How to keep resin from making material looking wet

[Plokman]

Hey all,
May be a simple question but eh you know me, anyway I wanted to know if anyone knows of a way when adding dry material like say sand into resin how to keep that sand looking dry? I know wet sand is constant in terrain building for shorelines but there is also cast sand that looks dry and it is made with sand mixed into the resin, I just don't know the proper method myself yet and wanted to see if anyone knew.

 

[MangyDog]

its all about the surface finish... Some lacquers can be used to add a less glossy finish to things, or perhaps you can high grade wet and dry your peace to make it more matt finished...

 

[Plokman]

its all about the surface finish... Some lacquers can be used to add a less glossy finish to things, or perhaps you can high grade wet and dry your peace to make it more matt finished...

Wait you mean a finish like varnish for wood or Clear coat changing the particles inside resin to look dry when the resin is what is making the stuff mixed in to look wet in the first place right? I just want to make sure since I didn't know that clear coats went that deep into something like Epoxy.

 

[MangyDog]

oh wait sorry missunderstood, no wont make the interior parts looks dry. See the trouble is dryness and wetness is a result of light effectiveness and refractivness, When you apply resin to an object its removing the rough finish to an object that makes it look dry... Tbh its all experimenting but you could try to dust a grey coat onto the object to dull the colour up a bit?

 

[Plokman]

oh wait sorry missunderstood, no wont make the interior parts looks dry. See the trouble is dryness and wetness is a result of light effectiveness and refractivness, When you apply resin to an object its removing the rough finish to an object that makes it look dry... Tbh its all experimenting but you could try to dust a grey coat onto the object to dull the colour up a bit?

That is what I feared, like I said on one other post it's fine for my Quintaped teeth after all Teeth that are rotted are never going to look like a bright tooth, a white wash and a black wash to show there was once enamel and now as well that there are cavities and it will look perfect. Hmm will sanding perhaps counteract that refraction? I mean while the particles are coated if you sand resin covered copper the right way it looks less like Coper suspended in a former liquid and more like well brushed and polished copper.

 

[Riceball]

I wonder if spraying your sand with a coat of sealant (lacquer of Testor Dull Cote) before covering with resin would do the trick?

 

[Plokman]

I wonder if spraying your sand with a coat of sealant (lacquer of Testor Dull Cote) before covering with resin would do the trick?

I will try that though I will not have testors dull on hand for the test I do have Enamel clear coat. I will look at a batch of Testors Dull if this dues improve my water logged look.

 

[Riceball]

I'd think that the enamel clear should probably work. My thinking is that the sand needs some kind of barrier between it and the resin and it should remain dry looking.

 

[Plokman]

I'd think that the enamel clear should probably work. My thinking is that the sand needs some kind of barrier between it and the resin and it should remain dry looking.

It's sound reasoning for sure, after all Hydrophobic Sand what little gets under water does not look wet if I recall correctly. I have Clear enamel thanks to my stepmother giving me a old clear fingernail polish. I am going to put a small bit in a glass bottle, mix with my powder/sand then let that dry after spreading it on a silicone mat after that I will use that treated batch in my next pour and hopefully all your advice will bear fruit.

Even if the only thing that works from these ideas with Enamel is the waterproofing of PVC you mentioned on my other post I am very grateful for the perspective and inspiration. Thank you very much.

 

[cavx]

The only way to get a dry look is not to coat all surfaces. Use the resin as a bonding agent. The problem here is that some grains may break away leaving exposed resin and a mess.
I mixed a heap of sand in epoxy to increase the volume and it all set up good but always looked wet.
One test batch was dry looking, but it cracked under load.