Introduction: UV Resin Rainbow Keychain

About: Artist, crafter, handywoman, DIYer... A working mom who enjoys making stuff in her free time.

I want to share an easy and giftable DIY idea. A sparkly rainbow keychain that is both beautiful, and useful! It's made of UV resin, which I find SO much easier to work with than regular epoxy resin, since it doesn't require messy mixing and ratio calculation, plus I love the fact that you don't need to wait hours (or even days) to cure. In fact - I made this colorful keychain in about 10 minutes!

Supplies

This is what you'll need:

  • Clear silicone mold (letter shaped or other)
  • UV resin
  • UV light (I use a gel nail polish lamp)
  • Holographic glitter of different colors
  • Gold foil flakes
  • White pigment for UV resin
  • a key ring/chain with screw eye pin

+Tools: mixing cup, mixing stick, pin vise drill, precision tweezers and plyer.

Step 1: The Rainbow Layer

Start by lining the bottom of the mold with a very thin layer of resin. Then, using precision tweezers, make two parallel rows of golden foil. Fill in the space between the golden barriers with the holographic glitter, pouring a pinch of each color next to the other, until you get a full rainbow. Turn on the UV light over it to cure this first layer (For about 90 seconds).

Step 2: The White Layer - Part I

Blend the white pigment with the UV resin and pour over the rainbow, covering about 2/3 of the mold (in depth). Let it cure under the UV light for about 2 minutes.

Now you may be wondering- why not fill it up to the top? Well - because UV resin needs light to dry/harden (duh), and the more translucent the color the more light penetrates and the faster it cures. In this case here, the opaque white pigment kind of blocks light from passing through. That's why I divided the second layer into 2 steps, to make sure there won't be any uncured resin left on the inside.

Step 3: The White Layer - Part II

Pour the final layer of white resin (now up to the top) and let it cure for another 2 minutes. Then, turn the mold around (rainbow side up) and let it cure for another 2 minutes. (Better safe than sorry)

Step 4: Attaching the Keychain

Carefully unmold your piece, drill a tiny hole on top, screw the pin on it, and attach the chain and ring.

Step 5: Enjoy Your Masterpiece

So shiny and colorful! I hope you liked it (this is my first instructable)

Colors of the Rainbow Contest

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Colors of the Rainbow Contest