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I think I may have screwed up the order of operations a bit
Yup.
But because you're using an oil finish it's not quite as bad as it seems.
Inside the cracks and other defects the epoxy won't stick as well as it would to bare wood, however once cured drying oils aren't oils any longer so the bond won't be as terrible as one might expect. Long wait for the ...
5
the white haze stayed all the way through 180 grit.
180 paper is actually fairly coarse in the grand scheme of things. It is a perfectly fine final sanding grit for wood in most cases (and sometimes you can get away with stopping below this) but for other materials it's quite common to sand far beyond 180-220 grit because the scratches left by paper of this ...
5
I've just checked the website for this epoxy. The pot life is not the same as the curing time.
It states:
Potlife: 30 minutes at 23 ° C
Curing time: Initial curing 10-12 hours at 23°C. Full cure after 7 days.
So there is nothing wrong here!
4
Trying to recall my grade 11 chemistry here, but the makeup of the two parts are not identical and one has molecules that fit in the empty spaces of the other part. You can observe the same behaviour with other liquids like mixing water and alcohol. Or an easier to visualize example is imagine pouring sand into a container filled with large marbles.
The ...
4
Why is clear epoxy not used?
Two related reasons I can think of plus a third unrelated. The first is just because people don't want to make their fills transparent (or to put it another way, they really like coloured fills), at a guess this would account for most of it. The related reason is that maybe some users know getting the fill completely bubble-...
4
Since it doesn't relate to the other things we're discussing in the Comments we can go ahead and Answer the main query you posted here.
In which order should I glue, stain and apply epoxy resin?
The normal construction order would be:
assemble — glue together in this case
do any filling that's needed — epoxy in this case
and then stain if you're ...
3
There isn't a single definitive answer to this because many of the options have variables that affect the properties of the set/hardened product. Obviously this includes any blends of an adhesive with a wood dust or other powder, but it's also relevant to straight epoxy products and other two-part fillers where there is a separate hardener — in some products ...
3
The comments have a lot of good discussion about wood choice, but to directly answer your question, yes. You can use epoxy to make a surface harder. However, you need to be careful about your choice of epoxy.
Normal hardware store epoxy is designed for repair work, i.e. bonding two parts together. To do this effectively it needs to be quite thick. This ...
3
Basically, I want to avoid situations I've encountered in the past where the dyed epoxy seeps into the wood surrounding the void and creates a stain or blotch that is difficult to impossible to sand out. I've experienced this with boards that exhibit spongy or lightly-rotted areas around the void I'm filling.
The part I've bolded is the main issue here, ...
3
Should I look for another way to fill the void?
This is a matter of opinion but I don't think so. Epoxy is one of the best, if not the best, materials to fill voids and fallen knots. It has become virtually the default choice for this purpose for this reason.
It should be mentioned that a void at the edge of a board does represent a significant weak spot, ...
3
It's a knot. Or at least you are treating it like a knot. Knots don't match final finish color in virtually all cases.
The basic approach - fill with black epoxy. Trying to be subtle but it won't match - fill with a dark gray epoxy. Tossing subtle out the door, fill with epoxy and turquoise (or whatever) chips, polish it up & make it (more of) a feature....
3
You will need to experiment. Try ten small batches with increasing amounts of hardener. Check results and repeat based on previous results and go from there. I would look for another product while doing this, though.
3
When you apply the poly the scratches will fill and the cloudiness from the sanding will disappear
2
I am wondering if it would be possible to dye black gorilla glue and use it to fill cracks in wood instead of the well known black epoxy method?
No. Polyurethane glues foam up as they cure, and the foam isn't particularly strong. If you try to use it to fill cracks, you won't get the hard, solid surface that you get with epoxy, but instead a crappy, brittle ...
2
I have used hot glue on occasion to form a “dam” around the perimeter of the resin. Simple and effective. Hot glue guns and sticks are very cheap. Easy to remove later.
2
Obviously levelling the slab to begin with would help here, checking in both directions and along both diagonals with a level1.
but this time I think a little silicone/hot glue boundary might keep the epoxy from running over again
You want to be very careful using anything containing silicone around woodworking. Silicone contamination is notoriously ...
