Usage Guidance

Mixing Ratio

Vista One should be mixed 100 parts to 100 parts or '1 to 1' by volume only and not by grams.

So for example that would be 100ml of Part A mixed with 100ml of Part B to create 200ml of mixed product.

Go over to our Vista Resin Calculator if you need more help!

Mixing Technique

Slow and steady is always the best when it comes to mixing – it’s very important you mix all of the A and B components (or you will have sticky patches) and that you don’t introduce too many bubbles into the resin by over-mixing!

It is good practice to transfer into a second cup for some further mixing. This way you can ensure there is no residual hardener unmixed which might be poured into your piece and again cause sticky parts on your finished piece.

A sign that all of the A and B is completely mixed is when all of lines and imperfections have been removed.

Once the resin is mixed a chemical reaction will begin to take place. That can be very useful for you, but can also result in disaster!

Epoxies cure from a heat reaction (exothermic reaction) so the mass of a mass in one location, the more heat will be generated. This will in turn speed up the reaction. So left in one container, your epoxy will over-heat and cure very quickly.

And it will gain heat exponentially. So you may find from your first obvious sign of overheating it will be hard within minutes. The best thing to do is divide your resin out into smaller proportions, and be ready to pour into your piece soon after mixing.

For those that enjoy a thicker resin, because you add inclusions or pigments, then you can utilise this process to help your resin gain more viscosity.

Vista One is a relatively thick resin so you will not need to leave the mixed resin for a long period of time and we would also advise mixing slowly to avoid bubbles.

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.

When Vista One is added to a large mass and deeper than the recommended depth of 20mm the Resin mix will overheat rapidly. We recommend mixing small quantities.

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 ass the temperature rises the pot life and cure time increases exponentially. And similarly, for a drop in temperatures the cure time will lengthen exponentially.

Typically Vista One used with the guideline parameters of 0-20mm, you can expect to de-mould in less than 48 hours. If you are concerned about cold temperatures - Adding heat in the form of a propagator, heat mat or other source of heat, you can expect curing times to reduce by up to 75%.

Working in Layers

To achieve greater depths Vista One 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.

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.

If you’re getting started with your Resin hobby we do have a complete kit which will be perfect for you. This includes Vista One, pigments and equipment. Head over to check this out here.

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 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 Epoxy Metallic Pigments – 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%.

FAQs