Thread: Restoration Question...Epoxy vs. CA (finish for scales)

As I know all of you are a hell of alot better at restoration than I, I'm asking for the pro and cons of finishing some burl scales in either epoxy resin or a CA coat....or 20. Any tips, suggestions, guides are welcome. Much appreciated.

P.S. I'm looking for a glassy high shine finish so oil and and wax are out...

Mirror Coat.

Works great.

I tried my first CA coat a few weeks ago. The finish was mixed results. I think I was over-sanding at the early stages and ended up going back down to the wood in a couple of spots. Not entirely sure what happened, but I ended up getting some uneven tones in the coloring. Polished up beautifully though.

What I'd recommend is to try it out on a spare piece of wood first and go all out like you're making scales- rough cut the shape, sand some radiuses, drill the holes in them and everything. That way you don't end up ruining a beautiful set of burl scales on your first try out with a new method and you'll learn some important lessons along the way that you wouldn't get from reading about it. Trust me, it'll be well worth the extra effort.

Oh, and remember that glossy finishes show EVERYTHING! Make sure there are no uneven spots or irregularities in your radiuses before you start finishing in either method. Think when you see a car door that has been dinged in a parking lot- the reflection bends and makes it really obvious.

Wish someone had told me that stuff ahead of time. It was a gorgeous piece of wenge...but I learned a lot!

Mirror Coat is pretty "fool proof".

That being said. You NEED to wear gloves and you need a propane torch.

The stuff is self leveling and the drips are easy to remove unlike CA and others that are really hard.

Any imperfections can be wet sanded out.

The pain on the butt is the measuring. If you do it in small amounts like by the scale. You will need a medicine syringe that I get from the pharmacy. They work great.

Definitly need a brush to level out the top coat and some poly for the back of the scale.



This is a pic of a test scale with mirror coat.

within reason i agree that the mirror coat is easy, but you have to prep for it and have patience.

the measure has to be correct. easy if you have the containers to do this with. a pain if you do not.

you need time. this stuff takes days to cure all the way. i have a set curing now for the past 4 days. i am hoping another couple days and they should be good to go.

you must pour and store in a dust free environment, otherwise you will have spots in your finish. the spots can be sanded out, but why work harder if you can just prevent it to begin with.

the CA can give a great finish, but it is a pain to work with and the curing time is much more drastic meaning you have greater chances for mistakes.

good luck to you either way and let's see some photos when done.

vgod

While I do agree that epoxy resin does have to have a dustfree room it seems to me the whole measuring part is overstated. I agree that you have to have close to the same amount, but it doesn't have to EXACT. I've used it a few times and I eyeball the measurement. Granted I have a good eye on that stuff (due to baking and cooking), but it's come out great every time. It's hard as nails, great coverage, self-leveling, etc. I'm not sure what the mention of a torch was about, though.

P.S. grind off the drips. It's much easier.

The torch is recommended for any bubbles that form.

YouTube - System Three Mirror Coat