Finishing epoxy resin parts: polishing, waxing, and sanding.

Have you ever made a piece of resin Epoxy and noticed that it has some defects after removing it from the mold? Like not having a clear and shiny surface? Or not having a transparent matte surface with some imperfections?

"Before we explain how to fix this issue, you should know that this often happens when using cheap silicone molds that are not made from high-quality silicones, or using molds that are not for resin, or due to some mixing ratio errors or the effects of winter and cold that we discussed on how to fix in a second article."

Fortunately, there are very easy and simple steps to fix any defects, and these methods are called resin finishing using sandpaper, polish, and wax.

To ensure that your resin gives a final crystal that is shiny and transparent.

What do you need at the beginning?

Preparation:

1. Prepare clean water in a container.

2. Soak the sandpaper in a container of water for 20 minutes before use.

3. Dip the resin piece in clean water for a few minutes, so we prepare it for the sanding process.

4. Get a piece of cloth/sponge.

Steps:

water

Add water to your handmade piece; the water helps to remove the granular paper particles that are removed from the sandpaper and protects the surface of Epoxy from scratches that will occur in our next step.

Sanding process

Start sanding the Epoxy resin with wet sandpaper that you have previously soaked in water. We recommend using sandpaper from P Grit 500 to P Grit 2500.

Starting from P Grit 500, sanding is done carefully with soft circular movements either manually or using an orbital sander.

At the end of each sanding process, we make sure to clean the piece with clean water from the dust and particles present in the specified sandpaper, then we wipe the remaining residue with a cloth and add clean water again to move on to the next sandpaper number.. 600-800-1000 etc...

We continue to repeat the steps mentioned above until we finish the sanding process using P Grit 2500.

💡 The P Grit sandpaper numbers indicate the hardness or softness of the paper; the higher the number, the softer it is. For example: 2500 is the softest number, 500 is the coarsest number.

Now we are cleaning our piece again and preparing it for adding polish to the piece.

Polishing stage

After covering the piece with polish, we wipe it well repeatedly with cotton, cloth, or sponge.

💡 Although the polishing process with polish is very simple, you need to be patient with it and take your time to polish the piece and ensure that the product is completely removed from the piece.

💡 Polishing helps to eliminate surface scratches, swirls, oxidation, and minor imperfections.

💡 You can polish manually using a sponge or with a rotary tool (Dremel) for the best results, especially for jewelry made of resin and costrat.

 Wax stage

We cover the entire surface of the piece with the wax product and leave it for two minutes to dry.
Using a new clean cloth (do not use the same cloth you used for polishing with the polish), we start wiping and polishing the wax. Although it may seem like you have removed all the wax compound, a thin protective layer has been left behind, which is what we are looking for. 

💡 The wax helps to give a shiny and transparent final appearance, in addition to protecting your piece from sunlight, dust, and other chemicals.

"Last but not least, we recommend using Blige oil, which adds a high shine to our custom piece that also has a refreshing orange scent!"

Thank you again for the tuning, I hope this is helpful and clear.

Please leave any questions or comments below!