Resin Troubleshooting

Amine Blush

Chances are as a resin artist, you will have faced that sinking feeling... you check your latest pour as it cures with excitement only to find imperfections in the resin surface. You are then left wondering what may have gone wrong? We have all been there! Amine Blush is a phrase that is enough to strike fear into even the most experienced of resin artists, but have no fear we are here to help avoid this frustration for stress free resin pours. 

My face when my resin has curing issues : )

Resin can be affected by the cold, they just don’t like it (we know how they feel!) and this can often be a common factor to curing issues.

Thank you so much to Resin Artist Laura for this week’s blog post featuring some resin troubleshooting top tips. 

Amine blush is a problem many resin artists suffer with from time to time. Understanding what causes it and how to prevent it are key to producing perfect pieces with every pour. 

Amine blush is when the resin doesn’t cure properly on the surface due to external factors such as the temperature and the humidity in the room you’re working in. Instead of a smooth, shiny finish, amine blush looks like a wrinkly shrivelled surface or a cloudy film on top of your resin items. 

In the winter as the temperature dramatically drops, you may notice amine blush a lot more. Equally, in the summer when it’s hot but humid you can also encounter problems, but there are steps you can take to prevent this from happening. 

Firstly, keeping your work room at a consistent temperature throughout the full curing process is essential to reducing the chances of amine blush. I personally use a fan heater linked to a thermostat which is set to remain at the recommended curing temperature for my apex resin which makes sure the room temp never drops too low. Alternatively you can buy a heat mat online and let your resin cure on top of the mat and covered by a box, almost like a little greenhouse!

Another way to reduce amine blush is covering your pieces whilst they’re curing. This can be with a box lid which prevents any moisture in the air settling on top of the resin. This also stops any draughts or colder breezes getting to your pieces which cause blush to happen.

You can purchase a humidity reader online for very cheap and I have one in my workshop at all times. If the humidity goes above 45% I can encounter problems if the steps above aren’t taken. If the humidity is higher still, I avoid pouring resin at this point. A dehumidifier in the room can help reduce this. Also keeping the room well ventilated at all times can help keep humidity low. 

Sometimes amine blush will wash off the surface with warm soapy water, but other times it settles deep into the resin and is hard to remove. I have sanded amine blush off with some success but be aware this can just spread the blush and uncured resin over the surface and after top coating it can reappear. Prevention is definitely better than cure with amine blush! Hopefully the tips above will help. Laura ❤️

If you have any questions, let us know in the comments and keep checking the blog for more top tips. 

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Resin Art Tips and Tricks