Covering your watercolor painting with a coating of ArtResin is easy - in fact, epoxy resin takes watercolor art to the next level, sealing and protecting it with a professional finish and a glossy sheen that makes the color pop!
We love using wood art panels here at ArtResin - you can mount your artwork and pour your resin directly onto the panel! Some panels even have a raised lip specially designed to contain resin - making it super easy to pour with clean edges.
Measure, mix, pour, spread, cover and wait, and in 24 hours your watercolor painting will go from good to beautiful!
Let's begin…
Accessories:
- 12 x 12" wood art panel
- a watercolor painting sized to fit the panel
- sealant labeled safe for watercolor (we used a Krylon spray sealant)
- spray adhesive (we used 3M)
- ArtResin epoxy resin
- A pair of nitrile gloves
- a pipe rod and spreader
- a level of some kind eg. plastic cups, Lego
- a measuring cup with easy-to-read measuring lines
- a mixing container
- a handheld gas burner
- toothpick
- an empty plastic bag or cardboard box with the flaps cut off to protect your piece while it dries
Discover our resin art tools and accessories!
Step: 1.
Finish your watercolor painting
Complete your watercolor painting on paper that fits your panel. Draw as we did, using transfer paper, or draw your outline freehand on the paper.
If you choose, you can apply masking fluid to block off any areas you don't want painted. Masking fluid is easily removed after your paint has dried with a wipe, or by pulling it off.
Paint your image as you like with watercolor paints.
Allow your board to dry thoroughly.
Once dry, mount your artwork to your wood panel with glue - you can use either a spray glue, a glue stick or a brush on glue.
For best results, smooth the drawing with your hands or a brayer to ensure it is evenly mounted on the panel, without air pockets.
Seal your work with a spray sealer designed to be safe for watercolor, allowing it to dry completely.
A note about sealing:
We always recommend testing your particular material with ArtResin on scrap so you know exactly what to expect before resining your final project. However, there are some instances when sealing your work prior to resin treatment is required ....
- Sealing to Prevent Absorption: It is a good precaution to pre-seal when applying ArtResin over soft or low quality paper that may otherwise absorb the resin, causing dark, wet spots in your work or causing your work to bleed.
- Sealing over loose material. With a medium like chalk pastel or charcoal, or when you have resin over a loose material like glitter, you want to be aware of loose particles that can mix together and float away in your liquid resin. For peace of mind, you can really be careful and seal your artwork first - use a spray fixative instead of a brush/brush with sealant.
- Sealing to prevent bubbles: Being an organic material, wood and paper can contain trapped air that can escape into your resin as bubbles. There are many variables that can affect gas bubbles: with wood, the type of wood, how dry the wood is and humidity can affect how much air the wood contains. With paper, soft paper and paper that has been inserted into a collage can contain trapped air. Pre-sealing with spray or brushed sealant is an option to prevent bubbles. As for our wood panels, we've used them enough to know that we don't need to pre-seal them, but we always recommend testing with your particular material so you know exactly what results to expect before resining your final project . Again, if in doubt, you can never go wrong by condensing first if it makes you feel more comfortable.
2. Measure & stir
Working in a well-ventilated area and wearing gloves, accurately measure (by volume) exactly equal amounts of resin and hardener. Stir thoroughly for a total of 3 minutes , making sure to scrape the bottom and sides of your mixing container as you go.
💡 TIP: for our very best measuring and mixing tips, read the blog post: How to Measure and Mix Resin and Hardener.
3. Pour on ArtResin
Pour ArtResin onto the center of your piece and spread it to the edges with a plastic spreader or wooden spatula. You have about 45 minutes of working time before the resin becomes too thick to work with.
💡 TIP: Read our blog How to Pour and Spread Epoxy Resin for more resin tips and techniques!
4. Use your gas burner
Using your gas burner, hold the flame a couple of inches above the surface of the resin just long enough for the bubbles to pop, and keep the burner moving from side to side the entire time.
💡 TIP: if you're scared about using a gas burner, don't be! Read our blog with everything you need to know about how to use a gas burner on epoxy resin.
5. Final check of your piece
Once the piece is fired, look at the resin in the light for any missed bubbles, tiny hairs or bits of dust, use a toothpick to fish them out.
6. Cover your piece
Cover your piece with a plastic bag or cardboard (with the tabs cut off) and let it sit for 24 hours until dry to the touch. 
7. Wait 24 hours
After 24 hours have passed, view your artwork!
💡 TIP: the resin will be dry to the touch at the 24 hour mark. At this point you are free to hang and admire your artwork on the wall, of course, but if you plan to package and ship your artwork, please allow at least 72 hours for the resin to fully cure.
I hope you found this informative and useful!