Craft projects are always fun and creative, letting you express your artistic abilities and plans even at home with just a few tools and simple materials! And one of such tools that is super popular these days is resin mold.
Resin molds are used for epoxy clay crafting and they allow you to make objects of different shapes easily.
However, if you have never worked with this material before, you might face one significant complication: how to clean silicone resin molds and how to get them ready for work? Is it enough to just wash them with water?
Do you need to use any cleaning solutions or products? And if you do, then what those should be?
In this article, we will give you all the answers!
You will learn how to prepare your resin molds for crafting projects, how to store them, and of course, how to clean them. With all that in mind, your craft projects will always be successful thanks to the perfectly prepared tools!
How to Clean Silicone Molds For Resin Craft Projects?
If you have ever worked with epoxy resin, you know how fascinating those objects are after they cure!
However, instead of admiring your work, you typically have to spend quite a lot of time washing the silicone molds off that tacky resin residue.
This is why quite many home crafters wonder how to clean out resin molds correctly. Well, in fact, you need to realize that the cleaning method may vary in this case!
See, cleaning silicone molds can be done in three different ways depending on the current state of the molds. So usually, you need to know:
- How to clean resin molds before using
- How to clean stick resin molds
- How to clean cured resin from silicone molds
Below, you can check out all the three methods described in detail. With those detailed instructions, you can be sure that your molds will always be in an ideal state ready for work anytime you feel inspired!
Also, we would like to remind you that epoxy clay tends to dry pretty fast and once it hardens, it becomes rather difficult to clean off! So make sure that you wash your molds right after you are done with your crafting projects.
And also, it plays a big role how well your molds are cleaned before you use them for your epoxy resin projects. Surprised?
Then read on attentively!
How to Clean Silicone Molds Before Using Resin?
When working with epoxy resin, it is important not only to clean your silicone molds after they are used in order to keep them clean. It is also important to clean them before you start working with them!
See, when you store your molds (even if they are sealed in a container, etc.), there will anyway be some dust on them and inside of them. Also, some minor particles of dirt can get into the molds.
As a result, when you start pouring epoxy resin into them, your objects will have those dust and dirt particles inside! That’s definitely not the effect that you would like to see.
That is why you need to always make sure that your molds are perfectly clean before you start using them for your crafting plans! Luckily, this can be done very easily.
Resin molds and silicone molds can be effortlessly cleaned with a regular cosmetic brush or any other soft brushes including those that are used for painting. It is an incredibly easy and available method in fact.
There is even no need to buy a new brush as you can use any soft brush lying around. Just make sure that it is clean and dry.
- Gently rub the brush on the dust and dried residue.
- Use soapy water to make the surface of all molds smooth and prevent dust from adhering.
- Paste blu-tack or the sticky side of the tape on the surface of resin molds and it will take off any dust, glitter or residue from the surface of the mold.
When washing your molds in soapy water, be very careful if the water is too hot! See, the high temperature will make your molds dull which may negatively affect the final results of your crafting project.
As for the blu-tack, it can be used in the majority of cases, but it is definitely not suitable for the holographic molds as they might lose their effect!
How to Clean Sticky Resin Molds?
How to clean sticky resin off your molds? This is one of the most common problems that home crafters face when working with epoxy or other similar materials that require molds.
Once the resin dries, it becomes incredibly hard to get rid of it and clean it off! It is undoubtedly a pain in the ass… You would be definitely surprised to know that quite many people might quit after trying and end up buying a new mold!
But no worries now folks. If your molds have tacky resin that won’t cure at all no matter what you do and how hard you try, we suggest you try the ways we provide for you below.
Each of them will help you to make the resin easy to remove.
Place Your Molds Into the Freezer
It’s like with glue, for example. When it is hardened, you can make it easier to peel off when it is frozen. So simply put the molds that have tacky resin on them in a freezer.
A few hours in the freezer will be more than enough for residue resin to solidify and pop out easily.
This is the favorite and the best working method.
You only need to keep one essential nuance in mind before you toss your molds into the freezer: make sure that you wrap each mold in a separate bag in order to prevent it from polluting the food!
When you have removed major chunks of resin from the mold, use sticky tape or other tools to clean smaller particles or wash the molds for the most thorough cleaning.
Opt For Baby Wipes
This is the second way we found useful for dealing with resin in molds. Regular baby wet wipes are also great for cleaning resin molds and silicone molds!
However, before using them, you still need to scrape off most of the resin first.
And once this step is done, then simply wipe your molds with wet baby wipes and repeat the process with fresh wipes until your molds are clean. Make sure the corners are also cleaned.
