Thread: System Three Mirrorcoat

Cannonfodder did an extensive step by step Illustrated thread on how he does these finishes it is definitely worth the read..

I know I sometimes sound like a broken record but we have this Sticky at the very top of the Workshop forum that every new restorer should find



http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...wers-here.html

In the middle is this thread

http://straightrazorpalace.com/works...inish-how.html


Enjoy the read and BTW yes System 3 works very well

I use system three for all my resin finishes. Tables and scales. You mix it at a 2 to 1 ratio which is nice. It hardens better than most 1 to 1 mixes. You can use a 1/10 gram scale to get the mix exact. I will wipe my scales with acetone once they are mounted on my pour station to get the surface oils off. Dont use thinner or mineral spirits, they dry leaving behind residue, acetone dries residue free. Then paint on the first coat, or rather pre coat. Then pour the remaining finish on. Brushing the first coat makes sure you get a layer of resin on all of the wood, then the poured balance will flow out better IMHO. The other critical point, your scales have to be perfectly level, and I mean Perfectly Level on both axis. Otherwise when you come back in a day, the finish will have settled to one side. Good thing about epoxy, if you do have a thin spot, just pour a second coat on, it will self correct. If you want to see what they look like when you get the hang of the finish you could take a look at my Photobucket razor album

Where does one get this MIRROR COAT? I can't even find furniture epoxy around here...I still have ACE hardware to try...maybe Even Porter Paints

Buy Mirror Coat 1-1 2 Pint Kit at Woodcraft

To reduce the chance of bubbles don't use wood or grass to stir. I use the plastic sucker sticks available at local cooking stores. I also use epoxy specific syringes to distribute the resin and hardener to ease the amount dispensed as I measure the mass of each.
When I mix I use standard aluminum foil sheets to mix it in a thin smear to reduce the bubbles formed as well.
I used to use system 3 on other projects, but have been working with some custom mixed products and rod building epoxies lately. I prefer many of the qualities, but mostly the UV resistance and the fact that most contain a limiting compound for the hardener. If you look at old epoxy it is very brittle and yellow. These qualities are great to reduce that.

Not sure about the Mirrorcoat but my experience with bubbles in the epoxy is that if you use heat, small butane torch, near the surface of the freshly poured epoxy the bubbles expand and come to the surface. Just my experience.

Stu