Usage Guidance

Mixing Ratio
Mariana is a 2:1 mixing ratio by volume, which means for every 100ml of Part A, you need 50ml of Part B. For example:

200ml Part A : 100ml Part B

When measuring on the scales by grams the ratio to follow is slightly different. For every 100g of Part A, you need 45g of Part B. For example

200g Part A: 90g Part B

Go over to our Vista Resin Calculator which will do all the working out for you.

Mixing Technique

After measuring out the Resin and Hardener it’s now time to mix the two together. Mixing time can be really determined on the amount mixed and the force of the mixing given. You will get a feel for when the Resin is mixed fully and this will be when all lines and imperfections have been removed. Mixing for 4 minutes would be more than enough based on working with 3kg mix resin using a slow speed mixer. Transferring into a second container is good practice for a further mixing to ensure there’s no unmixed residual hardener.

The second the two components are mixed together the chemical reaction will begin and heat will be created. We recommend mixing with a handheld stirrer or a slow speed mixer, taking care to not fold air into the mix to reduce extra heat generated. We’d advise keeping the mixing tool contained within the resin mix throughout the mixing process.

Often users decide that they will leave the mixed Resin into the cup for some time afterwards which creates a thicker Resin. When making a piece with several colours this can help to stabilise the colours and stop them from separating into each other. Take care and consider how much Resin is within the cup because this is within a small surface area meaning heat can not escape and the reaction will begin to increase rapidly. If left too long, you can lose workability with the Resin mixture all together often experiencing bubbling, excessive heat, distortion and even a flash cure! 

For more information check out our blog post about how epoxy resins cure!

Curing Time
The curing time is dependent upon Total Heat. Total Heat = Heat of Reaction + Ambient Temperature. The Heat of Reaction is dependent upon the overall depth or mass of epoxy + curing properties of the Part B component.

Although Mariana is designed to be poured up to 75mm when a large mass is used the Resin mix will overheat rapidly. We recommend mixing small quantities to reduce the chances of this and trailing this product before your main pour. 

The temperature of the room you are working/leaving your pieces to cure in does have a surprisingly big impact on the curing time. It isn’t a straight line between heat and cure time, so as the temperature rises the pot life and cure time increases exponentially. And similarly, for a drop in temperatures the cure time will lengthen exponentially. More heat will be generated when using an insulating mould for example compared to a silicone or plastic mould.

Working at a temperature of 20-22oC Mariana would be touch dry in 24 hours but we would advise waiting 48-72 hours before de-moulding. Most commonly like most deep pour Epoxies people tend to wait up to 5-6 days before they use any type of machinery, cutting etc.


Working in Layers
To achieve greater depths Vista Mariana is suitable for layering. Throughout the curing process of your first layer the epoxy mixture passes into an initial cure phase when it begins to gel off. The epoxy is no longer workable and will progress from a tacky, gel consistency to the firmness of hard rubber, which you will dent with your thumbnail.

Because the epoxy mixture is only partially cured, a new application of epoxy will still chemically link with it. It is at this stage you can successfully apply a second layer / pour / coating to an existing resin and create a monolithic bond. The next layer will be able to join without visible lines. Should the casting resin be allowed to reach full cure, we would recommend to mechanically prepare the surface of the bottom layer by sanding and then chemically clean using isopropyl alcohol.

When working with wood we would highly advise to seal before your main pour of Mariana and for this, we would recommend sealing with Vista Rapids.

Using with Pigments
When using our Vista Epoxy Pigments you can easily introduce some fantastic colours. And because the colour is already diluted into resin, the mixing process is quick and easy.

To create a translucent colour, simply add a small amount of colour and look by eye to ensure that the mixture is not going to turn opaque. For a full colour, it will depend on the depth of your application. A full colour at a significant depth is capable of being achieved with a small amount of pigment. For a very thin coating, you will need much more colour to ensure a fully opaque Resin mixture.

We would recommend to trial and sample to get the right amount of colour saturation for your project. Each pigment is coloured naturally, and so you will find that a lot more pigment is needed for colours like orange than it is for black for example. For each colour you can trial and error until you know what to add by eye.

We know from experience it doesn’t take long to get used to the colours and they’re very easy to use.

As well as standard solid colours, we also have metallic colours – Metallic White, Metallic Bronze, Metallic Silver and Metallic Gold. In addition, we have a Metallic Boost which you can add to the solid colours to give them an injection of metallic. For a small change and hint of metallic, add around 25% to solid colour, for a strong metallic finish, we’d recommend to add up to 70%.