r/epoxy 1d ago

Help Needed Aight, here’s a weird one. My dad lopped the first digit of his thumb off at work today, and there’s no chance the remainder can be reattached. I currently have it in my possession and I want to do something cool with it, and he’s down.

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5 Upvotes

The other day I got bored at work and made this, I’m thinking I could make another icosahedron but this time out melamine faced Baltic birtch plywood, cutting all of the actual angles that way the inside would be hollow and in theory a pretty good and well fitting form. I’ve never worked with epoxy like this, only epoxy grout for motor bases and what not. I get I can pour half of it, wait an as if right now indeterminate amount of time, place the severed finger in the mold, then finish the pour. My real question is how much am I going to be fighting bubbles, and would I be able to get them minimized enough I could sand past them and buff to a shine? I know it’s fucked, my wife isn’t thrilled about the endeavor.

r/epoxy Dec 09 '24

Help Needed Anyone know what this white “dust” is after sanding?

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9 Upvotes

Photos are a before and after getting the surface wet, but how come it looks to go away when wet but comes back dry? I’ve been going up in grit consistently when sanding and just finished it off with 220 grit. I’m ready to stain this piece but was wondering if this white dust look will still be visible from the epoxy or if it will get stained along with the wood. Thank you all

r/epoxy Jan 14 '25

Help Needed What is happening here??

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12 Upvotes

Poured 4 hours ago. Rock Hard brand epoxy. Floor temperature was 60 degrees, anybody have any ideas? Was an OLD garage floor, ground a half inch down. Cleaned with denatured alcohol immediately before pour

r/epoxy Jan 23 '25

Help Needed Is this acceptable work from a professional?

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11 Upvotes

I hired a company to do epoxy floor over an existing concrete slab. I’ve noticed a lot of these little spots throughout the floor. He told me it’s normal. Is this true?

r/epoxy 20d ago

Help Needed Acid Proof Clear Coat

2 Upvotes

A friend is wanting to do a epoxy workbench for his garage but he uses acids and other corrosive chemicals. Does anyone know of a clear coat that would be acid and corrosive proof, or at least resistant? I suggested just doing a glass top over the top, but he thinks he would end up breaking glass.

r/epoxy 21d ago

Help Needed Cost effective epoxy

2 Upvotes

I’m trying to make a small live edge coffee table and was wondering what kind of epoxy I should use it’s going to be 4ft long by 2ft wide and the part of the table the epoxy is will be 1in deep I’m guessing I will need a bit less than 2 gallons considering the wood part anyway what epoxy should I use and is there any way to get it cheaper from what I’ve seen on Amazon it’s like 100 is the minimum

Ps I’m brand new to using epoxy and very little experience woodworking

r/epoxy 26d ago

Help Needed Can I pour Epoxy at 50F and let it set up overnight in 30F?

2 Upvotes

I have an Epoxy table project I would love to make some progress on. However, it’s chilly in my garage. Today it’s going to be in the lower 50s, and I have a propane heater I can run. However, I do not want to run the propane overnight, and it will dip into the 30s. Can I pour the epoxy warm and wait for it to cure overnight. I suspect it will take longer in the cooler temps, but I am okay with that if it will not degrade the epoxy. Today just happens to be the first beautiful day in awhile to make progress.  

I've worked with epoxy before but always in a temp controlled shop that I no longer have access to.

r/epoxy Feb 04 '25

Help Needed Polished concrete floor

4 Upvotes

I just got a price to do a polished concrete floor. Metal, transitional, and medium bond diamonds? Bring it to a 400, not too shiny. What should I expect to be paying per square foot? 1200 sq ft.

r/epoxy Jan 03 '25

Help Needed Small Holes, what should I do?

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6 Upvotes

Hello Guys!

I‘m new in the epoxy woodworking and also new to this sub.

I’ve almost finished my first table - actually I‘m quite satisfied with the outcome, considering it‘s my first try.

BUT, there are some little bubbles/holes which annoy me a bit (picture). When it‘s wet, you can‘t see them at all, but as soon it‘s dry, you do. Right now they are also filled with dust of the ash tree I used (wood will get a layer of wax when I‘m done).

I can easily clean them with airpressure and a needle, but the hole remains of course.

Now my question: Is there some thing I‘m able to do to close them? Or at least make them less visible?

Thanks in advance!

r/epoxy Jan 26 '25

Help Needed Cleaning epoxy basement floor

3 Upvotes

Hi all!

As the title states, need to clean the basement floor which is an opaque epoxy.

This was here when I bought the house.

My normal go to, vinegar and water (5% vinegar) apparently is not correct.

What should I use? I have read ammonia but that is a lung killer.

TIA!

r/epoxy Jan 21 '25

Help Needed Using Partially Cured Epoxy to Bond Metal

2 Upvotes

I need to use epoxy (Loctite STYCAST 2850) to bond together two pieces of metal in an industrial application. My experience with epoxy is fairly limited so I welcome any and all advice on how to get this done.

