How to Add Color to Jesmonite®: Liquid Pigments, Paint, Powders & Mica
Jesmonite® AC100 Eco-Resin is known for its versatility, and one of the best parts about creating with it is experimenting with color. AC100 naturally casts in an opaque, milky white, giving you a blank canvas to customize with just about any color palette or effect you can imagine.
Jesmonite® Liquid Pigments are specifically formulated for use with Jesmonite® products and are the most common way to add color to AC100, but they aren't your only option. Acrylic paints, powder pigments, and mica powders can all be used to achieve different colors and effects, and you can even paint your project after casting.
In this guide, we're breaking down four of our favorite ways to add color to Jesmonite® AC100, how to use each technique, and a few things to keep in mind along the way. Then, we'll take a look at AC730 Micro-Concrete and some of the ways we've experimented with adding color to it, too.
1. Jesmonite® Liquid Pigments
If you're looking for consistent, vibrant color throughout your cast, Jesmonite® Liquid Pigments are a great place to start. They're water-based, highly concentrated, and specifically formulated for use with Jesmonite® products.
Our liquid pigments are available in 13 colors, and because they're so concentrated, a little goes a long way. You can use individual colors straight from the bottle or mix pigments together to create your own custom shades.
When working with Jesmonite® Liquid Pigments, we recommend following the 2% rule. Added pigment should never exceed 2% of the total weight of your mixed project.
For example, if your total AC100 mixture weighs 500g, you would use no more than 10g of liquid pigment.
Start small. A few drops may be all you need, especially when you're looking for a softer color. You can always add more pigment as you mix until you reach the shade you're after.
A Note About UV Exposure
Jesmonite® Liquid Pigments are not UV stable. If a finished piece will be displayed in a sunny window or regularly exposed to sunlight, the color can fade over time.
For additional protection, we recommend sealing finished pieces with Jesmonite® Acrylic Matte Sealer or Acrylic Gloss Sealer.
2. Acrylic Paint
Have a collection of acrylic craft paints already sitting at home? You can experiment with those, too.
Acrylic paint can be mixed into Jesmonite® AC100 to add color, making this an easy option for creators who want to work with supplies they already have in their craft collection.
As a general starting point, we recommend sticking to the same 2% guideline and testing your particular paint before using it for an important project. Acrylic paints aren't specifically formulated as Jesmonite® pigments, and formulations can vary between brands.
Adding more paint isn't necessarily going to ruin your project, but introducing too much can affect the material's normal curing time. Pay attention to how much you're adding and allow additional curing time if necessary.
Or Paint Your Project After Casting
You don't have to add color to your mix at all.
Jesmonite® AC100 also takes acrylic paint beautifully. You can cast your project in its natural milky white color, demold it, and paint the finished surface instead.
Because AC100 captures incredible detail and produces a beautifully smooth surface from a silicone mold, painting a finished piece can feel a lot like painting pottery. This is especially fun for detailed molds where you want to highlight individual elements with different colors.
If you paint your finished cast, we recommend sealing it afterward to protect the painted surface.
3. Powder Pigments
Powder pigments are another fun way to create bold and unique colors with Jesmonite® AC100.
We're particularly fond of neon powder pigments when we want a really vibrant result. They can be used on their own or combined with Jesmonite® Liquid Pigments to build richer colors.
For example, we might start with Jesmonite® Blue Liquid Pigment and add a small amount of neon blue powder pigment to create an especially rich, bold blue, as shown in the photo below.
When using a powder pigment, mix the powder thoroughly into your AC100 Liquid first. Once the powder is dispersed, add the AC100 Base and mix as usual. From there, you can evaluate the color and adjust as needed to achieve the shade you're looking for.
As with any pigment that wasn't specifically formulated for Jesmonite® products, experiment with small amounts first and test your combination before scaling up.
4. Mica Powder
Mica powders give you an entirely different way to play with color. Rather than simply coloring the entire mix, you can use mica to create veins, metallic details, shimmer, and pearlescent finishes.
There are several ways we like to use them.
Swirl Mica into Your Mix
Prepare your Jesmonite® AC100 mixture as usual, then add mica powder and give it just two or three swirls before pouring.
Don't completely mix it in. Leaving the mica partially incorporated creates vibrant veins and movement throughout the finished cast.
Paint Mica Directly onto Your Mold
For a completely different effect, use a clean, dry paintbrush to brush dry mica powder directly onto the inside of your silicone mold.
Once you've added the mica where you want it, pour your Jesmonite® mixture into the mold as usual. When the project cures and is demolded, the mica transfers from the mold onto the surface of your cast, creating a shiny, pigmented finish.
We recommend sealing projects made with this technique to help protect the finished surface.
Add Mica to Your Sealer
You can even wait until the very end of your project to introduce mica.
Mix a small amount of mica powder into Jesmonite® Acrylic Matte or Gloss Sealer before applying it to your finished piece. This creates a subtle pearlescent or shimmering finish across the surface without changing the color of the original cast.
What About Jesmonite® AC730 Micro-Concrete?
Jesmonite® AC730 Micro-Concrete offers plenty of opportunities to experiment with color, too. Unlike AC100, AC730 is available in a range of pre-pigmented finishes with decorative aggregates already incorporated into the material. Once acid etched, that aggregate is revealed to create AC730's signature stone and concrete-like finish.
Adding Jesmonite® Liquid Pigments
Jesmonite® Liquid Pigments can be added to AC730 to customize or alter the color of your mix. As with AC100, be mindful of how much pigment you're introducing. Start small and gradually build the color until you achieve the look you're after.
One important consideration is where your finished project will live. AC730 is designed for indoor and outdoor applications, and its pre-pigmented colors are UV stable. If you're introducing additional color using a pigment that is not UV stable and your project will be used outdoors or exposed to significant sunlight, we recommend sealing the finished piece with a flexiguard sealer or acrylic gloss sealer for added protection.
Painting Jesmonite® AC730 with Acrylic Paint
Just like AC100, Jesmonite® AC730 takes acrylic paint surprisingly well, making it easy to add color and detail after casting.
Our porch goose, Jezzy, is a great example. We cast her using Jesmonite® AC730 Silver Grey Granite, then acid etched the finished cast to reveal the sparkly aggregate within the material. Once the surface was prepared and dry, we used acrylic craft paints to add color and hand paint all of the details, while still allowing some of the exposed aggregate to show through.
Painting after casting is especially useful for detailed pieces where you want multiple colors or more control than you would get by pigmenting the entire mix. You can keep the natural AC730 finish as part of the design, then use acrylic paint to highlight individual details.
If you're painting an AC730 project, especially one that will live outdoors, we recommend sealing it afterward to help protect the painted surface from UV exposure, water, and general wear.
Experimenting with Powder Pigments
Powder pigments are another great option for adding color to AC730. They can be used to shift the overall color of your mix or introduce brighter, more unexpected shades into its naturally stone-like finishes.
As always, start with a small amount and test. Different pigments can behave differently within the material, so experimentation is part of the process.
Add a Pop of Color with Terrazzo
We've also had fun combining techniques from AC100 and AC730.
One of our favorites is adding colorful Jesmonite® AC100 terrazzo chips to AC730 White Marble. Once the finished piece is acid etched or grit blasted, the colorful chips are revealed alongside the aggregate, adding unexpected pops of color to the stone-like finish.
It's a great example of why we encourage creators to experiment with Jesmonite®. Mix techniques, try something new, learn what works, fail occasionally, and try again. That's part of creating!
Have you experimented with another way to add color to Jesmonite®? We'd love to see what you've tried. Tag us on Instagram @ftc.creative and share your results with us!
