How to Dry Resin Faster

Have you been using resin in your projects a lot? You might be wondering how you can dry resin fast?

Resin takes 24 hours to dry 95% of it and 72 hours for it to completely dry. The main ingredient that will allow your resin to dry fast is heat. You can use the below:

Blow the hot air directly on your art with a blowdryer
Use a UV lamp
Use direct sunlight

Each method has specific instructions to help dry your resin in the best way. Let’s dive in!

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How to Make Resin Fast Drying Before Applying

You can significantly reduce the resin curing time before you apply it and eliminate the need to dry resin fast before resin overlaying, which we will discuss later in this blog.

To do this, make sure you mix the resin and the hardener in equal amounts and your foreign material such as color or glitter is not more than 6% of the epoxy resin.

Secondly, you should stir and mix your epoxy resin for at least 3 minutes before applying so that it is uniformly mixed and you have a homogeneous solution.

Third, you should mix the hardener and the resin at a warmer temperature, which can not only reduce the resin curing time but will also make it thin for easy application and the epoxy resin becomes a thin gel before thickening into a hard resin art.

How Long it Takes Resin to Dry and General Rule to Dry it Fast

Before I dive into the resin drying techniques, let us understand the general rule that allows quick drying or curing of the resin so that you can use each method to its best.

Generally, it takes 24 hours for 95% of resin curing and around 72 hours for 100% resin curing.

But, you can reduce this time using our “dry resin fast” techniques so that you can go towards resin overlaying.

The basic thing that we are going to use to dry resin fast is heat.

An increase of 10C can cut the resin curing time in half. Now let’s discuss what methods you can use for that 10C increase in temperature.

Resin Curing Using Hair or Blow Dryer

A hairdryer or a blow dryer is a machine that is used to style hair and it does it by blowing warm air onto hair to dry it in the position you want.

You can use a blow dryer or hair dryer to dry your resin art fast.

To do this, simply plug in the dryer and blow it directly onto your resin art.

But be cautious to not blow too hard and too warm.

Make sure you check the temperature and the pressure before directing it towards your resin art otherwise you might end up blowing it away and spreading it all over.

Resin Curing Using A UV Lamp

Blow drying is a reliable method to dry resin fast but it might not be the best for your resin art as it can spread out the resin if you blow too hard.

To eliminate that risk, the best method is to use a UV lamp for resin curing.

A UV lamp works on the same principle and uses heat to dry resin fast but it does it without blowing.

Rather, a UV lamp uses ultraviolet radiation that is pretty intense and can increase the temperature significantly.

Just be cautious of not exposing your skin to radiation for longer as UV radiations are the prime cause of skin cancer.

Resin Curing Using Air or Sun

If you do not have any of the equipment and have a little time to spare, probably the best method for drying your resin art is to let it air or sundry.

It is the cheapest and the safest method.

To do this, just put your resin art in open air or sunlight and leave it unbothered and you will find it dried hard quicker than usual.

Just make sure that the air is not blowing too fast and the environment around is clean as you don’t want any dust or other articles and tiny objects dried in your epoxy resin art.

Resin Over Drying

You might think that if you keep heating, you will speed up resin curing and it might be true but is not recommended.

Rather, you should provide moderate and uniform heat for a longer period for it to settle.

If you keep providing heat, it will not over dry your resin as it will cure and become hard solid.

But chances are that you will rather overheat it cause it to lose its properties and deform.

You would require a lot of heat for that though and you should not try it for the love of your resin art.

Resin Overlaying

The reason people want to reduce resin curing time is either because they want to put it on display or that they want to overlay it.

Resin overlaying is when you top your resin art with another layer of material.

The material can be more resin with different colors and textures or it can be clay.

Resin Overlaying over Resin

You can cast a second layer of resin over your already dried layer of resin to create texture, fix the surface, or just add an extra colorful layer. To do that, be sure that your resin is completely cured otherwise the boundaries between the two layers might not be defined.

Resin Overlaying over Clay

You can overlay your clay objects with resin to strengthen them, encase or coat them or give them a smooth and glossy finish.

To do this, paint a coat of resin over your object with a foam brush, pour resin over it while it is placed on a pyramid stand, or just dip your object in resin depending on your preference of results.

Other Resin Tips and Insights:

Conclusion

Resin art is a comparatively new and liberating art form and has a lot of room for creativity. These “dry resin fast” techniques are there to help you but they should not stop you from creativity in any way.

Go on and experiment all you want, and most importantly, have fun!

How to Dry Resin Faster FAQ

How do you dry resin faster?

The most effective way is to use a heat source. An oven, heat lamp, or heating pad are the best heat sources for this.

Can you dry epoxy with a hair dryer?

While you can use a hair dryer to dry epoxy, it won’t dry it faster than an oven, heat lamp, or heating pad. Also, be careful to make sure your environment is free from contaminants like dust that can interfere with the drying process.

How long does it take for resin to dry?

There are many factors that will extend the resin drying time. Usually, it will take 24 hours for resin to dry. If you have a lower ambient temperate than 70 degrees, it will take longer.

UV-cured resin will dry much faster. It can take as little as a few minutes.