2
I've used clear epoxy and tinted, it just depends on the project. Clear is generally harder to get right. If you have contaminants they will show or cloud the final product. For me, tinting is either with black or very dark brown, no matter the wood color. I do that so that it does not look like I was trying to match the wood, which would be really tough ...
2
You need to consider what effect you're chasing. Epoxy as a filler always looks 'foreign' because it has a different surface finish, and because it neither takes stains nor ages the same way as the surrounding timber.
So it will always show.
If you can't hide it, flaunt it.
Which is to say, use a contrasting colour(color)
If you're wanting to make an ...
2
As I'm sure you'll have picked up from elsewhere, you can't repair this. I will bet you'll find at least someone who's tried to recover from something similar to this by pouring in more epoxy but clearly (pardon the pun) the best idea here is starting again. Even assuming you patched the cracks and somehow they turned out well enough to be acceptable you ...
2
Unfortunately this is one of those things which comes down to the ever-regrettable it depends.
There are numerous variables that are important to any specific situation of sanding epoxy and they go beyond the basic question of high/low speed being better in general.
Normally I would have asked what sander you're using (not just the type, but the exact sander ...
1
Many "live edge" slabs/boards have structural issues like voids, knots, cracks, etc. which can be filled using two-part epoxy. To prepare the surface, sand with coarse grit sandpaper to remove dirt, debris, etc. and to expose any hidden defects and so on.
Because most large defects generally extend to the opposite side of the slab, you will have to ...
1
If slab is already flat and prepared the correct order is: fill wth epoxy, sand the fills flat, then apply oil, then apply poly.
Some cracks may go through thickness of wood, to prevent epoxy leaking seal back surface with tape.
Since you will apply poly you do not need to sand above 180.
Wipe all oil not absorbed by the wood.
Wait for the oil to 'dry' ...
1
A layer of cured epoxy will stop epoxy from soaking into the wood at least as well as lacquer will. Skip the lacquer and just do another layer of epoxy.
1
Is it safe to fill in with resin/epoxy or anything that will level it without damaging what's there?
We don't know quite what you're facing but epoxy doesn't damage cured poly so you're fine as far as that goes. But if there's poly anywhere where the epoxy is intended to be you won't get any decent bond.
All film finishes offer some level of protection from ...
1
If you are sure the parts are epoxied together there isn't much you can do. Epoxy is forever for most mortals. It depends on the kind of epoxy, but most are resistant to most common solvents. So you would have to know the exact kind and hope that you can find the appropriate solvent, and then hope it didn't destroy the material around it.
If it is some other ...
1
Because epoxy is a high build film finish, you want the surface to be flat and level before you put something else on it.
So that means either sanding the surface flat or pouring another layer of epoxy to cover the missed spots and the rest of the surface.
Epoxy will achieve a high sheen if you sand to high grits, likely wet sanding as you get into the ...
1
Beautiful results.
Absolutely, epoxy takes other finish very well, as it is completely inert once its hardened. That looks great by the way.
I have used spar varnish on top of epoxy for a boat before. I've also sprayed high gloss clear coat - if you have a hvlp spray gun, I recommend that over a can for better results.
A very fine sanding with 400 grit ...
1
The choice is entirely aesthetic. I have only ever used clear epoxy to fill cracks because i think that looks best. Sometimes a striking effect is achieved with other fillers too, eg. turquoise.
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What sort of machine or tool would I use to cut them all down flat to be even with each other?
First check your wall is flat, many are not. I'd use a ruler that is longer than the longest dimension of the artwork and place it edgewise (not flat) against the wall in many horizontal, vertical and diagonal orientations. Many walls are not flat.
Do the dowels ...
1
The only way I can see to do it is to thicken the epoxy with something like colloidal thickening silica, but every thikener shoul work reasonabily well, until it is thick as a filler and then apply it with a spatula in a thin layer, wait until the epoxy is almost cured and then apply another layer (for the workability time refer to the resin manufacturer ...
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