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I bought a piece of Pecan while I was on vacation in Texas. I am thinking about using a the deep MAS Deep Pour Epoxy that Rockler sells. Having read and watched videos on the subject I am wondering if I shouldn't use some penetrating epoxy sealer also. I do not mind the $40 for the epoxy but $40 for the sealer kind of puts it out of reach for my pocket book. How necessary is the sealer or is there some other sealer that will work. I used Minwax sealer to seal some rotted wood on a window to good success. I am asking because I have no experience with this operation.
Here are some pictures of what I have.
Thanks for the help.
Tom
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I haven't used that product, but have used a clear epoxy on a few tops, one had a lot more and deeper craters than yours. The critical thing is to make sure that there is no opening in the wood that the epoxy can drip out of on the bottom. I used a very strong tape across the entire bottom before I poured on the epoxy on one project. On another project, I thought I had sealed the bottom, but went I came the next morning, I saw some had leaked out, so I had to do a second pour.
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Tom, I have no experience with the MAS product, but I have filled 5 different slabs. The one thing I learned, masking tape alone, is no match to a product that creates heat to cure. I attached backer boards to support the tape. All of my pours were larger than yours so that may make a difference. "Deep Pour" makes me think the product is thin allowing it to run further before setting up so you may need to tape up a much larger area.
"I tried being reasonable..........I didn't like it." Clint Eastwood
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Like the others, I filled defects with epoxy (different brand) and not used any sealer. I think you're good to go without it.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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I fill voids in slabs quite regularly now, and typically do not seal.
As others noted, be sure the bottom is sealed. I use Tyvek tape and rub it firmly to seal. I also use a 6hr epoxy which can be deep pour for these situations but not good for the "river table" applications. It just gives me a faster turn around.
The reason for the sealer is to help limit the air bubbles that will develop from all the small crevices as the air slowly works to the top. Sometimes they do not make it and are trapped. I just plan for a very small second application to fill these prior to final sanding.
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I used the MAS epoxy from Rockler last fall on some knotty oak. One knot passed all the way through. Overall, it worked pretty well. It definitely cures quicker with deeper knots where more material is needed. A couple of the shallow cracks I filled too a lot longer to set.
In addition to making sure you have the bottom side sealed with tape, make sure any longitudinal cracks are bounded as well. I had some epoxy oozing out the end of my board approx 6 inches from where I poured it into a knot and had to keep topping up the knot.
Easy to scrape/sand when it's done.
Kevin
