HOW TO PRESERVE FLOWERS IN EPOXY?

Resin is a great way to preserve different things. So it is the first choice for embedding flowers. But of course there are different techniques to get the perfect result. Here are different methods how to do that. First of all: resin. All resins are a two part system, consisting of the base resin and the hardener. When mixed, a chemical reaction occurs where they go cure and harden. The drying time can highly vary from 12 up to 48+ hours, so does time you are able to work with it.

 

The mixing ratio and evenly mixing of the two parts is the vital part of using resin. If you use too much of one part and not enough of the other, which can either lead to a casting that’s brittle, or a cast that doesn’t fully set and remains sticky. Pouring the mixture from one container into an other helps with the mixing of the two parts. Once the epoxy is mixed, you can place it in a vacuum pump to remove all air bubbles from the epoxy.

 

Before you pour the flowers in epoxy, you must be 100% sure that the flowers no longer contain any moisture. Otherwise your flowers are going to turn brown and you decently don’t want that to happen! You can dry flowers in several ways, but a well-known and simple way is by drying them in silica sand.

Note: Though silica gel is non-toxic, I recommend wearing a mask and using gloves when handling the product. As you pour the gel into the container, it can create fine dust that you won’t want to inhale.

 

Instructions:

Conventional method:

• Trim stems, remove leaves and pat flowers dry

• Pour silica gel into an airtight container until it creates a layer about 1.5 inches thick

• Place flowers face-up on top of silica gel and pour more crystals in and round the petals

• Seal the container, and place it in a cool, dry place for a couple of days/weeks.

• Once completely dry, remove flowers from the silica gel and brush off excess crystals with a soft bristle paintbrush.

 

Then you need a mold of the piece you’re planning on casting to pour the resin into. Silicone molds are the best choice, because the resin won't stick to it and it's flexible enough to get the final product out of the mold. Click here to check out all our different shapes and sizes. 

 

When the resin is poured into the mold, the flowers needs to be moved around a bit, to prevent air bubbles underneath the flowers. Small bubbles in the resin can be popped with a small blow torch or a lighter. But be really careful with a ligher, it can damage your mold very badly!

 

Carefully pour a layer of epoxy over the flowers and keep repeating this until the flowers are completely covered with epoxy. Keep in mind that you do not pour the next layer until the layer of epoxy underneath has completely hardened. Depending on the type of epoxy you use, this can be 1-4 days.

 

Once it is fully poured with epoxy, remove the item from the mold and add a top coat if necessary. Every time you use a silicone mold, the quality will deteriorate due to the chemical reaction of epoxy. This is a natural process. If this causes your piece to become duller, you can choose to sand and/or polish the piece are use a new mold. Other irregularities caused by or with epoxy can also be sanded and polished.