Michael from Artifacture's Profile

I wanted to share a printable instruction sheet that we developed when we displayed resin poured counter tops at the Bay Area Maker Faire 2012 this past May:

http://www.artifacturestudios.com/downloads/resin_pour_instructions.pdf

Some answers to questions/comments posted:

clampers: If you follow the link to the Make:Projects how-to, there is a step on mixing the resin. (The details are pending approval, hopefully today or tomorrow)

Julian, ethicalcannibal: We have two coats of resin on the counter. The resin cures but remains somewhat pliable. If you set a heavy object on it, it will leave a dent in time. But if you remove it, the dent will go away. Scratching is possible, but we don't exactly baby it and it's still in good shape. We bought the recommended Polyurethane top coat but never applied it. The nice thing, is if damage happens, you can sand it smooth, wipe off with acetone, and add another layer of resin which will dry clear as if nothing happened. Try that with most countertops.

Camikamm: While some resins give off bad fumes, and this no doubt gave off some, it had almost no smell at all! We were amazed at that. We got it at Lowe's but I'm sure most of the 2-part pour on epoxies like this are similar. That's one reason we never got back to the polyurethane though, it almost certainly would smell the place up.

lola_beans: I went through my stored up pocket change and got $23 worth of pennies. I was sure that would be more than enough. But a penny is 0.75" and that is 15 pennies across, but because they're not in a grid, they fill all available space, I think I estimated 240 pennies per square foot. So it was a lot more than I expected. So I went to the bank for $55 worth. I discovered that they don't look at you funny with such a request (surprisingly), that pennies come in boxes of $25 worth, and they're heavy!

dnlandes: All the pennies were rinsed, half were tumbled in a bucket with some bar keepers friend cleaner, then rinsed and dried. They were mixed back into the batch so there was a nice mix of shiny and dull ones. We discarded a few that looked really bad, but the imperfections and things in some just add to it. The whole thing is under 1/8" or more of cured epoxy, no worry about cleanliness at this point.

bsolomont: Actually, we are renters, but we've been here 4 years, and it's an upscale loft conversion of a 1900's Sears Warehouse building with original hardwood floors, etc. The kitchens are the worst part about the place. We explored upgrading the kitchen, but it's a lot of money to put into something you don't own. So for less than $1,000 we did the counters, cabinet fronts, light fixtures, paint, etc. It made a big difference. We decided we weren't getting our security deposit back long ago, so we pretty much do what we want (like many others in the building as it's an art/entrepreneurial crowd for the most part.)

Thanks for the interest. Glad I could show it off!