# Clear epoxy resin table top advice



## Ganoga (Sep 16, 2014)

I am planning to pour a small table top encasing a collection of souvenir pocket knives. I was looking for advice on what kind of epoxy resin or other clear material to use on this, if anyone has any experience.
Thanks


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

Ganoga said:


> I am planning to pour a small table top encasing a collection of souvenir pocket knives. I was looking for advice on what kind of epoxy resin or other clear material to use on this, if anyone has any experience.
> Thanks


their is a bar top epoxy, do a google search, i have poured lot's of this stuff yrs ago, their is also a bubble breaker also, or you can use a flame from a small torch to break the abubbles , if you don't know what i am talking about do a google search on pouring epoxy , you just don't pour and forget, also if dust get's in to the epoxy just sand out and make another pour the sanding mark's don't show, we used to sand with 50 grit disk sander and pour epoxy and the sanding marks disapear good luck


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

That sounds awful thick. I don't know if I would pour a finish that thick. You might consider mortising the knives partially into the top so the resin isn't more than a 1/4" thick. Still it should be done in multiple pours and allow each layer to cure before proceeding.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

Ive heard that epoxys tend to yellow with age, being more noticable with thicker builds. Just something to think about. Id recommend looking into a casting acrylic. Added bonus of being a little cheaper


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## GROOVY (Apr 27, 2008)

I wonder if mortising or inlaying the knives in a solid top and covering with glass would work, plus the knives could be taken out for whatever reason


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

epicfail48 said:


> Ive heard that *epoxys tend to yellow with age, being more noticable with thicker builds.* Just something to think about. Id recommend looking into a casting acrylic. Added bonus of being a little cheaper


Not all. Cheap stuff - Yes. :yes:


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

Ganoga said:


> I am planning to pour a small table top encasing a collection of souvenir pocket knives. I was looking for advice on what kind of epoxy resin or other clear material to use on this, if anyone has any experience.
> Thanks


You want the West System Epoxy. They sell a more expensive but more 'clear' version you may want to look into...

Do NOT try to 'cheat' and use even the slightest bit extra hardener to gain time. You will get bubbles out the ass (and things will get HOT) that not even a vacuum pump can pull out fast enough and end up ruining your project. Use the correct pumps that come WITH your supplies and follow ALL the directions exactly. 

If you go one or two FEWER pumps on the hardener - you gain time to pull out any bubbles on deep pours but you wait several days longer before it is cured and you can do any sanding. (this can be a 'good' thing)

The best advice I can give you is to buy much MORE epoxy than you 'need' so that you can experiment on scrap FIRST. :yes:


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

Steve Neul said:


> That sounds awful thick. I don't know if I would pour a finish that thick. You might consider mortising the knives partially into the top so the resin isn't more than a 1/4" thick. Still it should be done in multiple pours and allow each layer to cure before proceeding.


If you build up a 'dam' so to say and give the bubbles someplace to 'go' - You can easily pour a few inches thick. 

I use blue tape and scraps around the area I am working on and build a dam 3/4" higher than the surface before pouring anything. The top 1/4" is where most of the bubbles are at and this is fairly easy to skim off after everything is cured.

This only applies if using a 'slow cure' method.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

OnealWoodworking said:


> Not all. Cheap stuff - Yes. :yes:


To be honest, I'm running on secondhand information, and I wouldn't be surprised if the higher quality ones were clear. Personally, the only epoxy I use regularly is jb weld, and you can't really notice that going yellow...


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## aaronhl (Jun 2, 2011)

West System 105 Resin and 207 hardener is a nice clear finish. It does seem pretty think to cover pocket knives...might need a boat load of resin but you can do it. You might even want to do it in sections, just make you give whatever divider you use several wax coats so you can pull it off. You might want to find a way to heat the mixture cut to pour smoothly. And the tip to put a flame on the surface to get rid of air bubbles is spot on. Once you pour the epoxy you will notice little bubbles. All it take is a little heat. I use a blutane torch because it have a solid stream to pinpoint bubbles. goodluck


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## Ganoga (Sep 16, 2014)

Thanks for the advice so far. I did experiment with a bench top, an epoxy pour, one that came from Home Depot. I put everything I could think of into the top- paper stuff, cloth material, wood, porous things like coral, and one pocket knife, opened. The pour was over 1/2 inch deep also. The main problem I encountered was air bubbles from things that were not sealed down with Elmers glue, leaking bubbles. It came out pretty good except for where I didn't seal some paper completely, which caused endless bubbles to come out from under it, through three different pours, and which stayed in after the resin after it hardened. After a year, it has held up good used as a bench/shoe rack top, inside the door which sees small daily use.
I thought maybe there was a better resin to use and will research the ones mentioned. The pocket knife, opened and with the handle full of spaces, did not leach bubbles so I am hopeful that it won't be much of a problem. 
I am also going to pour this table so that the resin encases the entire table top and edges, instead of making a dam around it. I have not done this before.


