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Hey guys,

So I recently bought some Polylite 32032 Clear Polyester Casting Resin from MB Fibreglass to do some water effects for my minis and terrain. I was wondering if anyone had used this stuff before and if they had managed to tint it using paints rather than paying a fortune for the pigments? If so how did it turn out and are there any paints or brands you would recommend or avoid?

My limited experience with clear resins and paint didn't work out very well - they slowed the cure time or didn't blend properly with the resins (which is why you can get specific tinting pigments for resins). I did manage to tint an epoxy resin using a purple ink once, but I was never able to repeat the feat.

I've used opaque polyurethane resins for several decades and have never had an issue with using resin pigments, though.

I just watched a youtube vid of some one messing around with i belive PU resin and alcohol based dyes and it did not work out well.

it quickly over heats and generates a ton of bubbles instantly setting the resin.

im going to assume the same would happen with PE resin as both generates a lot of heat and chances are the water or alcohol in the paint will boil creating a ton of bubbles causing issues.

you could always let it cure clear then paint over it with a clear paint like the tamya clear lines.

you want a DYE. A real honest dye. You can sometimes use a high quality INK but they can be too opaque. Even hobbylobby sells the resin dyes.

I'd probably try taking some product like Aquagloss and mixing in a little bit of Tamiya's transparent paint, then airbrushing that onto the clear resin, after fully trimming and polishing it, of course. Sorry if that wouldn't create the effect you want. I haven't tried tinting my polyester resin yet.

Thanks for the responce guys, looks like I may have to keep this batch of resin for clear water effects. Though I definitely think ill try the Tamiya clear over the top to see what happens as I have just bought some for another project!

If you put the wash on top of the water it dulls it down and really does not give the color any depth. What I did to color my water effects on my board that really came out great was to put down a translucent wash in between the coats of resin.

I put down a layer and made a few ripples and such before fully set. Then when it was dry, I made a slightly bluish-green mix of wash and painted it on. When this was dry I put on the last subsequent layer of water. Since the water effects was a ravine-type river, it colored the water looking down really nice. Obviously, this would not work for a body looking sideways, but down into a body or steam, it worked great and no worries about messing up the water chemistry.

MDSW That sounds like a good effective way of doing it I dont suppose you have any pics of the finished result?

So sorry, mate. The day after I posted this I was thrown into the hospital ICU for over a week and subsequent recovery and I had not checked back on this!! I will see if i have some pics that show the water, as my board is packed up now so I cannot snap a new pic.

Yikes, hope you're ok!!

Also curious on the resin =D

I have used inks - specifically liquitex for all mine

I'm sorry to hear that mate I hope all is well

No pressure dude if you cant get them, thanks for responding especially after that!

I've been experimenting with the GW glazes and actually had some good successes with them!

Here you go. May be hard to tell, but it is just a slight shade of bluish-green.

Thanks mate I appreciate you taking the time to get the photos

You need a powder dye. It's the only way to make it look good.

You could get away with using powered eye shadow, but you'd have to break up the powder and there'd be clumps that stand out if you're not thorough. I usually use this method for my layered, brush on, silicon molds. That way I can change the color just enough to know I've coated the entire mold.

It's worth buying powered resin dye and avoiding this method if you don't know what you're doing. I prefer Smooth-On brand, but you'll have to find a local vendor to purchase their products.