Epoxy for Live Edge tables

[Michael E Turner]

Hi All,

I am slowly working on a live edge dining room table and I am getting to the point where I am ready to do my epoxy fill of the cracks and holes.

My questions are
1) I am planning on taping the cracks with masking tape on the backside of the slab. Any issue with using masking tape? Should I be using something different?
2) I am using West system as my epoxy. I am using the 105/206 with the 410 Microlight faring to make sanding easier. From discussions with the rep at west marine in my area, he suggested I use evercoat coloring agent. http://www.westmarine.com/buy/everco...04_120_004_002 I am tinting it black, and the slab is maple with a couple Peruvian walnut bowties. I know maple is a relatively tight grained wood, should I be concerned about bleeding into the wood? I have read some people use a powder filler over the liquid filler. Any reason why?
3) My plan is to make the first pour a little less soupy to allow it to pour in and set up, I was planning on going over it again with a very liquid mix that will allow it to run and fill cracks better. Anything I need to know about filling this twice? Should I be worried about the resin bonding to the resin?

Any advice the forum can offer is greatly appreciated. I have a pricey piece of wood I am working with and want to hit this out of the park.

[Keith Pleas]

I would use white (waterproof) rigging tape because I have it in hand. But I think any tape might sag - are you ok with that?

Don't know in the bleed, but if you are truly concerned coat the visible edge with CPES first.

No issue I can see with multiple pours.

[Prashun Patel]

How will you alter the viscosity? Do you have a recommended additive? If not, then using too much of A or B will alter the ability of the epoxy to set.

If you are concerned with bleed (I would not be; epoxy does not travel far into the grain, so you can sand or (better) plane or scrape it below any residue) then you can pre-coat the area with a coat of your finish.

Beware of deep or wide crack filling with pure epoxy. There is a risk of air bubbles getting trapped which can make the epoxy dry cloudy. These kinds of cracks are best filled in layers over a couple days.

For tinting (especially black) you can use a variety of things: aniline dye, India ink, coffee grounds, Peruvian walnut sawdust.

Use a slow setting epoxy, squeegee it into the cracks, and it will penetrate and fill fine. IF you really want to thin the viscosity, then you can gently heat the unmixed components.

For tape, masking tape is fine. Blue tape is fine. Scotch tape is fine. Support the tape from underneath with a clamped block or a bench to avoid any sagging. However, know that whatever tape you use will become permanently bonded to the underside, so plan to sand, scrape or plane it off after.

[Michael E Turner]

Thanks for the advice on the rigging tape. I will check west marine to see if they have it. If not, and if sag is the only concern, I can probably live with it. I am taping on the backside, and using the microlight fairing so it should sand easily. I also just bought a used Festool Rotex last night and am honestly kind of excited about spending some quality time sanding with it. (I know, excited about sanding?, I have no idea what is wrong with me either.....)

By CPES do you mean something like git rot? The stuff that makes rotten wood plastic like?

[Michael E Turner]

Prashun, I was planning on altering the viscosity by adding more or less of the fairing or filler supplied by west system. When I have done this in the past, (Repairing rotten sills on an old house, as well as repairing old support posts) this method worked well. I used the microlight fairing, and just added less to make it a little more soupy. However, the big difference here is in my previous applications I painted it afterwards, so coloring didn't matter. Obviously this is not the case on this table..

From your post, I suspect you don't use the fairing and just use the two part epoxy. Not having much experience with this, I would suspect that this is probably thinner then anything I have done with the fairing. Am I heading down the wrong path using the fairing material? Should I just be using the resin and the epoxy?

Is the clouding you mention an issue with a dark tinted epoxy?

[keith wootton]

blue masking tape is fine. west system makes graphite powder that makes a good colorant for black. adding other west fillers as well may change finished color. i mask off the top around filled area to limit the amount of clean up, but it doesn't have to be perfect. multiple pours will probably be needed and i would scuff the gloss between coats. i try to cabinet scrape epoxy, sanding can force sanding dust into pores around area. random orbital sander w/o dust collection is worst. machine sanding w/ good dust collection should be fine.

