Thread: Epoxy resin finish, the how to

My camera batteries went dead so I will have to take a photo tomorrow.

I ground off the drip nubs on the back of the blood and purple heart wood tonight. My resin is old, a couple of years, and the reason is starting to granulate so once it was cured I had small bumps on the scales from the pin head reason blobs. So I wet sanded them with some 800 grit and gave them two coats of high gloss polyurethane tonight. That is much easier than buffing the finish back up. They are looking darn spiffy. I will get a photo or two tomorrow with the sunlight. It accentuates the 3-D effect the resion gives the wood.

The finishing jig, if you want to call a scrap hunk of cherry with 8 chopped down pencils (could not find an appropriate sized down at the time) glued to it that is what I pour the epoxy on. The excess just runs off the scales and drips on the wood. I put the wood on a sheet of wax paper to keep from gluing the entire works to my workbench or kitchen counter. It is to cold in Ohio to pour a finish out in the garage right now so I bring the finish in the house.

Dave,

Does the epoxy have much of a smell? One of the things I don't like about CA is the fumes...

I'm going to have to give this a try. It's a great excuse to visit Home Depot ... I've only been there once this week, and I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms.

Josh

Good to hear of your success. I tried a couple of different epoxys 2 years ago and they both failed. They both had air bubbles and one felt rubbery.

If you could tell us which brand of epoxy you are using it would help a lot.

I was thinking of using this stuff on some future scale projects, and now I know I can! I've used this stuff in the past for decopage, and there are NO fumes. Also, you may want to cover your scales with a cardboard box after pouring. This is recommended as it keeps DUST off the drying epoxy. Any hobby store (Michaels, comes to mind)will carry various brands of this stuff.

Here is photo of my high tech pouring station, complete with surplus medicine measurer and high tech cut in half coke can mixing container.

Tell me if there are not some super cool looking scales.

There are some fumes as with anything that contains solvent, but it is not very bad.

Originally Posted by JoshEarl

Dave,

Does the epoxy have much of a smell? One of the things I don't like about CA is the fumes...

I'm going to have to give this a try. It's a great excuse to visit Home Depot ... I've only been there once this week, and I'm starting to get withdrawal symptoms.

Josh

Dust is the scourge of every high gloss finish and you do need to take the appropriate steps to prevent dust. I will often put the final coat on in the house instead of the garage just because of the dust.

Keep in mind, the above scales had two light coats of high gloss polyurethane put on them after the wet sanding.

Originally Posted by yul b. nekst

I was thinking of using this stuff on some future scale projects, and now I know I can! I've used this stuff in the past for decopage, and there are NO fumes. Also, you may want to cover your scales with a cardboard box after pouring. This is recommended as it keeps DUST off the drying epoxy. Any hobby store (Michaels, comes to mind)will carry various brands of this stuff.

Originally Posted by cannonfodder

high tech cut in half coke can mixing container.

personally, i think a high tech Pepsi can works better, but i am biased.

vgod

That is a beautiful finish, I will have to keep this one in mind as I have never tired it on anything.

Chief

Originally Posted by jscott

how hard is it to drill your holes in the wood after they are sealed up?

also, what type of epoxy/hardener are you using? can you post a link to it please

I have an idea that may help if you don't have a drill press and are worried about the bit dancing around. DISCLAIMER: I most certainly have not tried this, it's just an idea.

Use a small drill bit and drill the holes before applying the epoxy. After you've applied the epoxy use a toothpick to remove the epoxy from the small hole before it dries. When you're ready to drill after drying, you'll have a pilot hole. I don't know how this would work in practice but it was just something that popped into my head while I was reading.