How to finish the edges of your epoxy artwork

There's no single "correct" way to finish the edge of a resin piece — it depends on what you're pouring onto (canvas, wood panel, board) and the look you want. This guide covers the main techniques people use: letting resin flow naturally over the edge, taping off a raised edge, cutting the cured edge flush, and sanding and painting. None of these require special equipment beyond what's already in a typical resin kit, plus tape and basic hand tools.

Let the resin flow over the edge

If you want a seamless, coated look with no visible line between the top and the sides, raise your piece off the table (on cups or stands) and pour so the resin runs down and coats the edges on its own. Smooth it with a gloved finger as it moves, and go back over any thin or bare patches while the resin is still workable.

Drips will land on your table or stands, so it's worth taping off the underside of your piece — a painter's tape like Frogtape works well — so any drips catch on the tape instead of the surface below. Leave the tape in place until the resin has reached a hard cure (firm and dry to the touch, not liquid) before you try to remove it; pulling tape off resin that's still soft will drag and smear it. If the tape resists, gently warming it with a hairdryer can make it more flexible to peel.

How readily resin runs over an edge depends on which product you're using — a thinner mix flows and self-levels more than a thicker one:

Product	Resin viscosity	How it behaves on an edge
Arts & Crafts	1,600 CPS	Runs fairly easily, coats edges with light smoothing
Deep Pour	1,000 CPS	Runs very easily — good for coating edges, but see the torch warning below
Table Top	10,000 CPS	Thicker and slower to move — tends to sit rather than flow, needs more manual smoothing

If you're using a heat source to pop bubbles or smooth the surface near an edge, keep it to thin coating layers only. Never use a heat gun or torch on a Deep Pour mix — the rapid, uneven heating can cause cracking or yellowing.

Tape off a raised edge

If you'd rather keep resin only on top and leave the sides bare, tape around the perimeter of your piece so the tape sits slightly proud of the surface, forming a dam. A stronger tape (duct tape works) with the shiny side facing the resin holds its shape better than painter's tape alone. Pinch the corners together so there are no gaps for resin to escape.

Pour as normal. Remove the tape once the resin has firmed up but is still slightly flexible — pull it too early and the resin can slump or tear; wait until full cure and it becomes much harder to remove cleanly without chipping the edge. This window is short and depends on room temperature and the product's own cure speed, so check the edge periodically rather than working to a fixed clock.

If the taped edge comes out uneven, light sanding can clean it up — just keep the sanding away from the top surface, since scuffing the dome will leave visible scratch marks. A stray scratch on the top can usually be fixed by brushing on a thin, fresh layer of resin over just that spot.

Cut the edge flush (wood panels)

For wood panel projects — not canvas — some people prefer a clean, sawn edge that shows a cross-section of the wood and resin together. Tape off a raised edge as above, let it cure, then trim the excess off with a table saw or similar tool, cutting through both the wood and the resin in one pass.

Cured epoxy is hard enough to machine like the wood around it, but it needs to actually be fully cured first — cutting into resin that's only hard-cured on the surface but hasn't finished reacting all the way through risks chipping, gumming up your blade, or tearing rather than cutting cleanly. Full mechanical strength is reached around 21 days after pouring, regardless of which Craft Resin product you used; that's the safer point to bring out power tools, not the point where the surface first feels dry.

Sand and paint

Another way to get a defined, framed look is to let resin flow over the edge as described above, allow it to fully cure, then sand the edges smooth with a power sander. Once sanded, you can paint the edge in a colour of your choice — a solid black edge is a popular choice for a clean, gallery-frame effect, but any colour works.

Sand only after the piece has properly hardened. Sanding resin that's still soft will smear and clog your sandpaper instead of cutting a clean edge.

Doming instead of edging

If you'd rather avoid dealing with the sides altogether, you can pour a self-levelling dome that curves over the top and stops before it reaches the edge. Pour slowly and in a controlled way from the centre of the piece, letting the resin spread outward under its own weight, and stop before it reaches the point of overflowing. This takes some practice — a low-viscosity resin spreads faster than you expect, so it's easier to add a little more than to try to hold back resin that's already moving. Once cured, you can leave the raw wood or canvas edge natural, or paint it separately.

Related articles

• Mixing Ratio — How to Measure Resin and Hardener Correctly
• Using Epoxy Resin on Wood — Tables, Charcuterie Boards & Live Edge
• Bubbles — Why They Appear and How to Remove Them