using a butane torch as recomended. You will need to wipe the drips of the edges every 5-10 minutes until the resin stops dripping. This can take up to an hour.



Good luck with your resining.
Any further questions or comments please post.