Making Mica Powder Paints
TIL (today I learned) that you can make watercolor and acrylic paints with mica powder. That's not exactly what I learned, I kind of knew you could, but I learned the process today.
A while back I watched a video of someone making watercolor paint from scratch and from rocks (was phthalo blue, one of the rarest colors on earth hundreds of years ago), and I watched another of this person making watercolor paints from rocks from his travels around the world. Just a small note: it's a lot of work making them from scratch, i.e. rocks.
But I thought it'd be cool to make them from mica powders considering as a resin crafter- I own a LOT of mica powder because it's something I use almost every single time I work with resin. So, why not use it in other places as well?
If you are a resin crafter, you might recognize the brand to the "how to" for the acrylic paint tutorial page. Even I was surprised, lol.
Watercolor Method: https://sliceofthemoon.com/blogs/how-to/make-watercolors-with-mica
Acrylic Paint Method: https://eyecandypigments.com/blogs/news/5-tips-for-mixing-mica-powder-with-acrylic-paint
I also found this Honeycomb Bee Mold I bought a while back here at Resin Mold Box or Resin Molds Express ⤵️
And I think this would be a cute "palette" for holding paints. The honeycombs are 1" inch across. I currently have one curing on my desk in white pigment with some white mica powder for a bit of shimmer.
I ordered some Gum Arabic Powder to try making some watercolor of my own with some mica powder to see how well all of this works out.
If things turn out well, I'd like to try and make myself a full palette and my sister-in-law a palette because she loves to paint the same way I do, if not more. And then we'd have a unique palette that not many people have. I could even potentially "gift" some freebie paint pans with eBay orders if I get any painters ordering from me 😄 (like if someone buys those palettes I've been making or these honeycombs for painting palette purposes)
[While we're talking about Mica Powders, Meyspring is having a sale. Buy 4 Pigment Powders and get 20% Off. It's a "Build your own Palette" type sale 😄🎨🖌️ "MYPALETTE20"]
Aside from all the painting stuff~! The geode coasters came out pretty good! I did run into some troubles but I got it sorted out.
This was my desk going to bed last night ⤵️
Everything was domed and looking great, I thought things were going to be easy when I woke up. Just demold and finish filling the paint palette mold 👍🏻
But when I woke up, the square coasters leaked over like they were overpoured. I guess it got too hot overnight somehow? Because something broke the surface tension or reduced the viscosity of the resin to make it runny. Which is something that happens. Resin does strange things. I didn't have this problem with the many other coaster sets I've done 🤷🏻♀️
Luckily I was able to clip off the excess and sand down the sides to that "Chamfer Edge" style I've been really liking lately and they look really good now. Problem solved, crises adverted 👌🏻
This just left me with a bunch of dirty looking molds 😅
[They look like that because I added the gold + bronze mica powder directly to the mold before and the ResinCrete didn't completely pick it up.]
Honestly I had a few other molds I wanted to clean too so I took this as a sign that I should just do a mass cleaning of my molds.
A very long time ago when I was getting into resin and researching things endlessly, people were recommending to clean your molds in dishsoap water. The temp needs to be warm, almost hot. Not too hot that you cannot put your hands in it, but you still want it fairly warm. You don't want to warp your molds.
I use these cute little sponge brushes to wipe off the mica powder and debris because they're gentle and wont leave any kind of marks. I also use these to remove acrylic paint off my stencils with isopropyl alcohol. These little things are just useful to have and come in multiple sizes.
The toothbrush there, I use to get into little 90° degree angles or other angles that the sponge cannot get into, and I try to use it sparingly because the bristles can be rough and potentially scratch your mold. Only use it when necessary.
After I rinse off the dishsoap, I place them face down on some paper towels (or a towel) to dry, or pat them dry with a towel. Don't rub them dry, that will cause scratches or indents. Even letting them dry naturally will cause droplet marks so try to get to them if you can but sometimes if you have many to do like I did- you can't always get to them in a timely manner.
You can go back to them like I do and rub out the droplet marks with your finger (sometimes it's that easy), a baby wipe, or some mold release spray, or some isopropyl alcohol if the marks are being difficult, but it might be a little annoying to remember to do. That's one of those "pick your battles" type situations, lol.
