Clearcoating Bed wood

i have been using envirotec for years on my interior pieces. have not used the new one with uv protection yet . it is also known as pour-it-on . used on bars and such to bury things .
 
Best that could be done is color of the activator a light root beer-color.


i cant tell you how many times i would have been able to use your epoxy in clear over the past 18 years. i actually did something recently where i ended up taking a bar top type 100% solids epoxy and just adding 10% acetone to it then shot it on with my sata 2.5 poly primer gun. ended up working out awesome. comes out cloudy from the air entrapment but after about 2 min on the panel it all goes away. i was originally worried about trapping the acetone but the epoxy stays wet for about 5-6 hours so there was plenty of time for that to escape.
 
Jim C. do you think an electric heat gun could be used in place of a torch? I'm thinking a broader flow of heat might work better, and without a flame.
 
Jim C. What grit sandpaper would you block the epoxy resin with and what grit would you finish with before clearing with Euro?
 
you can use a heat gun. i think the torch works better though. for sanding the epoxy it depends on what your trying to do. if your epoxy isnt smooth and hasnt self leveled then you need to sand it down with 80-150 grit. you will usually have to work the epoxy down quite a bit to get it flat. smooth the 80g scratches out a little with some 220 then you can just clear over that.
 
Well, I brushed on West System epoxy resin, then sanded flat, then 4 coats of Euro2020. I had craters during every coat. My first coat was normal, not too light, not too heavy, but still cratered. My last coat was pretty heave which helped fill in some of the craters but not all. So need to block it again and reclear.
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Almost looks like fisheyes. You went from pimples to dimples.
Btw, what's bubble by mirror verdict? Clear or base?
If it's clear & ya inject it like i said, wait more then 2 days for final leveling. Heavy run i blocked level after waiting a few days is now, after months very slightly low.
 
the craters are from pinholes or micro sized air bubbles in the epoxy. when you sand the epoxy flat you open those up and the clear wont ever bridge those. you need to clear, let it stiffen up then dab a little drop of clear in each crater. once its all cured, sand flat and reclear. it will be crater free on the second round.
 
ks- how many minutes did epoxy stay wet as if you just mixed it?
I ask because the couple things I poured my brand on (leveled piece 1st) stayed wet for an hour, 2hrs still soft but can touch it.
90 degree hardener possibly. Mine didn't crater, zero bubbles.
 
ks- how many minutes did epoxy stay wet as if you just mixed it?
I ask because the couple things I poured my brand on (leveled piece 1st) stayed wet for an hour, 2hrs still soft but can touch it.
90 degree hardener possibly. Mine didn't crater, zero bubbles.


keep in mind that its not the epoxy bubbling. the bubbles come from the wood grain. how much you fight bubbles depends on species of wood.
 
I'm at the end of my rope with this bed wood. I shot 3 more coats of Euro 2020 this morning using extra hardener as per Barry to have a more durable finish. This evening I can still put a finger nail in it. I think I'm getting new craters where there were no craters previously.:mad:
 
you will be able to fingernail it for quite awhile. set it out in the sun for a whole day. it takes awhile for the epoxy to harden as well. the heat from sitting in the sun for a day or two will really speed things along.
 
Just got another computer after almost a month, so hadn't been able to check in or comment. Anyways, my preference for a first coat over oak would have been something thinned down to soak in better & help release bubbles.
At this point though, the only real option is to takes Jim's advice & set it in sun , Id say be patient & do it several days. Sorry, but ain't gonna rush yourself out of this one.

Speaking of red oak, got a custom 8' tall door and 2 sidelites at work to stain dark walnut & clear with matte clear probably tomorrow at my day job. Yee Ha. Had it sitting in AC last 3 days. Will most likely start off with intercoat clear as a sanding sealer and I'm not trying to hide any grain.
 
This needs bringing to top. Awesome thread.

I read through it again earlier tonight, it is quite good.

Since I figure this is as good of place as any I want to ask a question on my bed wood. If all things go as planned I will coat it sometime in the next 6 months.

What I want to try and accomplish is black wood with the grain showing, my wood is red oak. As of right now Im leaning toward more of a matte finish. My first thought was to apply 2 coats of black epoxy and then a couple coats of universal with flattener. Im not sure if there is a better method? Should include a coat of black base after epoxy?

On page 1 Jim mentioned using an intercoat clear before regular clear, is this needed if not using an oil based stain?

I will probably run a couple tests before I jump right in but Im hoping refine the steps better before I test.
 
the intercoat clear is just to be used as a sanding sealer or color carrier same as we would use in automotive. just spray a coat on, it will soak into the fibers hardening them so you can very lightly sand and knock the raised grain off so you have a smooth surface. no matter how fine you sand and smooth feeling the wood is, there is always raised grain. on the other hand if you are going to do a couple few rounds of clear while sanding between then its really not necessary.

concerning the black, you can do it that way but its not the way i would really do it. i would stain or dye the wood black then topcoat it. this way it would be black but still have some wood tone to it.
 
I kept it simple. Used a Minwax stain, waited 2 days, then shot 3 coats of Universal Clear #4000-1. Looked pretty much perfect! There is a slightly raised grain, but it's WOOD. I believe whatever I would have used as a first coat would have raised the grain. I could block it if I were energetic enough, but I like the look. I'd suggest, based on your desire for black with grain, to try the Minwax ebony stain.
 
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Thank you for the info, it gives me a better sense of direction.

Im probably going with stain and then clear now, I was under the impression that the stain wouldn't give the look I wanted, but after reading what you guys said and looking at a couple pictures I think its exactly what I wanted.

Im not sure on clear yet, I might test with straight universal and sand as needed before I buy intercoat clear.
 
not to confuse things further but if you want a black finish with a less plastic and more natural feel to the wood then look into rubio monocoat. they have a black precolor then you use their oil plus 2c. its something like a 2 component teak oil. you will end up with a very natural looking finish with next to no build.
 
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