Why Is My Epoxy Resin Still Sticky or Tacky?

Why Is My Epoxy Resin Still Sticky or Tacky?

You're rushing to get your epoxy tumbler packaged up only to find... The final layer of epoxy resin you applied is sticky or tacky.

It happens, and to be honest, most of us who do epoxy resin projects have unfortunately experienced sticky epoxy at some point. Let's go over some common causes of epoxy resin being tacky and how we can work to prevent stickiness with epoxy resin.

EPOXY MEASURING: VOLUME VS WEIGHT RATIOS

Double check that the epoxy resin you are using is to be measured by volume. It is common for art and craft resins to be 1:1 mixing ratio by volume and casting resins to be 2:1 by volume, but there are plenty of manufacturers who formulate their epoxy resins to be measured by weight or at different ratios by volume.

Accurately measure and thoroughly mix your epoxy resin

Epoxy resins that are measured by volume typically have some degree of forgiveness when your mixing ratio is off, but when the mixing ratio of your epoxy resin is off you can almost always expect some sort of issue to occur. When mixing small amounts such as 10ml or 15ml, you might not even notice that your mixture is off by 10% (1ml / 1.5ml) but that can completely throw off the reaction.

We always recommend mixing at least 2 fluid ounces of epoxy resin when mixing by volume. You will end up with a more accurate measurement and much lower chance of issues with your epoxy resin curing.

Along with mixing ratios, be sure that the two components are mixed very thoroughly! Scrape the sides and bottom of the cup throughout the mixing process, and sometimes it might even be necessary to transfer the mixture into a clean cup to continue mixing. We do NOT want unmixed product in our epoxy resin coating!

What is the perfect temperature for epoxy resin?

Most room temperature cured epoxy resins need to be cured in a specific temperature environment. For KSRESIN Epoxy Resin that perfect temperature is between 75-80° F. Temperatures below this can often slow down the rate of epoxy resin curing and if the temperature is too low, it can even stunt the curing process entirely. Make sure you are keeping your environment warm throughout the entire curing process, as well as the epoxy resin and the surface you are applying it to.

Simply put:

A Warm Environment for Epoxy Resin = Good

A Cold Environment for Epoxy Resin = Bad

TEMPERATURE TIP

If you are like most people, you probably don't enjoy keeping your house that warm. Instead use a space heater to warm up your work space! It is an efficient, inexpensive, and effective option for keeping the ideal environment for curing epoxy resin.

Epoxy Resin Tackiness Caused by Humidity

Yes, even the water in the air can cause your epoxy resin to stay sticky! High humidity is a very common cause of tackiness amongst other curing issues with epoxy resin in a humid environment. We typically recommend using epoxy resin in an environment under 50% relative humidity. If your humidity is too high for curing your epoxy resin, consider purchasing a dehumidifier for your craft space.

MY EPOXY RESIN IS STILL STICKY 😖

If you have followed our tips above and are still having issues with tacky epoxy resin, please be sure to reach out to us at support@ksresin.com so that we can help you figure out what is going on.


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