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Hi,
I want to make a table out of a piece of red maple slab. I want to use an epoxy finish (Ecopoxy). Some of my research, as well as others, have recommended to me that I seal the wood prior to applying the epoxy. Presumably it will result in much less air bubbles to deal with after the pour. My concern is whether the epoxy will stick to a seal coat (i.e. Zinsser dewaxed shellac). Any thoughts?
Angelo
"In order to achieve greatness we must risk everything"--Steve Jobs
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If you go to the Ecopocy website and read the application recommendations, it says to use the same product and brush on a thin initial coat before the main pour to eliminate bubbles. I think this suggests that other sealers such as shellac probably should not be used.
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I have recently been experimenting with poured epoxy on some small boards using Max CLR. As Willyou mentioned a thin initial coat will work well. You can rub it all around the surface an let it dry. After is is cured, sand it down until smooth. The pores of the wood will still have the epoxy in it. Then you can pore a full coat over it. All the scratches of the initial epoxy coat will disappear and very few if any bubbles will appear. If there are any, you can use a propane or butane torch and just skim it over the surface and the bubbles will disappear. This method is good if you have a void or hollow area in the wood you need to build up.
I have also used Seal Coat on bare wood under a coat of epoxy. I had no adhesion problems and very few bubbles. You will almost always have some bubbles, but the torch will remove them.
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Hi
Thanks for the help on the thread.
Last question. If I sand off any excess epoxy to level it with the height of the wood, how do I get it back to its glass look?
Angelo
"In order to achieve greatness we must risk everything"--Steve Jobs
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I'm not sure what you mean by "level it with the height of the wood". However, if you are trying to remove sanding scratches and return the epoxy to a polished surface, you will need to progressively sand through all the grits, probably including 600, 1000, and 2000 wet/dry paper. You may have to finally use some automotive rubbing and polishing compound.
