Easy DIY Epoxy Resin Pours l Three Full Tutorials
Looking for DIY gift ideas or just some new epoxy projects to finish the year off with? In today’s tutorial, we’re highlighting our top three epoxy resin art ideas. Stick around and read along, and don’t forget to check out the video below for full details!
Skill Level: Beginner/Intermediate/Expert
Estimated Working Time: N/A
What You’ll Need:
Project 1:
- Deep Pour Epoxy
- Table Top Epoxy
- Powdered Pigments Set
- Cedar Wood
- Sander
Project 2:
- Table Top Epoxy
- Deep Pour Epoxy
- Powdered Pigments Set
- Poplar Wood
- Sander
- Flame Retardant
Project 3:
- Art Resin
- Table Top Epoxy
- Powdered Pigments Set
- Boards
- Sander
- Sticker Decals
Need some supplies, find out where to buy epoxy.
Epoxy Resin Art Idea #1: Modern Coffee Table
To kick things off, our first epoxy resin art idea is a contemporary resin coffee table, made of cedar wood. For this project, which will teach you how to epoxy a table top like a pro, we’re going to show you how to make epoxy shiny and flawless. The best way to achieve this look was to use our very own deep pour epoxy, and accompany it with the black shade from our powdered pigments set. We used nearly eight gallons of epoxy for this resin pour, and followed up with two gallons of table top epoxy post-cure for a flood coat. The flood coat is what gives you the ultimate flawless finish.
This table took a lot of time and effort to create, but if you want an epoxy masterpiece, you have to be patient! Whenever you're working on a larger piece like this, remember to take your time and pay a lot of attention to small details, especially the details of your workspace. For proper curing, make sure the room temperature is ideal (no more than 70 degrees), take your time when you’re sanding, and be careful when you conduct your pour. Take your time to ensure that you yield the best results possible. Don't rush the process!
Epoxy Resin Art Idea #2: Fireplace Mantel
The next epoxy resin art idea is our DIY epoxy fireplace mantel, which was so much fun to do! We grabbed some poplar wood, a few gallons of our deep pour epoxy, three mica powder colors from our pigments set, and mixed them altogether for a triple colored pour. We wanted to tie the color of the mantel in with the existing tiles on the hearth of the fireplace, so that’s how we decided three colors would be the best. By mixing epoxy resin together in this way we go a cool, colored epoxy swirl effect that just added even more uniqueness to the project.
Once it was cured up and settled, we went ahead and poured a clear layer of deep pour over it. As that clear coat was curing, we waited until it got to the consistency of peanut butter. Looking to create swirl effects in your project? When your epoxy reaches this consistency, this is the best time to do it! The designs will stay in the epoxy when it's right on the verge of curing. If you try to swirl too early, all of your work will disappear. We added a little bit of white mica powder from our pigment set and swirled it into the clear coat of epoxy.
Next, to continue layering our resin, we hit the epoxy resin project with another clear coat of deep pour and we let that cure. We didn't mess with this layer at all, because that was going to be our final layer and give us the effect of depth that we wanted. Once it was cured, we assembled the back end of the mantle so that it could be mounted to the wall. However, we’re not done yet! Again, this is another project that is going to take some special attention to detail. For example, we water popped the grain of the project to make sure that we get the best out of that green mica powder we used. Doing this will make it REALLY stand out when we add a flood coat! Now, let’s mix up a gallon of table top epoxy and handle that flood coat. The results for this one were just outstanding!
More special attention to detail here- we used a flame retardant to make sure that there would be no effect when the eventual fire (as it’s a fireplace mantel) and epoxy meet. Fire and/or high heat can burn an epoxy piece even after it has cured, so you want to add some kind of barrier there to prevent the epoxy from burning or deteriorating, especially on the project’s underside. This flame retardant will prevent the mantelpiece from getting ruined in any way. This piece turned out beautifully! It was fun to create and pretty easy, and you can do it too. We cannot stress enough how important it is to pay attention to detail here, and to be committed to the final result before you start projects like these.
Epoxy Resin Art Idea #3: Art Resin Gift Set
Now onto our third epoxy resin art idea! Let’s use some good old art resin, which is perfect for those of you who prefer smaller projects. They're simple, easy to create, and can be more satisfying to finish than the big projects are! Art resin is also very versatile- you can create things like ashtrays, coasters, small trays, and a lot more. For this project, we created a few sports-themed backdrop boards that we could give away as gifts.
The first thing we did was grab a few sticker decals of our loved ones favorite teams, art resin, and colors from our powdered pigment set that would match the decals. We mixed up the art resin and added in our powdered pigments for the respective teams, and poured the colors over the board, using the dirty pour method. Next, we put our sticker decal inside and went in with a layer of table top epoxy. This clear top coat will seal that decal permanently. Once it was cured, we sanded it up and it was ready to be given away. Just that simple, and makes for a really cool gift! If you want to make small, quaint gifts for the holidays, art resin is what you want to use. You have the ability to create any of these three projects, or attempt others, such as epoxy tumblers. It’s just all about creativity and attention to detail.