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## del schisler (Nov 5, 2009)

Ganoga said:


> Thanks for the advice so far. I did experiment with a bench top, an epoxy pour, one that came from Home Depot. I put everything I could think of into the top- paper stuff, cloth material, wood, porous things like coral, and one pocket knife, opened. The pour was over 1/2 inch deep also. The main problem I encountered was air bubbles from things that were not sealed down with Elmers glue, leaking bubbles. It came out pretty good except for where I didn't seal some paper completely, which caused endless bubbles to come out from under it, through three different pours, and which stayed in after the resin after it hardened. After a year, it has held up good used as a bench/shoe rack top, inside the door which sees small daily use.
> I thought maybe there was a better resin to use and will research the ones mentioned. The pocket knife, opened and with the handle full of spaces, did not leach bubbles so I am hopeful that it won't be much of a problem.
> I am also going to pour this table so that the resin encases the entire table top and edges, instead of making a dam around it. I have not done this before.


bubbles will come up any where you pour, sometime after the first bubble break , wait maybe 20 min and do it again than all should be gone, look if more are their after that time do the flame again, don't get to close or it will turn gray , now you will have to let it cure and than sand it out and pour again, don't worry about anything like sanding mark showing the mark's will not show,


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

epicfail48 said:


> To be honest, I'm running on secondhand information, and I wouldn't be surprised if the higher quality ones were clear. Personally, the only epoxy I use regularly is jb weld, and you can't really notice that going yellow...


Something like $300.00 a gallon for the West stuff. The resin is relatively cheap but the special 'clear' hardener is what they rape you for... Very $$$$. 

Even with the West system stuff - The thicker you go - The more hazy things become.


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## Oneal-Woodworking (Apr 14, 2013)

aaronhl said:


> West System 105 Resin and 207 hardener is a nice clear finish. It does seem pretty think to cover pocket knives...might need a boat load of resin but you can do it. You might even want to do it in sections, just make you give whatever divider you use several wax coats so you can pull it off. You might want to find a way to heat the mixture cut to pour smoothly. And the tip to put a flame on the surface to get rid of air bubbles is spot on. Once you pour the epoxy you will notice little bubbles. All it take is a little heat. I use a blutane torch because it have a solid stream to pinpoint bubbles. goodluck


Adding heat with the West Systems stuff you mentioned above can be both good AND bad.

Heat is what cures the resin. Adding too much hardener (It only takes a few pumps too many to mess up) WILL create a lot more heat and this can cause two problems at the same time. 1) The 'heat' will sort of 'steam' more bubbles out of your wood and 2) the 'heat' will speed up the curing and the resin will begin to set-up before all the bubbles have had a chance to rise to the top. Once the stuff starts to set-up - Any bubbles still inside are there to stay. 

I have one project that I *ruined* that literally looks like someone tossed an Alka-Seltzer off into the mix. Nice and clear though - So people can see just how bad I bubbled the mess up! LOL! :yes:

A few fewer pumps on the hardener only adds a few more days to the curing time but allows any bubbles more time to rise to the surface. When I follow the EXACT mixing instructions with the West Systems stuff the bubbles are generally manageable (if stirring slowly) and it cures slow enough to be able to use a razor blade to pull any bubbles caught down deep to the surface. (talking about pouring something around 1 1/2" deep here and a few inches wide at most) 

A few months back, a couple of guys with lots more experience (than me) with the West stuff and resins in general came by the shop and saw the piece I *ruined* with all the bubbles. They briefly explained how they use a vacuum pump setup to 'pull' the bubbles out and claimed it was a LOT faster and easier that way. These guys were nice enough to NOT start laughing as soon as they saw the mess I made with the resin but I have NO DOUBT in my mind that they started cracking jokes as soon as they left. :yes:

I got to invest in a good vacuum pump set-up now. Still shopping around for all that and trying to learn from others.


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## bauerbach (Mar 25, 2012)

maybe you could pour the knives into small blocks first... that way you can focus on any trapped air and if it goes really wrong, you can choose to discard that knife.

when you put the blocks into place and pour around them, there shouldnt be any hint of what you did.


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## epicfail48 (Mar 27, 2014)

That's why this all sounds familiar to me, Jimmy DiRwsta did something similar on his YouTube Chanel a while back. Here's him doing a box top with some curios thinly coated:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4fEwm6QahrM
And this one is a stool built up to a completely flat surface, which is what I'm assuming youre wanting to do: http://youtu.be/oSPoYnTTfQk

Product he use is called envirotex lite, linked here:http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/32-ounce-envirotex-lite-pour-on-finish-729723/
Never used it personally, but from what I gather it's an epoxy resin designed to be used as a finish that's poured on for a high build. Its also $30 for 32 ounces, vs west systems $100ish


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## johnep (Apr 12, 2007)

> I got to invest in a good vacuum pump set-up now


Old fridge motors have been used.
johnep


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## Ganoga (Sep 16, 2014)

And this one is a stool built up to a completely flat surface, which is what I'm assuming youre wanting to do: http://youtu.be/oSPoYnTTfQk

Now that link has me looking for smashed dead animals to put in the table too. And to think I just threw away a perfectly good road killed squirrel last week. 
That is what I want to do with the knives. The stuff I used for testing was Farmwood Glaze coating from Home Depot. It is really clear, and the bubbles were easy to get out of it except the bubbles caused by lack of sealing items well, which continued to come out as it hardened. 
After looking at others now, I see the Farmwood type (50/50 mix) is easy to use (more foolproof) as you just have to make sure you mix the right amount.


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## mana (Mar 13, 2018)

Ganoga said:


> And this one is a stool built up to a completely flat surface, which is what I'm assuming youre wanting to do: http://youtu.be/oSPoYnTTfQk
> 
> Now that link has me looking for smashed dead animals to put in the table too. And to think I just threw away a perfectly good road killed squirrel last week.
> That is what I want to do with the knives. The stuff I used for testing was Farmwood Glaze coating from Home Depot. It is really clear, and the bubbles were easy to get out of it except the bubbles caused by lack of sealing items well, which continued to come out as it hardened.
> After looking at others now, I see the Farmwood type (50/50 mix) is easy to use (more foolproof) as you just have to make sure you mix the right amount.


Exactly, I had the same experience...


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## RJenkins (May 28, 2020)

RTG bar & table epoxies usually work totally fine for that.


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