Hi there, I am a complete novice here looking for some purchasing advice re resins for a pure white worktop. 

I have looked at the glasscast 3 and the ultracast xt as options for this project but would like some advice on which is best as a worktop resin and what would work best for my situation.

The worktop I am covering is a cast concrete worktop i made about 3 years ago. It's super solid but it's not completely flat and due to bad preperation, some areas sagged after drying meaning that in areas it's 4 - 5mm lower than it should be. I wanted to use epoxy resin over the current worktop for its self levelling properties and for a bit of fun. I think the glasscast fits this well but am worried about the low heat resistance compared to the ultracast xt. Is this worry unfounded and has anyone got experience working with both of these?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

kind regards

We have plenty of customers using GlassCast 3 on worktops with no problems.  In terms of temperature experience, we have tested quite a few resins over the years and not found any that offer any real high temperature benefits over and above other resins.  With heat resistance, I would always be wary and see if you can find some independent or customer reviews on the long term resistance. There can be a difference between briefly placing a hot pan on a surface and leaving it there to cool down.  Also time and if physically possible, a elevated temperature post cure will all help improve heat resistance to be the best they can be. 

It would be something that would be ideal if all the resins on the market could be tested side by side to see which ones perform as advertised or better.

However, to be on the safe side, we would always recommend using a placemat or trivet to prevent heat damage on all the resins we have seen, including GlassCast 3. 

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant

I'm a bit dubious about the claims of UltraCast XT resin being able to handle 95C with only a room temperature cure. Epoxies, and really all thermoset resins, don't work this way. Not even high temperature resins can achieve their high temperature properties without being exposed to those temperatures first, in a controlled manner. I just find it impossible that any resin cured at 25 degrees, whether it is for 7 days or 70 days or 700 days, can then handle 95C straight off the bat without a post-cure.

Thank you so much!