I began using Art Resin in 2020. I remember being afraid of the price, the process of using it, and so much more. I went out on a big brave limb and bought my first set. In no time I was getting lots of questions. I was able to answer them all except one big one... Will it hold up outdoors? Hmmmm! I quickly made a "test rock," a video, and began to collect my data and opinion about this product.
I made a video called "Resin Wow" that is on my YouTube channel. That video shows how I use the product on my rocks. I was so intimidated by resin and it turned out that it wasn't nearly as scary or as involved as I thought. After about a year and a half of using this product on nearly all of my rocks, I'm proud to say I've only had to purchase it twice! In other words, it really goes a long way and that shine on my rocks is completely worth it! In my opinion it is underpriced for what it does and how far it goes. So when it comes to price and process, I say it's the bomb and I totally recommend!!! As far as the job it does on producing an amazing shine... You know I'm recommending it! I'm still using it aren't I? LOL!!!! When you go through all of that hard work to create a masterpiece, it can be scary trusting a product to go atop and not ruin it! I say as long as you wait proper drying time on your acrylic paint that you'll be happy with the results.
"But JaDeL? Will it work outside?" That is the question!!!! I read so many reviews just like this one. But who do you trust? There's only one thing to do when you find yourself needing information and not knowing who to trust.... Find out for yourself. So, I sat out to test this stuff out! I grabbed a regular old rock and painted it with all the colors. I used paints, posca pen, glitter, glow in the dark, neon, golds, etc. I put Art Resin on the rock as I would any other of my masterpieces. After ample drying time it went straight outside in the direct sunlight. So began my great experiment in October 2020. The best part? I'm not getting paid to tell you anything! HaHa.. no angle here just my honest try and honest results.
It held up great for several months. There was an awful freeze in January and a decent snow in February. The rock was unscathed!! I was getting pretty confident in this product and couldn't believe that it had protected the paint throughout the winter. Our low that winter was about 5 degrees F but mostly it would stay between 20 and 50. You should know that I'm in South near Memphis and that's the weather I had to work with. You should also know that our summers are hot and humid!!! Hot and humid really doesn't do the summer weather justice! LOL, It's as if we live in a sauna and you could cut the humidity with a butter knife out there! I had placed several other rocks around the backyard just for decoration and I even took one to the cemetery. All the rocks seem to look about the same. They all lost a little bit of their shine and are dirty... but for the most part they look great! Back to my test rock... As it sat all summer long on the railing of my back porch, I watched it as it slowly changed. It was no match for this summer heat and that direct sunlight. The white paint began to yellow, the resin began to crack like a desert floor and soon even a dot began to erode. It held up better than most things do in this area but it did have it's limit! I'd say if you're going to give this a shot use more than one coat of resin and know which paints tend to yellow or fade.
After all of this time and my own experiments and tests, I still proudly use Art Resin! I do not recommend it for long term use in outdoor direct sun. I totally recommend it for indoor use... The rocks I have inside look as great as the day I took them off the toothpicks, lol. In a nutshell: I think this is a great product for sealing your rocks and giving them one fabulous shine. I try new products all the time but I just can't match this shine with the ease of using Art Resin. I hope you give it a try!!
(Before/After - Direct sun 1 year)
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