You've decided on UV resin. Then you look at the shop page and there are three of them — Clear, Pearlescent, Opaque — and nothing obvious to tell you which one makes the thing you had in your head.
Here's the short version: they're not different grades of quality. They're three different looks. One is see-through, one shimmers, one is solid colour. Which one you want depends entirely on what you're making — and once you've seen the three side by side, it's usually obvious.
💡 Quick Tip:
Want to see what's inside your piece? Clear. Dried flowers, photos, tiny shells — anything you're embedding needs a transparent resin around it.
Want a soft shimmer that shifts in the light? Pearlescent. It's the galaxy-swirl look you've seen on pendants and bookmarks.
Want flat, solid colour with nothing showing through? Opaque. Think painted plastic — crisp colour blocks, cartoon shapes, bold designs.
Choosing Between Clear, Pearlescent and Opaque
Before anything else, here's what each one actually looks like once it's cured.
Clear — completely see-through. The flowers are the star; the resin just holds them.
Opaque — solid colour. Nothing shows through, so the colour itself is the design.
Pearlescent — colour with a shimmer running through it, catching light as it moves.
| Clear | Pearlescent | Opaque | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Looks like | Glass | Shimmering colour | Painted plastic |
| See through it? | Fully | Partly | Not at all |
| Can you see what's inside? | Yes | Faintly | No |
| Ready to use from the bottle | Yes (or tint it yourself) | Yes | Yes |
| Colours available | Clear only | 12 | 12 |
| Cure speed | Fastest | Medium | Slowest (darker = longer) |
| Mainly used for | Embedding, top coats | Jewelry, decorative pieces | Shapes, colour blocking |
| Best project example | Dried flower pendant | Shimmer bookmark | Cartoon keychain |
Clear UV Resin — When You Want to See Through It
Clear resin cures like glass. It doesn't change the colour of whatever you've put inside — a yellow flower stays exactly that yellow, and every fine detail stays visible.
This is the one you need for anything you're preserving. It's also the most flexible of the three, because you can leave it as it is or add your own pigment to it.
- Looks Like：Glass. Completely transparent with a glossy surface once cured.
- Best for：Dried flower pendants, photo charms, embedded shells or fabric, and as a protective top layer over anything else.
- Bonus USE：Add your own mica powder or alcohol ink to make custom shades, or layer it over coloured resin for depth.
Available in: 300g bottles, or a 500g kit that comes with accessories. See clear UV resin → 
Clear resin lets pressed flowers read exactly as they are — no colour cast, no cloudiness.
Clear is also what most people start with, and for good reason: when something goes wrong, you can see it. A trapped bubble, a flower that drifted, a patch that didn't cure — all visible immediately. With coloured resin those problems hide until you demold.
Clear resin with pigment and gold flakes added — a customer's own colour mix.
Pearlescent UV Resin — Shimmer That Moves With the Light
Pearlescent uv resin has fine shimmer pigments already mixed in. The effect is that swirling, galaxy-like glow you've probably seen on handmade pendants — and because the shimmer sits in the resin rather than on the surface, it shifts as you turn the piece.
It comes ready to pour in 12 colours, and they all mix with each other, so you're not limited to what's in the box. No separate pigment needed.
- Looks Like：Colour with a pearl shimmer running through it — soft, flowing, slightly translucent.
- Best For：Pendants, earrings, bookmarks, keychains — small pieces that catch the eye because of the finish rather than what's embedded in them.
- Good to konw：The precision tip on the bottle makes it easy to control, which helps a lot with small molds and fiddly shapes.
Available in: a 12-colour set. See the pearlescent set →
The 12 pearlescent shades — all of them can be mixed together for custom colours.
Where pearlescent really shows off is on flat pieces — bookmarks, coasters, anything with surface area. There's room for the shimmer to move across the piece rather than being confined to a tiny charm.
💡 Getting the swirl right: pour two pearlescent colours next to each other, then drag a toothpick through once or twice — and stop. The pretty part is where the colours meet without fully blending. Over-mixing turns it into one flat shade.
Opaque UV Resin — Solid Colour, Nothing Shows Through
Opaque uv resin cures to a completely solid colour — like a piece of painted plastic. No transparency, no shimmer, nothing visible underneath. That sounds limiting until you realise it's exactly what you need for anything graphic.
Cartoon shapes, colour-blocked designs, pieces where you want crisp edges between one colour and the next — opaque is the one that gives you that. It also comes in 12 shades, including white, grey and black, which are surprisingly useful for outlining and detail work.
- Looks Like：Flat solid colour with a glossy finish. Similar to enamel or painted plastic.
- Best For：Cartoon-style charms, keychains, multi-colour designs, and any piece where the shape and colour are the whole point.
