I learned early on that mixing acrylic and resin isn’t just about combining any two liquids and hoping for the best. Pouring store-bought acrylic paint straight into your resin leads to disappointment more often than not. If you go in without a little know-how, disaster follows: uneven finish, clumps, tacky spots, or colors gone dull. Once, I ended up scraping an entire batch of cloudy coasters into the trash. All that time and money wasted because I didn’t understand how the chemistry between acrylic and resin works.
Resin wants harmony. It likes specific conditions so it can cure strong and clear. Throw regular water-based acrylic in there, and resin foams or stays sticky forever. Most water-based paints introduce too much moisture, which means trouble: bubbles or an incomplete cure. Quality matters too. Inexpensive craft acrylics produce streaks and clots. Professional-grade acrylics, labeled as suitable for resin, mix in with a richer pigment payoff and fewer surprises.
Every resin is different. Epoxy resin, the one most artists use, plays the nicest with paint. Polyester resin hardly tolerates anything added. Not every acrylic goes with every resin, so picking the combination that’s been confirmed to work saves headaches. I pick a small batch to experiment with, no matter how tempting it is to make everything at once.
I took this step for granted until I saw a friend’s project go wrong. Dumping acrylic straight into the cup first and resin over the top doesn’t yield good results; it’s better to mix your resin fully (with its hardener, following manufacturer’s instructions right down to the last drop) before adding your paint.
I add paint sparingly—less than 10% paint to resin by volume. That number sounds small, but too much pigment stalls the curing process or ruins the texture. Take a clean stir stick, mix thoroughly and check for any lumps along the sides and bottom. If you notice streaks or milky swirls, you’ve probably used too much or the wrong type of acrylic. Sometimes, I use a plastic spoon to keep my measurements honest, especially if I want consistent results for several pours.
No matter how fun the process looks in videos, the reality hits hard if you work in a tiny, unventilated room. Resin fumes linger and cause headaches. Even some acrylics have additives that aren’t pleasant to breathe. I put on gloves and crack open as many windows as I can, or set up a fan at the very least.
Cloudy resin always bothered me. After much trial and error, I found slow, steady mixing helps. Stir gently to avoid trapping air that shows up later as bubbles. For colors that come out faded or not as strong as expected, a hint of resin pigment or mica powder helps boost their intensity without messing up the cure.
If you accidentally overdo it with the acrylic, all isn’t lost. Scrape it out of the resin cup early, before it thickens. Start again with less paint. Repeating this a few times taught me patience and precision are more valuable than shortcuts.
I keep a notebook to record exactly what works: brands, ratios, room conditions. Each mix teaches something new. If you want bold, lasting results, stick with high-quality acrylics made for resin art, respect the ratios, and take your time. Mistakes lead to better work the next time you pour.
