Epoxy on cypress

[In Memory of Vicroy]

I'm getting ready to finish a slab of cypress for a table top....it is a slab cut out of the trunk of the tree about 3" thick and 2x3 feet irregular shape. It had been varnished with a stain at one time and I've sanded that all off down to bare wood. I'm using the West epoxy and a slow hardener. Should I cut the first coat with alcohol, and if so, how much? I'm working with end grain.

UV

[CaptPatrick]

Vic,

10% alcohol, 90% mixed epoxy... If the table is going to get direct sunlight, the epoxy will yellow due to UV exposure. You will need the final coatings to have high UV protectors.

Br,

Patrick

[In Memory of Vicroy]

Thanks....it will probably stay indoors.

UV

[Charlie]

use west 207.

[Rawleigh]

On cypress would you even be able to tell if it yellowed?

[In Memory of Vicroy]

Need some help again, Faithful. First coat of thinned epoxy came out great, knock-out color, you can see all the annual rings, etc. I put a second coat of un-thinned epoxy on yesterday (yeah, used a cheap brush, probably stirred the epoxy/hardener too much) and got a lot of air bubbles in the finish. Today I sanded all that out good, cleaned it up and put another coat of un thinned epoxy on with a good brush and took my time stirring and applying. Much better results, but still have some air bubbles in the epoxy. It's almost like its too thick to let the bubbles rise to the surface and pop......I'm using a real slow (209) hardener so it has a lot of time to release the air bubbles before it kicks. Looking for advice from the Faithful on how to apply the epoxy bubble free.

BTW, we fixing to get a torrent in Coonasssland from Humberto...Yo Honor, batten down the hatches in Galveston.

UV

[RussP]

Use a hair drier or heat gun a fair distance away and the bubbles will just go away. Be carefull with the heat gun espically as it starts to kick.

RussP

[Ted_R]

Yo Hona:
Did a bunch of counter tops some years ago with "50/50 table top epoxy".
Their suggestion for air bubbles was to go over the surface with a hair dryer on low heat. Made the bubbles rise to the surface and pop! Try it in a small area first!
TR

[Ted_R]

Hmmmmm, why do only the florida boys know about hair dryers!!????????????

[CaptPatrick]

Hmmmmm, why do only the florida boys know about hair dryers!!????????????

Probably because that's the area where casting table tops got it's beginins...

I use a propane torch, moving steadily over & just touching the surface. Medium to low flame. This technique puts down less heat, which can over kick the cure, and the torch doesn't draw in dust that will be deposited on the un-cured surface. The idea is to reduce the surface tension of the epoxy, allowing the bubbles to float & pop.

DON'T TRY THIS WITH EPOXY THINNED WITH ALCOHOL OR ACETONE!

Br.

Patrick

[John Swick]

Vic,
Saw a neat trick in the latest newsletter from the Gougeon's.
punch a hole in the side (at the bottom) of the container you're mixing in. Cover it with tape.
Mix'er up then when ready to apply, pull back the tape and it pours from the bubble free bottom.
Good Luck.

[Bruce]

[quote="CaptPatrick"][/quote]
DON'T TRY THIS WITH EPOXY THINNED WITH ALCOHOL OR ACETONE!

[CaptPatrick]

pull back the tape and it pours from the bubble free bottom

That'll work to some degree, & on some projects where a brush isn't involved... To work fully, even then, the mixed pot should be vacuumed in a chamber to pull all the air to the surface.

When I'm casting a table top, I use a plastic spreader to slowly move the epoxy around rather than a brush. A brush or roller will always drag in bubbles.

Br,

Patrick

[In Memory of Vicroy]

As always, I knew I'd get the right poop from the Faithful. Heat gun it is, and yep, no thinners.....

Thanks guys, its obvious now that I think about it, but that's why I asked...cause I didn't think about that. Heat it up, make the bubbles rise and pop....so simple.

UV

[ianupton]

UV,

Another thing to try is to warm the worksurface in the sun before applying the epoxy. If the work surface is warming up during the cure, air will escape from the wood. So warm it up outside, then move the workpiece into the AC for application and cure.

This might not matter though after the initial thinned epoxy coat...

Ian.

[CaptPatrick]

Vic,

Be careful when using the heat gun... You're surroundings have got to be dust free. The gun will pull in air as fast as it spits it out, so any air borne dust is going to be shot right into you wet epoxy...

If you have one of those real fine mesh covers for a computer you might want to make a filter over the intake of the gun. Don't cut the air flow down too much or you'll burn out an element.

Br,

Patrick

[In Memory of Vicroy]

Ian, Patrick, Bruce, et al.....the heat gun works...I put the latest coat (bubble coat) on about 4 hours ago, and am using the real slow hardener (209) and it was still sticky when I got the heat advice (me & the Bride been toasting with clears and eating big time at the Bonefish Grill) till just now. I got my heat gun out and heated up a small portion of the surface, and most of the air bubbles popped.....no doubt they would have all popped if I'd done the heat sooner before it started to kick.

I need to sand this coat anyway, and tomorrow will do another coat and apply the heat to pop the bubbles right away before any kick.

It just amazes me I have so many smart friends.

Thanks Faithful.

UV

[Capt. Mike Holmes]

Like Ian said, the sun can help. I did my helm chair over the winter, had problems with bubbles, did the other one a couple of weeks ago - outside, when we were nudging 100 degrees every day - no bubbles at all - excpet in the beer.