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13 Best Resin for Tumblers That Are Fast-Drying

13 Best Resin for Tumblers That Are Fast-Drying

Do you want a fabulous, customized tumbler designed according to your every artistic whim?

Take a stainless steel tumbler, add some alcohol ink design or glitter paste, apply some resin and let it cure for an amazing protective coating, and voila!

The key to this process is picking out the best resin for coating your custom tumbler so that it’s clear, scratch-resistant, and will hold up in the sunlight. That’s why we’ve created this list. Let’s dive in.

best resin for tumblers

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Best UV resin for tumblers

UV resin for tumblers

JDiction Upgrade Ultraviolet Epoxy Resin

This inexpensive yet useful UV resin is the perfect one for tumblers. It’s non-toxic, has almost no odor, low bubbles, and cures clear, not yellow. It also works with glitter, mica, pigments, and sequin add-ins to customize it however you want.

As a UV resin, it’s a bit thinner than others on the list, which you might not be used to.

On the positive side, that means it pours nicely and spreads evenly, which is what you want for coating.

The little odor of this resin goes away once it cures, so you also won’t have to worry about that. 

It takes just 5 minutes to cure under a 48-watt curing lamp and 7 minutes with a 36-watt lamp, leaving little to no tackiness. JDiction’s formula is also stain resistant and mixed with UV inhibitors to help prevent yellowing.

One of the reasons it works well for tumblers is that it hardens so quickly.

What’s nice about this packaging is that it also comes with a separate cap, allowing you to store it more easily. 

Best epoxy resin for tumblers

epoxy resin for tumblers

Puduo Epoxy Oz Clear Resin

A fast curing, durable, and versatile epoxy, the Puduo Oz Clear Resin is a great overall choice for tumblers with fast curing, durable, and versatile epoxy. The working time is a solid 40 minutes, making it easy to use with tumbler coating.

Plus, it only needs 8 hours for curing time.

Low odor, with easy measuring and mixing instructions, the kit comes with all the tools you need to get started, including safety gear like gloves for your hands.

It works with most additives and pigments, including alcohol ink, glitter, and more.

With a 1-to-1 mixing ratio, this one is hard to mix up the instructions. While it isn’t self-leveling or self-degassing, it’s still quite easy to work with.

Best UV resin for snowglobe tumblers

UV resin for snowglobe tumblers

Miraclekoo Crystal Clear UV Resin

Miraclekoo is the perfect UV resin for snowglobe tumblers. It is crystal clear, very few bubbles, and has great consistency. It can also be mixed with alcohol inks, glitter, mica powder, and more.

Miraclekoo’s UV resin is great for coating due to its reliability.

It’s one problem is being somewhat more odious than others on the list.

However, this odor almost completely vanishes after curing. Regardless, it’s important to know it’s still non-toxic.

If you pour it slowly, you’ll get very few bubbles, especially if you don’t shake the bottle.

The curing speed, as with all the best UV resin, is quite fast.

You can cure it in under 5 minutes with a powerful UV lamp. 

If you’re willing to wait, it’ll cure in direct sunlight in just under an hour. Once cured, it’s anti-scratch, anti-stain, and yellow-resistant. 

Best resin for glitter tumblers

resin for glitter tumbler

Stone Coat Art Coat Resin

Stone Coat is a fantastic clear epoxy resin that’s perfect for making glitter tumblers.

Their two-part kit is as simple as epoxy resin gets with a 1:1 mixing ratio and curing in 72 hours.

Designed explicitly for art projects, including tumblers. 

It’s heat, UV, water, and scratch resistant, developed by professional artists. Crucially, it’s compatible with alcohol inks, acrylics, metallics, paints, and most importantly glitter!

The finish on Stone Coat is excellent for tumblers, keeping them safe from yellowing and providing a smooth, long-lasting finish.

Low odor and easy to work with, you can’t go wrong with this epoxy resin. 

Additionally, it has chemical and heat resistance while still being certified non-toxic. Finally, making a tinted or mixed epoxy is highly flexible and can take in a lot of different pigments, add-ins, etc. 

