Also called: casting resin, resin figurine
Cast resin, epoxy resin and resin art
In short
Cast resin is a solid object made by pouring liquid resin into a mould and letting it cure. It describes how the object was made, not what it is made of, epoxy, polyurethane and polyester can all be cast. That is why "cast resin vs epoxy resin" is a comparison that does not quite make sense.
Two axes, constantly confused
Resin terminology gets muddled because two independent things share the same vocabulary:
- Chemistry: what the material actually is: epoxy, polyurethane, polyester, UV resin.
- Intended use: what it is formulated to do: casting resin is thin and designed to flow into moulds for deep pours; coating or "art" resin is thicker and designed for shallow surface layers.
These are separate questions. A casting resin can be epoxy. A coating resin can be epoxy. Both being epoxy tells you nothing about which is which.
Why "cast resin vs epoxy resin" is a category error
You will find that comparison everywhere, including on sites that sell the stuff. The problem is that it compares a method to a chemistry, a bit like asking whether something is baked or made of flour. Casting resin is frequently a type of epoxy. What people usually mean when they draw this contrast is casting resin versus coating epoxy: thin and deep against thick and shallow. That is a real and useful distinction. The one normally stated is not.
And resin art is a third thing entirely
Resin art means pouring or coating epoxy as the artwork itself, river tables, ocean pours, coasters, jewellery. The resin is the medium. Painting a pre-cast figurine has essentially nothing in common with it beyond the word: there, the resin is the substrate, already solid before you touch it, and the craft is entirely in the paint.
Why this matters practically: advice written for resin art often does not apply to painted cast pieces. UV yellowing is the clearest example, a real concern for a clear poured piece sitting in sunlight, and largely irrelevant to an opaque figurine that has been primed, painted and sealed, where light never reaches the resin at all.
What painting a cast piece actually involves
Three steps do most of the work, and the first one is the one people skip:
- Wash it. Mould release agent, the lubricant that let the piece come out of the mould, leaves an invisible greasy film that repels paint. Warm soapy water and a brush.
- Prime it. Cast resin is dense and very smooth, so acrylic has little to grip. Primer lays down a fine texture for it to key into.
- Base, wash, dry brush. Block in the colour, flood a thinned darker tone into the recesses for shadow, then drag a nearly-dry light tone across the raised detail.
Good to know
Questions people actually ask
Can you paint resin with normal acrylic paint?
Yes, ordinary acrylics work well on cast resin, provided the piece has been washed to remove mould release and primed. On bare, unprimed resin the paint has little to grip and scratches off easily.
Do I really have to wash a resin piece before painting?
Yes, and it is the step most often skipped. Mould release leaves a thin greasy film on every surface. Paint over it beads, goes patchy, and flakes off later.
Is resin art the same as painting resin figurines?
No. Resin art is the craft of pouring epoxy as the artwork itself. Painting a cast figurine starts with a solid object and is entirely about paint, different materials, different skills, different results.
Paint a cast piece yourself
My Collection is a shelf of cast resin pieces, vases, figurines, trinket dishes, waiting to be painted into something nobody else has.