Epoxy filling bowls?

[alex grams]

I have a few mesquite bowls with some inclusions I would like to try and fill with some epoxy/stones. My question (for those who have done this) is how they seal the contours of the bowl to fill the gaps with epoxy? I try some heavy duty tape, but it doesn't seem to seal well enough, and I have a lot of the epoxy leak out. Does anyone have any tricks to forming a good seal/form for this?

Thanks in advance.
-Alex

[Dennis Ford]

I use metal foil tape, it is made to seal HVAC ducts and can be found at big box stores.

[Russell Neyman]

You might try thick CA mixed with sawdust. I have also "plugged leaks" of the crack variety with wax:.it gives a more natural look.

Filling inclusions and holes (or making them smaller) is worth a discussion all by itself. The trick, of course, is to create a feature that LOOKS like it isn't man-made. I've used colored epoxy , tree limbs, and pieces of bark with good success.

By the way, if you go the CA route, the black version is more flexible and tends to tolerate the inevitable shrinkage and warping.

[Richard Coers]

A thin coat of shellac on the inside of the bowl will also let tape stick better than to raw wood. You can then sand that out latter.

[robert baccus]

Roger that on the metal foil tape---used some last week. Might try a shot of sealer or lacquer under it on bare wood. The tape glue must be dinosaur snot.

[Pat Scott]

I've always used blue painters tape to keep epoxy in place while it dries. Never had a problem with epoxy leaking out.

[Prashun Patel]

I also use blue painters tape. If the inclusions are larger, adding a bulk filler like sawdust will make make a slurry that won't run. If the inclusions are thin, it helps to rub the filler in first, then apply the epoxy - or even ca.

[Jamie Buxton]

You can make epoxy less runny. Some manufacturers (for instance West Systems) offer fillers which thicken the epoxy but don't affect its structural properties. Or you can use sanding dust as a thickener. (I use fine sanding dust, not saw dust, so you can't see the wood particles in the hardened glue.) The sanding dust will add its own color to the clear epoxy, and make it opaque.

[Clif Moore]

Hey Alex,

Another vote for blue painters tape here. I am wondering if you have already done the final turning on the bowl and that's why you are worried about leakage. I try to fill the cracks after drying but before the bowl is finished. I mixed epoxy with transtint of various colors for whatever effect I want.

Good luck.

[Ken Glass]

Alex,
You have plenty of votes for blue painters tape...... so I'll just say blue painters tape.

[alex grams]

Maybe I either have the cheap blue painters tape, or I don't smooth the surface enough, but blue painters tape doesn't seem to have enough tack to hold and not let the epoxy run.

I did order some of the silica thickener to add to the epoxy, so I will try that too.

[allen thunem]

try letting the epoxy set up a bit before you apply it to the cracked area. just my two cents