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Thread: What is causing this with Epoxy Pour?

  1. #1
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    What is causing this with Epoxy Pour?

    First time I'm trying to do an epoxy pour. It's for a cutting board for my doctor. BTW, nice thing to do to give your family practice doctor a little present. Just sayin...

    Anyway, back to the issue. I poured a test piece of epoxy with dye, using blue, but adding some additional white dye in epoxy for a swirl. When I finished pouring, the swirl looked nice. Wish I had taken a picture of it to show the before.

    But over the first 24 hours, this is what happened to it:
    Epoxy Pour.jpg

    Any ideas why this happened? What happened to the swirls?
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  2. #2
    I don't understand what the problem is. The picture seems to show a swirly pour. I suppose the "before" pic, where you said things were much different, would be great. Do you have more details?

  3. #3
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    Check this guy out he is pretty good when it comes to epoxy stuff.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksB4A-b308A
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHmRrIodAcU
    calabrese55
    Last edited by mike calabrese; 01-04-2023 at 3:37 PM.

  4. #4
    Your dye/pigment is settling during the curing process. You need to either use a faster curing epoxy or keep an eye on it and swirl as needed until it sets enough that it does not settle. This is a bit more difficult with 2 different colors because as you swirl, you just wind up mixing the 2 together.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Mitchell View Post
    I don't understand what the problem is. The picture seems to show a swirly pour. I suppose the "before" pic, where you said things were much different, would be great. Do you have more details?
    Yes, a before picture would have been invaluable. What it initially looked like was some wave like white swirls in the blue.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Verwoest View Post
    Your dye/pigment is settling during the curing process. You need to either use a faster curing epoxy or keep an eye on it and swirl as needed until it sets enough that it does not settle. This is a bit more difficult with 2 different colors because as you swirl, you just wind up mixing the 2 together.
    I'm using epoxy that sets in about 48 hours, which is what I was seeing being used online.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  7. #7
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    For sure you swirled a bit too soon. I had the same thin happen the first time I did deep pour. It is much slower setting than some of the others. The time at which to swirl is going to be different from brand to brand but if you wait to swirl until it has set to the consistency of peanut butter or a pudding it will stay put.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Lightstone View Post
    I'm using epoxy that sets in about 48 hours, which is what I was seeing being used online.
    That is most likely your problem. Try using one of the casting resins instead. Most of these take an initial set in minutes.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by mike calabrese View Post
    Check this guy out he is pretty good when it comes to epoxy stuff.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksB4A-b308A
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHmRrIodAcU
    calabrese55
    Interesting. Never heard of waiting till the epoxy was warm/hot to mix. He was recommending 140F.

    The instructions for my epoxy just talk about mixing, then pouring. Of course, they don't talk about dye powders.

    FWIW, I'm using FGCI Superclear 2.0 Liquid Glass Epoxy.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robert Hayward View Post
    That is most likely your problem. Try using one of the casting resins instead. Most of these take an initial set in minutes.
    What is the difference?
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Lightstone View Post
    Yes, a before picture would have been invaluable. What it initially looked like was some wave like white swirls in the blue.
    With what little info we have, I'm inclined to agree with Richard V, above. It could easily be a simple case of settling, and as Richard noted, continuing to mix is your enemy, you'll just end up with a blend, and lose all the critical distinction and definition.

    Assuming that's the case, his recommendation of a faster curing epoxy is a good one (or at least an epoxy which accepts an accelerant to speed the cure). Time is the enemy of complex abstracts and swirls in epoxy, you need to be able to achieve the desired state and then have the epoxy cure as soon thereafter as possible. UV cure epoxies are often used industrially for this purpose, as they can generate very predictable results in the shortest time frames.

    There are also other resins (polyester being the most well-known for excellent visual results, casting resin being the most common these days) you could look into, but that's a serious rabbit hole. With other resins you'll have very different physical properties, and perhaps additional safety concerns.

  12. #12
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    Looks like the exothermic reaction of the epoxy. It will start forming patterns as gasses are released. Usually want to come back and make a pattern before it starts setting.
    chris

  13. #13
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    The key is to let the initial pour color heat up (curing process) and get close enough to curing that when you add the swirl color, it won't have time to blend before curing. To be accurate with this (because different resins cure at different speeds), it's best to use a digital infrared thermometer like this.
    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Tobias View Post
    The key is to let the initial pour color heat up (curing process) and get close enough to curing that when you add the swirl color, it won't have time to blend before curing. To be accurate with this (because different resins cure at different speeds), it's best to use a digital infrared thermometer like this.
    https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    I watched that Youtube video above, and waited for my epoxy to reach 140 degrees. (I was using a digital thermometer for it, and was hoping for about 30-45 minutes to reach that peanut butter texture, or 140 degrees.) Well, 3 hours later, it was still at about 90 degrees. It just is too slow curing epoxy. Gave up, poured it, and went to sleep. Not to finished product I was looking for.

    Any suggestions for other brands? Obviously threw out money on this one, went for the Amazon special.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  15. #15
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    It sounds like you found some food safe epoxy good for getting cut while cooking. What brand is it?

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