Polish resin to a glass finish, no special tools
In this video we go over the most basic materials and technique to get a glass finish on any resin pieces with flat sides, such as dice. There's no cuts on the actual sanding and polishing process so you can get a sense for how long it takes to polish.
I'm using as an example a small packet of finishing supplies I sell along with my dice (you can learn more at / thedicecraft or www.thedicecraft.com), but you can also grab from Amazon any of these supplies as well as some of the other things I mention in the video:
Sandpapers:
- 3M Wet Or Dry Sandpaper: 600 - amzn.to/3EsGHbC
- 3M Wet Or Dry Sandpaper Assorted Pack: 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500 - amzn.to/3jINhRs
Polishing papers:
- Zona Polishing Paper, Red/Pink (3 Micron) - amzn.to/3xC47d0
- Zona Polishing Paper, White (1 Micron) - amzn.to/3ry5rKh
There's also an assorted pack (amzn.to/3KSjkdJ) if you're interested in trying out all of the Zonas for finishing instead of sandpaper, but in my experience sandpaper cuts faster, lasts longer, and is much cheaper.
Polishing compound:
- PlastX Clear Plastic Cleaner and Polisher - amzn.to/3uX8U7n
Dremel attachments:
- Wool felt buffing pad pack - amzn.to/36kOL1j
Other items:
- Square Mirror or Glass: Arts and crafts stores like Michaels should carry these, or try home improvement stores like Home Depot. Otherwise, here's one on amazon: amzn.to/3OgVWZK
- Cleaning Brush: An old toothbrush should be fine to clean out the resin and polish residue, but I've also found these nail brushes to be very effective and cheap: amzn.to/3uM8ctd
- Ultrasonic Cleaner: Look into this if you're often having to clean resin pieces (or other small bits like jewelry). An ultrasonic cleaner can run you around $30-40. Here's a link to the one I use: amzn.to/37Yee1a
Hit me with any questions in the comments if you've got them.
This has been the only method I have found that works every time. Short, simple, no bs. Awesome job.
Got my first pair of raw dice and this was super helpful! Ty! 💖
Thank you for the video! Definitely gonna be using this for some resin earrings I'm making!
Thank you so much, easy to follow, the other people that video polishing have it speed it up so it takes a long time to get it, you are the best
Ur explanation so neat nd so clear sir it's so helpful sir 🙏
THANK YOU Miguel - such a big fan of your work!! :)
Thanks Kenny!
THANK YOU this is amazing!!!
This video is wonderful! There are many polishing videos but your results are superior to many I have seen. Thanks you for the mesh recommendations. I am very new to resin crafting and you make extremely beautiful dice. I have liked and subscribed so I hope you make more videos, I would love to learn more from your experience. I might even buy a set that you've made. I am now a fan of your work.
Thanks! Appreciate the kind words.
Oo nice. Doing this to all 20 sides must take a long time
You should post more videos! I would love to see you make your dice!
Hopefully soon! Were you thinking an instructional or more of just videos of dice making?
I would recommend going back and forth at first because with dice like the d20 it's very easy to hit those edges accidentally and turns your dice into a ball by the end.
For anyone that uses a dremel, please use the wider polishing round. It's super easy to hit the die with the rotating shaft and then you get to start all over.
Your dice seem HUGE, pretty cool but just very large. At least some of them like the d6, it’s not a bad thing I just couldn’t help but notice haha. Edit: also liked and subscribed
This is my jumbo size! They're called jumbois. I also have standard sized but I figured it'd be better on the video to show the larger ones.
Thanks for the video! How is this not sanding off the numbers?
This was very informative! I am curious, with your sample pack, how many dice (or I suppose more accurately faces) would you roughly say the sample could sand and polish?
I put those packs together intending them to be used with the unfinished raw sets I had started selling at the time. I would say they can easily handle finishing of some faces on all dice in an 8 piece set, and if properly used they might even handle finishing all of the faces. If it’s the former I might use the pack for two sets. It’s really the first sandpaper that takes the beating since it’s flattening the faces.
Do you have a pour video for this set? Because they…are…BEAUTIFUL!
Me: Oooo! I want to make this die! 10 seconds into the video. "You need to buy dice." Me 11 seconds later: Pauses leaves in disappointment.
How often do you change the paper due to it wearing down? I am finding I have to switch sections after barely finishing one standard d20
What kind of paper and at what point? Usually sandpaper or zona papers last a good amount (at least going through 1-3 full sets of standard sized poly sets) but only if they're being used at the right time. For example, green zona papers or a 800 grit sandpaper will get destroyed if you don't have a flat face and what you need is to actually use more like a 400 grit to start, then move it to 800 grit.
At the higher grits like 2500, I find they get worn down real quick.
@@OdinsMusings ah that's odd, usually the finer grits would last longer. What are the grit steps you do beforehand leading up to the 2500?
A buffing wheel on a bench grinder wouldn't do this polishing part in a small amount of time?
It would! That's what I used to use (now I use an orbital sander and polishing pad). I made this video specifically with a no special tools approach. Will record other polishing techniques in the future.
What is the lifetime of the zone a papers? Kinda want to know how many i need to use in a month lel
For the smaller cutouts (ie enough to do a small circle with a die face) you could probably do a full set of 7 poly dice on most faces.
A single "dice" is a die. Can you destroy an edge or throw the balance off of a die?
When doing flat sanding like this the edges are always going to be preserved and sharp. What you might destroy, however, are the vertices. If you oversand one face it will throw off the point on the vertex where the adjacent faces meet. Ideally you're sanding all faces consistently so you preserve the points. Where you don't, you can do a bit of angled sanding to try to recreate a point, but that's deforming the geometry and then as a result, throws off the balance of the die. Overall most handmade dice will not be perfectly balanced.
Now how can I exploit this to always throw a 20? Hmmmm....
So beautyfull brother for sell? Can't i buying this stone
What resin do you use?
Critcast by Level Up Dice!
@@dicecraftx Awesome, been wanting to try that one but trying to use up my liquid diamonds. Thanks!
@@cindi5824 it's the most stable and consistent non-deep pour resin I've used.
sanding is easy with giant dice. lol try it with a mich smaller 20 sided, takes a million years.
I use sandpaper and a dremel/compound for the final polish but the attachments I use are puffer and throws fibers, but doesn't affect dice. Curious what attachment you are using.
It's a wool felt polishing bit! Usually comes with the standard array of bits with a dremel so why I included that in this video. I have a different process with other equipment and supplies that I hope to make a video of in the future.