If your resin is sticky after curing, please don’t panic — you haven’t ruined everything.
Why is my resin sticky is one of the most common questions I see in resin groups, and I’ve had it happen to myself more than once.
Sticky UV Resin and How to Fix Sticky UV Resin
In my experience, sticky UV resin comes down to one or two things: Too much pigment … or something known as oxygen inhibition.
I learned the hard way that adding “just a bit more” pigment, to get that perfect colour, can actually stop the resin curing properly – and always leads to that question again Why is my resin sticky
Oxygen Inhibition is a Big Cause of Sticky Resin (UV Resin)
Sometimes the piece feels firm underneath but slightly tacky on the surface. That’s often oxygen in the air preventing the very top layer from fully curing. When this happens, I pop my piece into a small container of water and cure again under my lamp. The water blocks the oxygen and usually solves the problem beautifully. If for some reason it does not work, what I have done myself is add another thin layer to piece and cure again under my UV light for a minimum 120 seconds.
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Pigment Can Block UV Light – and this is the next cause of Sticky Resin (UV)
Why is my resin sticky ? its because you may have used too much pigment ( especially darker colours) UV resin needs light to pass through it in order to cure properly. If the colour is too dense, the light simply can’t reach all of the resin.
- Liquid dyes are concentrated
- Mica powders can reflect light
- Dark colours cure slower
- Build colour in layers
How to Prevent Stickiness
- Use thin layers
- Add pigment gradually
- Cure longer for darker colours
- Keep your lamp close to the surface (without touching it)
- Don’t overfill molds
The UV Lamp & Resin I Use
Both my lamp and my resin I use are produced by LET’S RESIN that I purchase from Amazon. It is a brand I use and trust for all my projects when making my resin jewellery with UV resin or for coasters where I use epoxy resin . Here you can see My lamp that I use, its double sided so that it cures both sides at once, which gives a more even curing.
Sticky resin is frustrating — but it’s rarely the end of a project. With a few small adjustments, most pieces can be saved.
Hopefully you will no longer be saying why is my resin sticky ?
If you have found this post helpful you may like to see other posts of mine like this one about using open backed bezels you can see it here
And if you are new to crafting with UV Resin you may find my Tools and materials page useful – where I share my favourite and most trusted tools that I personally use for all my projects with you
I am posting regularly on this site covering most asked questions and problems that come up when working with resin (UV and Epoxy) also other crafts such as Air dry Clay and Wire Craft too.