Use Acetone
This method has its pros and cons. On the one hand, it is very efficient and also, acetone cleans off tacky resin quickly. On the other hand, it is not so easily available. Besides, acetone is a chemical so you need to be careful and wear protective gloves when working with this liquid!
As for the cleaning procedure, you just need to spray some acetone on the sticky molds.
Let them stay for a while to loosen the resin and then use an acetone-soaked soft cloth to clean it. This solvent can break down resin and help you easily remove it.
With these tips and life hacks, you will be able to get rid of the sticky and old resin residue quite easily using the simplest solutions.
How to Clean Silicone Molds After Using Resin?
It often happens that resin gets dry in the molds after you are done with your craft project. It mostly happens if you forget to wash the molds and remove the sticky residue from them.
But anyway, the issue remains the same: how to clean resin molds after use?
At this point, we are happy to tell you that, once the resin is cured or hardened, it will be much easier to clean!
Below you can find a few handy and easy ways of cleaning resin molds after the resin has cured.
Use Tape Or the Blu-Tack
This is actually the same thing we use when cleaning the molds before using them. All you need is a few simple steps:
- make a ball with the blu-tack or paper tape (with the sticky side out)
- wipe the insides of the resin molds
- clean the flat parts by simply sticking the tool on flat surfaces and peel off
For this purpose, you can also use a lint roller or other tools that have the same function!
99% Isopropyl Alcohol
If the resin has dried and it is difficult to remove from molds, you may spray some 99% isopropyl alcohol on the mold to help. Many people who tried this method said this way can work like real magic!
Warm Soapy Water
Washing resin molds thoroughly with a soft sponge and warm soapy water is another handy approach.
You only need to remember that you should never use steel wool, toothbrush or scrubbing sponges for cleaning the molds!
These tools can scratch the surface of the mold which may later affect the quality of your resin objects.
So after you wash your molds according to the instructions, simply dry them with the help of paper towels and store them in a dust free, cool and dry storage area.
Now you know how you should clean your resin molds correctly so that you keep them dust-free and dirt-free, and also so that the molds keep their surface smooth and scratchless.
How to Get Your Molds Ready For Work?
Even if your silicone or plastic molds are washed and clean, it is still important to prep them with some extra stuff so that they are surely clean and ready for work!
Some people use alcohol mist or spray for this purpose. They simply coat their molds with one of these products prior to using them. Like this, they make it possible to significantly reduce the chance of bubbles appearing on the mold side of the craft project.
But wait a second, bubbles can be easily dispersed by a heat gun on the top, you may say.
Yes, they can, but not underneath when in the mold! So this can be good for that task if you do find yourself getting bubbles under your project.
So what shall you do? Usually, the simple warming of your resin will help bubbles disappear and so you may not actually need to opt for a spraying method. However, in case you do choose to use alcohol mist or spray on your molds, you should be very careful!
Always make sure that there is lots of ventilation in your room and also that you are wearing a mask or a respirator!
Also, you must be very careful if you do go near your molds with any flames after spraying alcohol mist or spray on them!
As you definitely know, alcohol is highly flammable, so carrying fire near it is a direct way to set the house alight and catch fire!
As an alternative option to alcohol, you can make use of a silicone release spray to apply it onto your molds before pouring in resin.
Simply spray it onto the molds lightly and then leave it for about a minute before pouring your resin. This will help when the resin is cured and you are demolding, the resin will release much easier when this technique is used.
How Do You Store Molds After Use?
The more correctly your molds are stored, the less chances dust and dirt have to get into the box and sit on your molds, thus ruining the project later. This is why you should make sure that your crafting resin molds are always stored properly.
Once they are completely dry after being used, you can then think about how you are going to store them.
What is best to do, in our opinion, is to give them a generous spritz of silicone release spray. Then put these to the side to once again dry.
This simple step can be really helpful for preserving your molds and help extend their lifespan.
The next step you want to do is to find a suitable tank for your molds to store them in. We suggest you get something like sandwich bags, or ziplock bags to store your molds in.
Simply put the dry molds into these tanks, one at a time, and squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing.
Try to make sure the molds are stored flat and not squashed at all, when they are stored and left in distorted ways they can then take on this shape and stay like that forever.
You can then place them onto a shelf neatly and they can be stored like that for a very long time.
Well, these are the life hacks and recommendations on storing and cleaning your resin craft molds at home correctly.
Now that you know what makes them dirty and how you should clean the old resin off, it will be easier for you to keep your molds in a proper and well working condition thus extending their lifespan and serving time.
[wp-faq-schema title=”Frequently Asked Questions”]
