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A resin ring is one of the quickest resin projects you can make. With UV resin and a silicone ring mold, you can go from a clear cup of resin to a ring on your finger in about fifteen minutes. Jackie of NerdECrafter makes a whole row of them, from pastel swirls to gold leaf, and this tutorial follows her method for one ring, plus the tricks that apply to every design.
UV resin comes ready to use from the bottle and cures in a couple of minutes under a UV lamp or flashlight. That makes it ideal for small pieces like rings, where you can cure in thin layers. Two-part epoxy is cheaper by the ounce but needs measuring, mixing and a day or more to cure. For a first ring, UV resin is far less fuss.
Ring molds come in set sizes, so check the inner diameter against a ring you already wear. Many molds are sold as a set of several sizes. A mold labeled with US ring sizes saves guesswork. Remember the band is thicker than a metal ring, so a size up can feel more comfortable.
Most ring molds have a fill line where the channel narrows. Fill past it and you get a lip on the ring that has to be sanded off, which is how Jackie's first ring went. Fill a little short, cure, and top up if you need to.
Try two or three pastel colors in one mold for a swirl, dried flowers in light blue resin, star glitter, crushed gems or holographic flakes. Layer colors one on top of another, curing between each, for stripes around the band. A matching stack makes a sweet gift for a granddaughter.
New to it? Start with how to use UV resin and how to use resin molds. Finish edges with how to sand resin, then try resin earrings or sealing flowers in resin.
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Make a resin ring with UV resin and a silicone mold. An easy project: about 20 minutes. Materials cost about $1 to $3. You need 15 things, including UV resin, UV resin pigment and gold leaf flakes. The 10 steps start with tint the UV Resin for the Resin Ring, push the Resin Into the Silicone Ring Mold, pop Bubbles in the Resin Ring Mold With a Torch and add Gold Leaf Flakes to the Resin Ring.
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Pour a small amount of clear UV resin into a plastic mixing cup. A ring takes very little, so start with about a teaspoon. Add a tiny dab of opaque UV pigment and stir it in with a wooden stick until the color is even. Go easy on the pigment. Too much can stop the light from reaching the middle, and the ring will not cure all the way through.
Snip the bottle nozzle a little wider if the resin comes out too slowly.
Lay wax paper on your table and set the silicone ring mold on it. Drip the tinted resin into the channel and use a toothpick to push it right down to the bottom and all the way around. Gaps at the bottom turn into holes in the ring. Stop below the fill line where the channel narrows, or you will be sanding off a lip later.
Work around the mold slowly so the resin flows in rather than trapping air.
Look closely for tiny bubbles in the resin. A very quick pass of a small torch over the surface brings them up and pops them. Keep the flame moving and do not hold it on one spot, or you can scorch the resin or the silicone. A toothpick works for stubborn bubbles too. Lift them to the surface and pop them.
No torch? Let the mold sit for a few minutes so bubbles can rise on their own.
Tear small pieces of gold leaf over the mold and let them drop onto the resin. Gold leaf loves to stick to your fingers, so a toothpick or tweezers helps. Push the flakes down into the resin so they sit inside the ring rather than on the surface. A few flakes go a long way on something this small.
Mix gold leaf with a pastel or clear resin. It glows against light colors.
Check the top of the mold. Any resin smeared on the rim will cure into a sharp ridge. Dip a cotton swab in rubbing alcohol and wipe the rim clean, along with any stray flakes. Keep the swab out of the filled channel. You only want to tidy the edges around it before you cure.
A clean rim now saves a lot of sanding later.
Shine a UV flashlight or lamp straight down onto the mold for about two minutes. Then turn the mold and shine it on the sides too, since silicone lets the light through. Thick or dark rings need longer. The resin is cured when the top feels hard and not tacky when you touch it lightly.
Cure in two thinner layers if your ring is dark or packed with inclusions.
Flex the silicone gently and push the ring out from the back with your thumbs. Silicone is forgiving, so peel it away slowly rather than yanking. The surface may look a bit frosted from the mold texture. If any part still feels soft, put it back under the light for another minute.
Cure the inside of the band too once it is out of the mold.
If the resin went past the fill line, you will have a thin lip on one side. Rub that edge flat on sandpaper in small circles until it is smooth. Start with a coarser grit and finish with a fine one. Wipe away the dust when you are done. For shine, brush on a thin coat of clear UV resin and cure it again.
Sand with a little water to keep the dust down.
Spotted a bubble hole on the edge after unmolding? Squeeze a drop of the same colored resin into the gap so it sits level with the surface. Shine the UV light on it until it hardens. The patch blends in, and nobody will ever know. Use opaque resin for this on opaque rings so the repair does not show.
Wipe off any excess before curing so the patch stays flush.
The same method works for every design. Lay a thin layer of clear resin in the mold, then use a toothpick to place glitter stars, dried flowers or crushed gems into the channel. Fill the rest with resin and cure. Small pieces are fiddly in a narrow mold, so take your time and push each one under the surface before you shine the light.
Snip dried flowers into tiny sprigs so they fit the band.
Keep going
How to Fix Sticky UV Resin
10 steps · about 16 minutes
More on this topic, picked for this resin ring.
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How to Make a Resin Ring
LET'S RESIN
LET'S RESIN UV Resin, Crystal Clear (500g)
Low-odor, low-shrink UV resin that cures hard and stays yellow-resistant. Sunlight or a lamp sets it in minutes, so no mixing or 24-hour waits.
LET'S RESIN
LET'S RESIN Coaster & Keychain Molds (18 pc)
Flexible silicone in the shapes beginners actually make, and they pop out clean and reuse for years. The mold set to start casting with.
LET'S RESIN
LET'S RESIN 36W Two-Sided UV Lamp
Cures faster and more evenly than sunlight, with timer presets so pieces do not over- or under-set. What turns UV resin from fiddly to reliable.
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