Lacing and Cells in Resin

Lacing makes your waves look ultra realistic and adds beautiful details. The cells can be achieved a multitude of ways and is affected by various factors. We will go over the ones I have identified as the most important- technique, timing, and materials.

Technique

Adding heat to your white resin, while blowing it out, moves the white pigment over the clear or colored resin, leaving you with cells. You can use a butane torch or heat gun for this. Hair dryers use too much air and not enough heat. I don’t recommend using them.

Aside from blowing your waves out with your heat source you can also swipe the waves, tilt your board, or use heat gun attachments to attain different types of waves. Below, I've included a few examples. Note that each technique yields different results.

Does timing matter?

The short answer is, YES! Timing makes a world of difference!

Here is a little experiment I did and I encourage you to do as well since the results will vary from person to person depending on environment (temp, humidity) and brand of resin. I waited 5, 10, 15, 20 min to blow out my waves You can see that the cells get more defined at 20 minutes and the cells are better formed. I always try to wait at least 20 min after my resin has been mixed to blow out the waves.

Materials

What white should you use?
You should use a white that is heavy but not too heavy. Your white should be pigmented so the cells are defined and opaque. Experiment with different whites to find the one you like the most.

White pigments that I like:

• PJ Designs White
• Just Resin Titanium White
• Mixol USA White

You may also use acrylic paint with a drop of alcohol. The alcohol helps the cells form but only use a little!

Resin

Table top and artist’s resin make great cells! Casting resin is too thin to hold cells.

My favorite resin for waves is Total Boat Table Top. 

Common Issues

• Overblowing your waves- adding too much heat can cause your resin to move more than necessary leading to the waves shifting and the white to appear stretched or non-defined. Try not to use too much heat or air (I use the lowest air setting and 2/5 heat) and make sure you are waiting long enough before blowing the waves out.
• Not enough white- your cells may blur around the edges or be hard to see. Make sure you experiment and find the right amount of white for you.
• Too much white- the white appears to have "dropped" into the resin instead of sitting on the surface. 

Conclusion

Technique, timing, and materials you use are the biggest factors I have found to affect your cells.

Using different attachments, swiping, tilting, and using heat achieves various cell styles.

Wait for your resin to "set up" before blowing it out.   

Make sure you’re using a table top or artist’s resin and  a creamy and pigmented white paste.

Lastly, have FUN! Experiment to see what works best for you!