Hey everyone, welcome to Ashtag Bus. My name is Ashley and today I am going to talk to you about how to mix resin the right way and how to know that it is mixed. So you don't end up getting any unmixed areas or any sticky spots or anything like that. So if you're interested in that, stay tuned. Alright, first things first, make sure you are following all safety procedures. My hair is up, my hands are in some gloves and I'm going to be putting on my mask. So from here on out, you will be listening to a voiceover and I will walk you through everything that I am doing with my resin. Alright everyone, let's begin. Today I'm going to show you two ways to mix resin. Believe it or not, there is a harder way and an easier way to mix. I'm going to start with actually mixing the resin the hardest way because that's what I did when I first started out and this is what most people do when they first start out. There is an easier way though and I will talk about that later in the video. Of course, always follow the directions of whatever resin you are using, but I'm going to share with you extra tips to help you recognize when the resin isn't mixed properly. Or maybe you just need a visual to understand what everything means. Either way, I got your back. So this way your resin will always turn out right. Your resin has two parts. One part is resin, the other part is the hardener. You want to use your resin as close to receiving it as you can. I recommend using it in the first 30 days and most of the resin manufacturers will also recommend the same. It is extremely important not to order too much because the longer it sits on the shelf, the less effective the UV inhibitors are, and the resin will actually start to yellow in the container. If it does that, then it's not good for very many projects at all. If the resin is already yellow in the container, you will have yellowing issues when it is on your art. Okay, you already noticed that I measured out the two parts in separate containers. As a beginner, this is the smartest thing to do because if you accidentally pour too much of one part, you can easily add or take away. If you decided to pour them both in the same container and accidentally did too much, then you will have an unequal amount and a bad mix. It'll be harder to take one of the parts out. Now, the best container to use with mixing resin is a silicone mixing container. I actually really like to utilize the hard plastic container that I have from Home Depot. It was actually meant to be as a paint storing container. I got it from Home Depot for $1.50, maybe $2, but I reuse it. So hard plastic containers I have found are easy to reuse when it comes to resin. You just tip the container upside down and same thing with the silicone mixing container. You tip it upside down, the resin will come to the bottom and it'll cure, and then you can just take it out the next day. If you don't have any silicone measuring cups, you can get them from my Amazon store and I have a link in the description below. It does not have any discount code for you or anything, but it does help me tremendously and my channel. So if you don't mind shopping through my art supplies through that link, that would be a huge help. You can also use plastic, like you see here in the video. I am using plastic cups with lines on the sides to make sure that my parts are equal. And then combining them together in a larger cup. You want to make sure that you're mixing them together in a container that is not too much bigger than the amount that you're mixing. If you mix it in a large mixing bowl or a container that has a lot more space than the resin, you're actually going to risk not having a proper mix. Only because as you're mixing that resin is going to climb up on the sides, or you might just mix a little bit more vigorously, which can give you extra bubbles. There's just so many other things that can happen. But if you are working with a container that is not much bigger than the two parts you're mixing, then you're going to be able to control the mix a lot better. The reason I'm using today is Stonecoat countertop epoxy resin. It is a one-to-one ratio, which means I will be using the exact amount of part A and the exact same amount of part B. Part A is thick, and this is the resin. This can vary depending on the maker. I've actually had some resins where the hardener is the thicker part. So that just makes sure you understand and pay attention to whichever part is thicker, because this will actually play a part in the easier mixing process later. Mixing resin can be fairly simple, but you want to make sure that you're following one key rule. Scrape everything. This means scraper spatula, your popsicle stick, or whatever you're using to mix. Scrape the sides, scrape the bottoms, and continue to scrape, scrape, scrape, scrape. You'll notice I do this the entire time I'm mixing. You want to make sure that you're bringing the resin up from the bottom and off of the sides constantly. That way, all of it gets mixed. If you don't scrape, you will have a bad mix. I'm going to slow down the video right now and show you something very important that you need to see. See how cloudy the resin looks? This is a visual representation of needing to keep mixing. Eventually, the cloudiness becomes harder and harder to see, and I call them streaks. Keep mixing until you no longer see any streaks throughout your resin. I constantly lift up the resin to look at it from all angles and to see how transparent it looks. You want it to look as clear as water, but of course with bubbles. The total time it took for me to mix this particular batch together was 10 minutes and 13 seconds. My hands were hurting so badly after this. Most manufacturers recommend that you mix for approximately three minutes in one cup, and then pour into another cup and mix in additional three minutes. Because the resin was so thick in the beginning, it took me longer than the average time to guarantee that it was all mixed. Remember, we are looking for the cloudiness to completely go away. You can see the result of the resin. The result is that the resin is still in the beginning. The result is that the resin is still in the beginning. The result is that the resin is still in the beginning. The result is that the resin is still in the beginning. The result is that the resin is still in the beginning. The result is that the resin is still in the beginning. The result is that the resin is still in the beginning. Now, I'm going to teach you a way to make the thicker resin more fluid moving so everything is easier to mix. After you measure out your two parts in two separate cups, take the thicker part and sit the cup in a bowl of hot water. Be very careful not to get any water in your resin. You are just sitting the cup in the hot water while it has the resin inside. Don't get any of the water inside. Just to clarify, it's just the thicker part that sits in the bath. Don't mix them all together and then try to do this. You're going to cure your resin in your cup. And that's obviously not going to help you. After you let it sit in the hot bath for about 10 minutes, then you can combine the two chemicals. You should find that it's much more fluid and easier to mix. After utilizing this trick, I did everything else the same, the scraping, watching for the cloudiness, and it actually only took me three minutes and 40 seconds to mix this time. Huge difference from 10 minutes. Yes, I had to sit in a hot bath for a little bit, but I can do something else in my studio while I wait for my resin to relax. I don't know about you, but I much prefer having it sit in a bath and then only have to mix for four minutes instead of 10. That's it. Remember to scrape everything over and over and over. Let your thicker part sit in a hot bath and then pay attention to the cloudiness and streaks. These three things will make mixing any resin a breeze. And that's everything for today. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below. If you've been using resin for a while, then comment below with your favorite resin tip or trick. And if you are a beginner, comment with your favorite part of the video or comment with any questions that you feel have not been answered well enough yet, and I'll try to be as descriptive as possible whenever I answer that in another how-to video. Then head over to my new Facebook group where you can enter art competitions and win prizes coming up here this summer. The link is in the description below, along with discounts from some of my resin partners to help save you some money. That's it for this time, and I'll catch you all next week.