How to polish and finish resin jewelry

How to polish resin jewelry and polish resin

Resin jewelry has become very popular as creators can create truly original pieces. The processes for making resin jewelry are quite easy using simple to use molds and resins. This article will discuss the finishing of resin jewelry using polishing and resin polishing methods to create professional quality jewelry pieces.

Once your jewelry piece has been removed from the mold and it has fully cured, you can refine the appearance of the jewelry piece by drilling, sanding, buffing, or buffing. Make sure to wear a mask when applying any of these techniques, as they will create a fine resin powder that you don’t want to inhale.

Hand sanded and polished or polished

To get started, you may need to use a coarse grade sandpaper to remove obvious bumps and blemishes. A 100 to 180 grit grade is best suited for this task. A wood sanding block can help sand only the high spots and get a smooth finish.

We can then move on to wet and dry sandpaper for finer sanding with grits starting at 320 and going up to 400. You can sand the item under running water if you want to reduce dust. You can go to even finer grains from 600 to 1500 to achieve glass-like surfaces.

A final polish is needed to give the surface a high gloss. We usually use a polishing compound to polish resins and a cloth.

Note: This method only applies to polyurethane and polyester resins. Resin polishing is not recommended with epoxy resins. Instead, we suggest that you re-coat the sanded surface with resin to create a high gloss. Special coating resins are designed for this task.

Polishing machine

Resin polishing can be accelerated by using machine dampers. However, care must be taken with the speed of the buffer. If the speeds are too high, the resin can soften and leave white marks on the surface.

Drilling

For the same reasons as with machine polishing, drilling must also be done at low speed. Drill bits can also clog if the resin becomes hot and soft.

Make sure to secure the small piece of jewelry so that you can drill a straight hole. We have tested various materials to put between a vise and the jewelry piece so that it does not mark the delicate resin surface and we have found that leather is ideal.

If at any point you make a mistake with your piercing, you can repair it with an additional resin mix.

Attach jewelry findings

When it comes to gluing findings to jewelry pieces, epoxy glue is the most suitable. The 5-10 minute setting type is ideal. You can also use your original resin mix to attach trimmings. Let it sit overnight.

To achieve a matte finish

An interesting and different way to finish resin jewelry is to give the pieces a matte finish. This can be done by sandblasting the cured part. If you don’t have access to a sandblasting, there are small units available at an inexpensive price and they work with a can of compressed air. Alternatively, you can use a pumice stone rubbing compound to give your pieces a matte finish.

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