Vacuum Chamber

[Tim Bridge]

Does anyone here use a vacuum chamber to eliminate air bubbles from epoxy mixes or wood infusion?

I had mixed some West epoxy with some filler and poured it into a cavity as a filler and it had air bubbles.
It got me thinking as to how to eliminate the air bubbles.

I searched on Amazon and found several options for chambers and pumps.
I only mix small batches from 1/2 oz to 4 oz at a time.

[Jamie Buxton]

I haven't tried this, but I suspect it wouldn't help. When I pour epoxy into a crack, I see bubbles coming up from below. I think they are from air trapped when the epoxy covers the opening. There is a bigger volume of bubbles than could be explained by air entrained into the epoxy.

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

Warm the epoxy prior to mixing.
Warm the wood with a heat gun.
Poor the epoxy a little at a time, and use a heat gun (on low) over the poured area, and any remaining bubbles should pop as they are heated.

[Kevin Jenness]

To avoid/reduce bubbles coming from the wood, pre-seal the cavity with a thin coat prior to filling it, and/or warm the wood so it will be cooling while the epoxy cures. Degassing the mix with vacuum can help (http://www.epotek.com/site/files/Techtips/pdfs/tip4.pdf) as can heating the mix to decrease viscosity and misting the surface of the pour with alcohol or acetone to reduce surface tension.