Best epoxy resin for glitter tumblers

epoxy resin for glitter tumblers

Art N Glow Casting Resin Review

Another solid choice for making your perfect glitter tumbler is the Art N Glow Casting Resin. It’s a trustworthy brand made to be beginner friendly, coming in smaller bottles. In addition, it’s odor-free, UV resistant, and stays crystal clear for ages. 

When mixing it, you’ll also notice it is self-leveling and self-degassing, which makes it even simpler to use.

The 1-to-1 ratio is also the most straightforward possible, adding to its use for beginners.

Furthermore, it’s got a 40-minute working time, which is good for making a tumbler.

The resin kit come in different sizes, from 16-ounce to one-gallon. Sometimes there can be issues with bubbling, which can be helped by warming it up as you start the mixture. When pouring the hardener into the bucket, go slow and mix while pouring. 

Best alcohol ink for resin tumblers

Rupert, Gibbon & Spider Jacquard Color Alcohol Ink

Alcohol ink is a great medium for working with resin tumblers.

It’s a high pigment ink that’s also fast drying, making it perfect for working with the short working time of resin coating.

This Rupert, Gibbon, & Spider Jacquard set has some of the most vibrant, highly pigmented inks out there, making it the perfect starting point for your experiments. It’s also easy to squeeze from the bottle, the inks blend well, and they have different options for a great basic set.

You can also look into their 27-color set for more variety.

The inks also work with add-ins such as glitter, yupo paper, and more, making them especially versatile.

Best resin for coating tumblers

resin for coating tumblers

DecorRom Crystal Clear Ultraviolet Curing Resin 

A great UV resin for coating, it has an even consistency, it’s self-leveling, and has very few bubbles.

The odor is low and the formula is non-toxic.

The one issue some people have is that it can cure yellow, but other than this sometimes happening, it’s one of the better choices on the market.

The consistency is perfect for coating. Neither too thin or thick, it is easy to work with. It works with mica and alcohol ink and cures in just 5 minutes. It can cure a bit tacky, but if it does, just place it under sunlight for 30 minutes.

It cures scratch-resistant, yellow-resistant, and stain-resistant. 

Best nontoxic epoxy resin for tumblers

nontoxic epoxy resin for tumblers

Craft Resin Epoxy Resin Kit

Craft makes a great non-toxic epoxy resin that works well for tumblers. It comes with resin and a hardener for a clear resin surface on your tumbler. 

Free of VOCs, this resin is odor-free, food safe, and, therefore, one of the best choices for working with.

In addition, the ultra-high gloss finish makes it great for seeing your beautiful tumbler designs underneath the resin coating.

Best type of clear resin epoxy for tumblers

ART RESIN NON-TOXIC EPOXY 

Art Resin has created a clear, non-toxic epoxy resin perfect for newer tumbler makers. It’s easy to work with self-leveling and low bubbles.

The working time is nice for practicing skills and adding mix-ins and colors.

However, the brand is known to work with its own brand’s mix-ins and colors, sometimes going off-color with other materials.

One of the best things about Art Resin’s epoxy is that it’s a food-safe level of non-toxic, meaning it’s perfect for tumblers. In addition, it has passed a series of rigorous food safety tests.

To keep the whole tumbler food safe grade, we recommend you use Art Resin additives, which are all also tested for the food grade level.

Best epoxy for tumblers on amazon

epoxy for tumblers

ENVIROTEX LITE EPOXY RESIN

The Envirotex Lite brand is a solid choice for tumblers. It has a beautiful, high gloss finish.

In addition, many tumbler artists use the brand for its low odor, ease to work with nature, and other factors.

Some users have one problem: it can yellow with UV exposure over time.

However, the rest of this epoxy’s positives make up for this flaw. All resins yellow over time, this one is just slightly more susceptible. 

Envirotex Lite is heat resistant, FDA compliant, easy to work with, and can take on additives easily. 

Best KS resin for tumblers

The KS Liquid Art Elite

The KS Liquid Art Elite is the best of the KS epoxies. Its formula improves upon air release, scratch resistance, durability, and heat resistance. 

It has a lower viscosity than most epoxy resins and an extended working time of 60+ minutes.