- Watch Out：Dark colours block UV light, so they cure more slowly. Pour thinner layers and give them longer under the lamp.
Available in: a 12-colour set, 30g each. See the opaque set →
Twelve solid shades, ready to pour straight from the bottle.
The one thing to remember with opaque: because the pigment blocks light, deep or dark colours need more time under the lamp than clear resin does. With a 36W lamp, a thin layer cures in 2–3 minutes — but a thick or dark pour can need 6–8 minutes. If a piece feels soft underneath, that's almost always why.
Two opaque colours poured together, marbled before curing.
Using Them Together
You don't have to pick just one. Some of the nicest pieces come from combining two finishes in the same mold.
Clear framing an opaque centre — the transparency around the edge makes the solid colour pop.
Clear → Opaque → Clear
Pour a thin clear base and cure it. Add your opaque shape or pattern on top, cure again. Finish with another clear layer. The result is a design that appears to float in the middle of the piece rather than sitting on the bottom.
Pearlescent → Clear
Pearlescent underneath, clear on top. The clear layer adds visible depth above the shimmer, so the piece looks thicker and more finished than a single pour would.
Opaque body + thin Clear coat
A solid colour piece with a clear layer over the top. It smooths the surface and adds gloss, which makes an opaque piece look noticeably more polished.
💡 Cure between every layer. Pouring a new layer onto uncured resin lets the colours bleed into each other, and you lose the crisp separation that makes layering worth doing in the first place.
Quick Pick by Project
| You're making… | Use | Because |
|---|---|---|
| Dried flower pendant | Clear | The flower needs to be visible |
| Photo charm | Clear | Needs full transparency |
| Shimmery earrings | Pearlescent | Catches the light as they move |
| Bookmark | Pearlescent | Flat surface shows the shimmer beautifully |
| Cartoon keychain | Opaque | Needs crisp, solid colour blocks |
| Multi-colour design | Opaque + Clear | Solid colours, sealed under a clear coat |
| Sealing a finished piece | Clear | Won't change the colour underneath |
| Your first ever piece | Clear |
You can see exactly what's happening inside |
Once you've seen the three next to each other, the choice usually makes itself. If the thing inside matters, you want clear. If you want the piece itself to catch the light, pearlescent. If you want bold, graphic colour, opaque.
And there's no rule that says you only get one. Plenty of the best pieces use two — a solid shape sealed under a clear coat, or shimmer with transparent depth layered on top.
Pick the finish that matches the picture in your head, and go make it.
💡 Not sure UV resin is the right choice at all? If you're still weighing it against epoxy, start with our guide to choosing the right UV resin for your project — it covers viscosity, hardness and lamp compatibility before you get to colour.
Questions People Ask
Can I mix the three types together?
You can mix colours within the same type freely — all 12 pearlescent shades blend with each other, and the same goes for opaque. Mixing across types works too: a drop of opaque into clear gives you a tinted translucent shade. What's more common, and usually looks better, is layering them rather than blending — pour one, cure it, pour the next on top.
Why does opaque resin take longer to cure?
Because the pigment blocks UV light from passing through. Clear resin lets light travel right down to the bottom of the pour; opaque resin absorbs it near the surface, so the underside cures much more slowly. The fix is simple — pour thinner layers and give them more time. A thin layer under a 36W lamp takes 2–3 minutes; a thicker or darker pour can need 6–8.
Can I add my own colour to clear resin?
Yes, and it's a good way to get shades that aren't in a set. Mica powder gives shimmer, alcohol ink gives translucent colour, and resin pigment gives solid colour. Keep the total under about 3% of the resin — beyond that it interferes with curing.
What's the difference between pearlescent resin and adding glitter?
Glitter is made of visible individual flakes — you can see each piece, and it gives a sparkly, textured look. Pearlescent pigment is far finer and disperses through the resin, so instead of separate sparkles you get a smooth, continuous shimmer that shifts as the piece moves. Pearlescent looks more like the inside of a shell; glitter looks like glitter. They're different effects, and both have their place.
Which one should a beginner start with?
Clear. Not because it's easier to pour, but because you can see everything that happens. Bubbles, a flower that shifted, a section that hasn't cured — all obvious straight away. Coloured resins hide those problems until you demold, which makes it harder to work out what went wrong. Learn the timing with clear, then add colour once you know what a good pour feels like.
Do all three cure the same way?
Same method — UV light, no mixing, no measuring. The difference is timing. Clear cures fastest because light passes straight through. Pearlescent is slightly slower. Opaque is slowest, especially in darker shades. Whichever you're using, if a piece feels soft underneath after curing, give it another round under the lamp before assuming something's wrong.