I had long read about resins, mostly the older cast resins, becoming sticky and seeping an oily residue onto the surface of the resin...sometimes many years later after they had been cast.
This poor resin, who the customer and I gave every chance to stop his issue, is the first I've encountered with the sticky leaking problem.
There were no signs of issues with the resin whatsoever when he arrived here in the studio....only being very yellowed which I considered what would happen if the resin perhaps was housed in a home where people smoked.
I began my usual prepping routine and completed the prepping over a period of about 6 weeks. I then painted the resin using my usual painting procedure, let him dry, and then applied the sealer...my same routine sealant.
Then the problems began...he became sticky in several areas and I notified the customer and that there were several things I thought might be the problem. The resin itself, my canned primer being a bad batch, my canned sealant being a bad batch, perhaps prior paintwork had been removed using a paint thinner which may be reacting to my primer and oil paints.
We agreed to leave the resin sit for a few months to see if the issue would cure. Sadly it did not....the paint was puckering and lifting from the sticky areas...
After much thought I suggested to the customer that I remove the paint, sealer, primer, and any filling material that was there...watch the resin for a while to see if the issue re-appeared, and if there were no issues, I would then re-paint the item.
It was a very sad moment when I had to remove my paintwork from this poor fellow...almost like a funeral..silly I know...perhaps other artists who are reading this post will understand :)
After removing the paint and waiting the few months I saw no issues...so I went ahead and applied the primer..a different primer.....the Bulls Eye primer that I hand mix and apply with an air brush or apply by hand.
I applied two thin coats and then put the resin on my studio shelf to watch for about 30 days.
Yesterday I checked the resin only to find the same issue had re-appeared...the resin was sticky in the exact same areas as he had been before....the oily areas show up well on the surface of the matte primer....
When touched the areas feel like old cooking oil that has sat for a very long time after being used...the oil will lift off at the touch of a finger but the area that your finger touches is sticky or tacky...the resin material is still hard..not soft.
Hopefully this post will help those artists should you encounter an issue similar to this....I would love to hear any similar stories you all may have...
Have a wonderful day everyone!
C.S.Richmond Studios
Oh no! So sorry to hear about this, Sandra! I had a case of seepage on one piece, but thankfully it was just around the belly area where the big hole gets filled. I ended up stripping the piece and had to drill out the offending area. Not sure if yours will be salvageable since it seems to be happening in random spots :(
ReplyDeleteI think it happens when the resin isn't mixed completely. Such a bummer when it happens!
Thanks for the Reply Carol :) I've heard about the spru ( think that is the correct name) area becoming sticky on rare occasions....
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and thanks again for the reply :)
I have had 2 home-cast resins go sticky many years ago. One a few months after primer, the entire model was sticky (I sent it back), the 2nd several months (4-6?) after paintwork was completed. The sticky shiny spots on my painted one are on the belly (sprue hole I assume) and a few muscle creases, and it is more noticeable in the summertime. By some miracle, the paintwork has not lifted in the areas so I haven't stripped or repaired it. Thankfully I have not experienced this problem in many years and hope I never do again - it's so disheartening to realize there's little you can do to salvage something :(
ReplyDeleteLinda White
Thanks so much Linda for your input! :)
ReplyDeleteThey do sometimes leak from the spru. It's not common if it's all over the horse so it's not a good sign when it's doing this. There are many things that can make it happen. Not drilling a vent hole after casting, resin not mixed well, being exposed to heat (most common cause of oil leaching, especially in older resin), not enough or too much mold release, stripping will do it (resin is very chemical sensitive) and so on.
ReplyDeleteTry to drill a decent size hole in the resin around the worst area. If there is uncured resin still inside, it can cause that oily stuff to surface. Make sure you clean out any resin goo you find (if any). If that doesn't work drill a few small holes in the oily areas. Let the horse sit in a hot area (not direct sun but outside where it's hot). It will help bring out any oil. Leave it a few days, bring it in, clean it with alcohol and do it again, until it stops. If you get it to stop give it a dry baking soda bath, then clean with comet and hot water. Let it sit in a warm area again. If still clean then fill all but one vent hole and primer. If you use Painter's Touch primer (at Home Depot) it helps since it's made to stick to plastic. Good luck.
Thanks so much for your input!
ReplyDeleteOof I hope I never come across this problem, and yes I completely understand you when it comes to stripping paintwork you have done yourself!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Clare!
ReplyDeleteI'm SO very sorry to hear about this, Sandra. I have not (knock on wood!) personally encountered this problem but I really appreciate that you shared the details about this "case" and I really appreciate Sheila's advice about it above too.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your reply Karen....I'll be writing a follow-up blog post soon on the subject :)Sheilas post and another from over on Facebook were very helpful...I'll be passing the info along to you all in my next post :)
ReplyDeleteOh dear, what a bugger having to strip off all the painstakingly applied paint! Please do write a follow-up post about which technique you use to try and solve it and whether or not it works. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Rieke for your reply....follow up post to be posted soon :)
ReplyDelete