Thread: System Three Mirrorcoat

Hello,

After doing my first ca finish on a set of cocobolo scales I realized it would take to long if I wanted to do more then one set of scales at a time. I want to try an epoxy finish on the next few i do. Has anyone used System Three Mirrorcoat? Its meant to be used on bar tops and tables so its very durable and is self leveling. It dries to a high gloss finish without sanding or polishing. Any other epoxy finishes I should look into?

Thanks,

Chris

Mirrorcoat is great and what I use. Dries very clear, and one of hardest surface of epoxy resins I've tried.

Comforting that there is a mix ratio by weight. When I eyeball volume always concerned if would have a perfect mix.

Originally Posted by dirtychrome

Mirrorcoat is great and what I use. Dries very clear, and one of hardest surface of epoxy resins I've tried.

Comforting that there is a mix ratio by weight. When I eyeball volume always concerned if would have a perfect mix.

Dirtychrome,

Do you paint it on or poor it on? How does is sand?

Thanks,

Chris

Originally Posted by socalkid

Dirtychrome,

Do you paint it on or poor it on? How does is sand?

Thanks,

Chris

Pour it on. I measure the weight of my cup, add approx 25grams part A, then the 44% weight of A as the part B measurement. Make sure you cover to the edges, or drag (with toothpick or similar) liquid over dry areas after the pour. Sands easy. Many people do not sand at all. If no bubbles, you will have a smooth clear finish.

I find The edges not to be as thin as I prefer, so after dry I wet sand starting at 1000 to 2000, then micromesh and hand polish. Don't take to the buffers, mops and wheels seems to leave some sort of scoring.

I mix in little clear plastic cocktail glasses and a bamboo skewer. You may have some bubbles from mixing. I try to make sure fine bubbles are pushed to edges, or push together to create large bubbles. larger bubbles will pop, and not stay in the clear. But if pop at surface as curing, when dry, you'll have a little pock mark. Try to work out bubbles on first 15min. Can be worked for about 40min, but earlier is better.

Few days ago, someone shared a link of a technique I will be trying later this week. Put the liquid in a small ziplock bag, remove all air and knead it in the ziplock. Appears might be a neat trick to reduce bubbles.

Originally Posted by dirtychrome

Pour it on. I measure the weight of my cup, add approx 25grams part A, then the 44% weight of A as the part B measurement. Make sure you cover to the edges, or drag (with toothpick or similar) liquid over dry areas after the pour. Sands easy. Many people do not sand at all. If no bubbles, you will have a smooth clear finish.

I find The edges not to be as thin as I prefer, so after dry I wet sand starting at 1000 to 2000, then micromesh and hand polish. Don't take to the buffers, mops and wheels seems to leave some sort of scoring.

I mix in little clear plastic cocktail glasses and a bamboo skewer. You may have some bubbles from mixing. I try to make sure fine bubbles are pushed to edges, or push together to create large bubbles. larger bubbles will pop, and not stay in the clear. But if pop at surface as curing, when dry, you'll have a little pock mark. Try to work out bubbles on first 15min. Can be worked for about 40min, but earlier is better.

Few days ago, someone shared a link of a technique I will be trying later this week. Put the liquid in a small ziplock bag, remove all air and knead it in the ziplock. Appears might be a neat trick to reduce bubbles.

This is a thread with some really good information in it. I used clear pouring resin, usually meant for embedding objects as paperweights etc., to take a mould from a Japanese tsuba sword guard, and reproduce it with copper clay as used by jewellers. (the stuff actually fires into pure copper, with no noticeable porosity, and silver is also available.) I found that I could suck out any visible bubbles with a hypodermic syringe and needle, with the least possible effect if the resin was just beginning to harden, and a matchstick would leave a dimple. The needle may not be reusable if you suck in any resin, as solvents such as acetone may soften and jam the syringe piston. But the syringe should be, if you just throw away the needle.

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.