How To: How to use colour tints with epoxy
If you want advice on how to use colour with epoxy, read our top tips. The tints have been specifically designed for use with crystal-clear Entropy Resins® Clear Casting Epoxy, although the tints can be used with all the Entropy Resins products.
Entropy Resins products are world renowned for their bio-content and sustainable attributes and are used to manufacture river tables, jewellery and action sports goods such as surf and snow boards.
The exciting liquid tints bring bold and beautiful colours to epoxy and can be added to epoxy mix to make stunning deep colours, or to add softer translucent tones. It all depends on the quantities involved, so make sure you practice before pouring and use caution if you’re aiming for a translucent look.
The Soft Tint Pack contains: Lavender Hills, Flamingo Pink, Caribbean Blue, Turquoise, Snowy Peaks, Fresh Apricot. The Vivid Tint Pack contains: Berry Red, Lemon Zest, Eclipse, Lily Pad Green, Snowy Peaks and Celestial Blue.
How to use colour tints with epoxy
A little goes a long way – a few drops is often enough.
Entropy Resins tints are blendable. You can blend primary colours to produce your own designer colours – you’re only limited by your imagination. We advise adding the tints to a small quantity of mixed epoxy until the required colour is reached and adding this tinted batch to the main mixed quantity.
If trying to achieve a look with different colours within the epoxy, don’t try to use too many different colours at once (in the same mix) as they may all mix together to one colour.
It’s straightforward to build up layers of colour. Use a different colour per pour, allowing each layer to gel prior to pouring the next.
Creating colour patterns in epoxy
It is possible to create swirly colour patterns within a clear epoxy pour but it may take some practice. Use a drop of tint on a palette and a toothpick to create fine lines. You can use wider implements to shape other patterns but we advise using hard items. Don’t use brushes which can leave hairs, or anything which may introduce debris into your creation.
It’s important that swirls (or colour drops) are sealed in the epoxy so the undiluted tint is not left exposed on the surface. If left on the surface, some colour transfer may occur.
Casting and colour in epoxy
If you are casting items within epoxy, keep in mind that colour tinting may change the colour of the cast items. For example, dried yellow flower petals in blue tinted epoxy will appear green.
Using colour tints when laminating with epoxy
When working with glass cloth (laminating) it’s useful to know that the tint will impregnate the cloth – and almost hold any pattern you add. For example, you could pour an ‘S’ shape and it’d hold with a small bleed at the edges. It’s possible to achieve a marbling effect by pouring multi-coloured layers, leaving them to dye the fabric, then squeegeeing off the excess. The first colour that hits the cloth is the one that sticks. For example if you pour a blue tinted epoxy onto the bare glass and then a red tinted epoxy over the top, the blue will be prevalent when it’s flattened out.
In keeping with Entropy Resins ethos of being environmentally friendly, the tints are water based. Each tint comes in a 25g recycled plastic bottle with a droplet nozzle designed for precision control. Purchase Entropy Resins online.