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Eyes Eye newbie help! The dreaded bubbles

Jan 28, 2021

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    1. Hey everyone!

      Hoping someone here can offer some advice/hope. I have started trying to make resin eyes, and while mostly they have turned out okay, there is the odd one with a bubble next to the iris. Tiny ones I don't mind so much, but the ones which are over 0.5mm are a bit... too visible.

      I'm wondering if anyone has methods for repairing the bubble holes? I'm tempted to try a little uv resin, carefully placing it in the hole or in the mould (uh that sounds unclear. I can bend the moulds enough that the hole might be visible, and then try poke a bit of resin in there with a cocktail stick). I mean, I have nothing to lose! XD but if anyone has any way to fill holes that's already tested then I'm eager to learn!

      The other option I guess is to hide them at the top of the eye, so it gets hidden within the doll. But I'd rather be able to fill the holes properly and make them look nice. :3

      Thanks in advance! And sorry if I've asked a question that's been asked a million times already.

      (I have both epoxy and uv resin if that makes any difference. The bases are made of epoxy, but I might use uv to fill in the irises.)
       
      #1 bentosmile, Jan 28, 2021
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    2. during what stage of the process are you having bubble troubles? is it while casting the eye blank? or while filling out the dome?
       
      #2 c4tbus, Jan 28, 2021
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    3. Try to go slightly with fire over the surface. The bubbles should slide on the surface as long as the resin is not solide.
       
      #3 Acidpuck, Jan 28, 2021
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    4. You can correct pinholes by widening them with a needle or Exacto blade tip and then backfilling them with resin on a toothpick until they're flush. You don't want to use the mold to make the repair, you'll end up with seams. I've only done this with clear polyester resin on other clear polyester resin, but polyester is self-catalyzing... epoxy doesn't cure well in tiny amounts, so UV resin is probably a better bet because that's reacting with light and not with itself.
      Are you warming your epoxy and your molds before pouring? Pre-heating the silicone mold drives off moisture that causes bubbling, and warming your resin lets it flow better and release bubbles freely.
       
      #4 ChilmarkGryphon, Jan 28, 2021
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    5. I have this issue when making resin eyes too. Do not pour the resin into the mold, that’s what cause the air to get trapped. Use a toothpick or a thin tool, add the resin to the mold drop by drop, the first drop will create a ring, and that’s where the bubble is. Poke gently around with the tool, get the resin in all around, and use a lighter, pass over the resin to pop the bubbles. Then add more resin, slowly to the top. Then do the lighter again, bring the bubbles to the top and pop them with the heat. Its a slower process but you will find that the bubbles are no longer an issue.
      some people invest in pressure chamber, this remove all the bubbles from the resin. But its rather expensive.
       
      #5 Cloudsorano, Jan 28, 2021
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    6. Thanks for your help everyone! :D It's all useful stuff. I hadn't heard about heating moulds before use, so I should try that. (There is a heatgun around here somewhere... or I'll just leave them on the radiator a bit. I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm doing this stuff in the middle of winter.)

      @ChilmarkGryphon ah cool, good to know they can be filled. Was planning on trying with a toothpick/cocktail stick and uv resin, hoping capillary action would help suck the resin into the bubble hole. Especially because such a tiny amount would take hardly any uv exposure to cure. (I recently made some very tiny goldfish, so have been able to wrangle uv resin into tiny spaces)

      @Cloudsorano Ah, I hadn't seen people use heat part way through. I should try that. o_o; I try my hardest to carefully get the resin into the bottom of the mould, and the toothpick does do the job most of the time. Especially for the smaller moulds, I only add resin drop by drop instead of pouring. I did go over them with a lighter at the end, but that wasn't enough. I'm pretty new to resin XD so a bit scared of putting fire near it haha! Will be bolder next time!

      Cheers m'dears! :D
       
      #6 bentosmile, Jan 29, 2021
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