It is also the clearest coat of all their epoxy resins.

KS does not use a blue masking agent on its slight yellowing for the sake of its UV resistance properties. However, the blue masking agent was found to be more noticeable; and therefore, the clearest option.

KS also uses very low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which is what causes odor in resin.

Best fast set epoxy for tumblers

fast set epoxy for tumblers

PREMIUM CLEAR FX POXY BY COUNTERTOP EPOXY 

First designed as a countertop resin, the Premium Clear FX Poxy has found new life amongst tumbler artists. Durable, food-safe, VOC-free, and both heat- and UV-resistant, you’ve got all the right boxes ticked.

Best of all, the cure time is fast with this one, generating almost no odor.

The scratch resistance on this one is fantastic as it is formulated to deal with countertop level damage, ending up five times stronger than concrete. 

One concern is working time, which is a bit shorter, and cost, as the formula, is quite premium.

What’s the best overall resin for tumblers

Art N Glow Casting Resin Review

Due to its versatility, we’re going with Art N Glow for the best overall resing for tumblers.

It runs the gambit of being the easiest to use, with smaller-size bottles available. I

n addition, it has all the major properties you want, including good durability and longevity, odor-free, and great clarity once cured. 

It’s also self-leveling and self-degassing, which slightly lowers the overall quality if you are an expert in resin pouring. Still, these features make it easier for most people to get a reliable coat. 

For all these reasons and more, it’s the safest overall choice and will work for almost anyone.

Types of resin for tumblers 

There are essentially two main types of resin you can use for coating tumblers.

UV Resin

UV resin is easier to use since it only uses one liquid. It’s called UV resin because it hardens under UV light, which can either be done through a UV lamp or through sunlight.

This activates the chemical reaction within the resin, causing it to cure.

Generally, UV resin doesn’t hold up quite as well as epoxy resin, but it is much faster to pour and cure, easier to work with and has a huge working time.

For these reasons, it’s generally recommended as the resin type to work with for beginners and for smaller projects.

Some of the main drawbacks are that it doesn’t work well for thicker projects as you can only cure thin layers at a time. It’s also more expensive than epoxy resin, making it harder to justify for larger projects.

Epoxy Resin

Epoxy resin is versatile and can be used for projects of just about any size and thickness.

It’s highly durable, has decent working time, and can be customized with countless add-ins and pigments. It’s also quite affordable.

One of the big problems with epoxy resin is that it almost always has a chemical odor. In addition, it does tend to yellow over time with exposure to sunlight, and although many brands add chemicals to prevent this, it is always a concern.

You can use epoxy either as a coating or by casting. For tumblers, you’ll be looking mostly at coating. You want to look for one that is crystal clear and can take in different additives.

Can I use art resin on tumblers?

Absolutely! Here’s how to do it.

You’ll need:

  • A tumbler – for example, insulated stainless steel
  • Cardboard or similar to protect the piece when it dries
  • A mixing container
  • Stir stick
  • Nitrile gloves
  • UV or Epoxy resin (We’ll use epoxy here)

Designing your tumbler:

Once you’ve gathered your materials, you’ll first want to paint or glue your design to the tumbler. Depending on what you use, you may want to paint on the tumbler with alcohol inks, or roll on glitter paste.

Your imagination is the limit, really. 

Once you have your design placed onto the tumbler, you can then move on to applying your resin coat.

How to apply the coat of resin:

Mount the tumbler on a cup-turner.

Wearing your nitrile gloves, carefully measure and mix a small amount of your epoxy resin.

As you turn the cup turner, watching the tumbler turning, slowly pour the resin onto the tumbler surface and smooth it out with your gloved hands.

Once the surface is evenly covered, keep turning it until it becomes dry to the touch, or for 24 hours. Once dry, it will still need another 48 hours to cure. 

Conclusion

Working with resin can be a fun DIY project, and there is endless creativity possible with your design. Just add what you’d like underneath the resin coat for your tumbler, and you can create whole worlds of color and glitter based on your imagination.

Don’t let anything stop you. Push your imagination to its limits and try it out now!