[Chris Padilla]

Blue painter's tape works fine but I'd back it up with a piece of plywood to ensure nothing sags.

Use a hair dryer or heat gun to gently warm up the epoxy while mixing (mix it EXTREMELY WELL) as well as the wood where you plan to pour the epoxy. My heat gun has the ability to stand it up on a table so mixing the epoxy while warming it up is easy.

It will flow very very nicely and really engage the wood. I don't use any special fillers or anything but adding coloring like Transtint dyes or powdered wood/sawdust is also something useful. Be sure to experiment ahead of time with the color/sawdust additives. You'll find maple flour turns a chocolate brown while pine flour turns more a maple tan/brown.

[keith wootton]

i suggest you google bubble free coating by the west system people. they suggest using some heat, but you have to be careful that epoxy mass isn't too great, or the reaction of epoxy and hardner may cause bubbles. i have also gotten bubbles when the wood continued to warm after i applied epoxy. they also suggest added additional pours when earlier coat is tacky to prevent adhesion problems (or sand between layers)

[Keith Pleas]

By CPES do you mean something like git rot? The stuff that makes rotten wood plastic like?

Yes - any Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer would work to seal the edge. But another response indicated that they didn't think that was necessary and I suspect they are correct.

[John C Bush]

Hi Michael,

I have made several slab tables and the West System works great. Blue tape usually seals the bottom of the split well. If it is more than 1/4" wide I back it up with thin plywood scraps tacked in place. The tape can sag and the resin can seep under the tape. Unseen leaks can be a mess. AMHIK. I haven't used the heat technique and have had no problems @ room temp. I haven't used thickeners either but I do a small volume first pour so there is less pressure on the tape seal. Full pours after the first pour sets a bit. I tape over the top of the split and cut out at the margin. Saves lots of sanding time. When filling large defects or bark inclusions you will be amazed at how much the resin "dissappears". Several pours are usually needed. I buy the gallon resin/quart hardener size and use the measuring pumps included to get accurate portions. Too much hardener and the stuff can get hot and bubbly and the resin is less translucent. I haven't used dyes or colorants either. Seeing the grain and natural edge colors on bark inclusions has a nice 3D look. Sanding leaves an opaque surface but becomes clear when finish is applied. I can't upload pics for some reason but PM me and I can send via email if you wish. Good luck, JCB

[Michael E Turner]

Hi all,

Thanks for all of the advice.
Here is what I have learned in summary:
1) Hands down I should just use the resin and hardner. No need for west system fillers.
2) I can tint it with almost anything and it should be fine. I should TEST it first.
3) Back the tape with a bench or plywood. Unseen spills are bad.
4) Pour small at first then pour larger pours after. Stir carefully, and if I see bubbles I can try a heat gun to get them out.

I finished up the repair work on the backside over the weekend, taped it off and I am (Hopefully) going to repair one crack on the front this weekend and then pour.

Thanks again for all the advice. I appreciate it immensely!

[Larry Edgerton]

I use aluminum duct tape for that purpose. Not sure if it is any better but I have never had a failure and it stays flat.

[Keith Pleas]

...Stir carefully, and if I see bubbles I can try a heat gun to get them out.

Well...assuming you're tinting it a solid color, then a bubble well below the surface won't matter.

But what might matter would be surface bubbles. I'm guessing that you're going to fill slightly past the surface and sand back, but if you want to remove small bubbles on the surface use an alcohol spritzer - it thins right at the surface and breaks surface tension.

[Bill Adamsen]

Like Prashun's suggestion of reducing viscosity by heating the resin and hardener separately, then mixing, had not tried that, good tip. Coat in a room with everything at a consistent and descending temperature. As objects warm they can push out air/moisture and cause bubbles.