Thread: CA - The first 3 Coats

Still ugly but you can start to see the color...

Hopefully a little sanding and another 9 coats and they'll be looking good.

- Bob

Those scales looking good right now... love to see them when they're done.

aaaachh... those fumes must be deafening.... err... blinding.

Nice scales!

Colors are coming out well.
How do you choose the number of coats to apply to any given wood type?

general concensus seems to be 9 or 12 coats applied 3 coats at a time. Type of wood isn't as relevant although CA doesn't set well on anything oily.

-Bob

Originally Posted by smythe

Those scales looking good right now... love to see them when they're done.

aaaachh... those fumes must be deafening.... err... blinding.

That is why I use epoxy resin. No fumes and one coat, sure it takes 4 days to cure, but one coat and walk away. Never used CA, I will have to try it one day.

Originally Posted by cannonfodder

That is why I use epoxy resin. No fumes and one coat, sure it takes 4 days to cure, but one coat and walk away. Never used CA, I will have to try it one day.

Dave, what type/brand epoxy do you use and where do you get it?

Thanks

Originally Posted by cannonfodder

That is why I use epoxy resin. No fumes and one coat, sure it takes 4 days to cure, but one coat and walk away. Never used CA, I will have to try it one day.

How do you avoid what seems to be the inescapable air bubbles in the expoxy resin from sticking around?

Chris L

Originally Posted by Chrisl

How do you avoid what seems to be the inescapable air bubbles in the expoxy resin from sticking around?

Chris L

Keep the epoxy at room temperature, if it starts to bubble a hair dryer should do the trick.

http://www.eclecticproducts.com/GlazeCoat.htm

I have not had a bad problem with bubbles. I mix relatively gentle to prevent a lot of bubbles in the resin to begin with. once mixed I let it sit for a couple of minutes. I brush the first coat on to make sure it completely covers the scales then I pour over that. The two coats go on at the same coating session, the resin takes 20 minutes to stat setting so there is plenty of time when you are only doing a dozen sets. Once it has cured for 4 days I wet sand them to remove any dust flecks or the occasional micro bubble. Then I give them two coats of clear high gloss polyurethane to restore the shine. You could also buff them but a quick two coats of urethane works good for me.