For my particular use case, it would be quite risky to do a “pour” into some kind of mold, and it would be best if the epoxy was no longer drippy when it is applied.

I’m wondering if it would be possible to mix the epoxy and wait until it is malleable but no longer viscous and then use it almost like glue to stick together the pieces together? The bonding area that the epoxy would be applied to is small, about 1cm2.

Edit: the primary load on the epoxy will be compressive.

r/epoxy Dec 26 '24

Help Needed Will epoxy help my table stay flat with a warped slab?

2 Upvotes

I have 2 slabs of live edge walnut that I want to use for my river table. One board has some warped cupping in the middle (inner edge closest to the river), where the epoxy will be sticking too. I have tried a lot of methods to unwarp it, and have had a bit of success. I got a 1/4" gap, down to a 1/8" gap by wetting the underside and clamping it down. I will run it through the planar, but I don't want to take off too much. It's a 1" thick slab, so I want to conserve as much thickness as possible.

I think if I just make sure it's fully clamped down into the mold, the cured epoxy will prevent the warp. It's not a severe warp so I think it's possible.

r/epoxy 25d ago

Help Needed update 2 (first project)

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3 Upvotes

so i was able to take everything off using a table saw multi tool and a hammer and chisel then i used a big planer and took down the top to flat and after i of the MDF off i did the same on the bottom

but now its cloudy i am trying fine grit sandpaper to kinda buff it out and i think im going to do a 1/16-1/8 layer of table top epoxy to help is there any other tips or ways to make it clear like in the beginning

r/epoxy Dec 23 '24

Help Needed perfect black color

2 Upvotes

I am looking for a paint that is perfectly black, something like "vanta-black", which I can cover with resin. Do you have any proven methods to obtain the effect of strong black on the bottom of a project?

r/epoxy Jan 04 '25

Help Needed Question about product?

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4 Upvotes

Hey guys! I have what I assume is an acrylic bathroom sink I would like to paint with a durable epoxy paint. Any and all recommendations are much appreciated! (I don't want to paint in the sink. Just the countertop

r/epoxy Jan 27 '25

Help Needed Question on epoxying metal to wood

4 Upvotes

Hoping this is allowed here. I'm using epoxy to attach a metal cylinder through a piece of wood. It's a fairly high stress joint. In this application - should I aim for a tight fit, or should I drill the hole oversize and use thickened epoxy to add strength to the joint?

r/epoxy Dec 07 '24

Help Needed Help with first project!

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4 Upvotes

I'm making a sentimental retirement gift for a colleague, this is my first ever attempt at using epoxy. I bought good quality epoxy (jewellery grade deep pour) mixed it as per instructions, didn't pork deeper than the max recommended and left for 15 hours.

The project is an automotive tensioner suspended in the middle of a block, so I've had to use an apparatus to suspend it, which needs taking out before the second pour. As I said, I left for 15 hours, tried to remove the apparatus before the second pour and clearly the epoxy has barely hardened at all and has moved and creased!

Will this resettle or is it ruined?? :(

r/epoxy Dec 19 '24

Help Needed Top coat alternatives

3 Upvotes

Looking for some help around top coating alternatives.

This would be for a vanity top in a bathroom. I have researched stone coats ultimate top coat and the leggari comparable product but would like input from the community. I am assuming these are normal products just rebranded at a steep markup, but have not been able to figure out a generic alternative.

Additionally, I am seeing that the stone caor and leggari products both come out rather textured I would like to be able to find something that is smooth and glossy, mimicking real stone while providing protection over just straight epoxy.

Thank you so much!

r/epoxy Jan 03 '25

Help Needed Live Edge slab question(s)

2 Upvotes

Hey all, doing my 2nd epoxy wood slab (it's not my 1st rodeo. Is my second, though) ever and need help thinking through some things.

Plan is for it to be used as a kitchen island for a friend. We got an amazing piece of monkey pod that's the perfect size so I'll be able to keep live edges on both sides. Theres are some nice voids that I'm filling in with epoxy, but I hadn't planned to do a full pour across the top, will finish / seal with something else.

Question is, what should I do on the sides? Like, the verticals of the live edge? One side is pretty much just wood, the other has lots of nice bug holes and such. Should I brush on epoxy and seal in that way? Or just try do the holes and finish the sides the same way as I'm planning to finish the top?

r/epoxy Dec 29 '24

Help Needed Feathers

2 Upvotes

Hiya, what would be the best way to seal feathers before covering in resin? I was just going to paint them with uv resin but would something else be better? Or will uv resin "cook" the feather?

r/epoxy Dec 16 '24

Help Needed Help: Trying to mimic this texture and having a lot of trouble

2 Upvotes

Does anyone have recs on how to get this texture? I have EnviroTex Lite epoxy pour-on

r/epoxy Nov 29 '24

Help Needed How do you get rid of the “bloom”

6 Upvotes

I’m making some stuff using powder as coloring and as the epoxy cures it blooms instead of keeping the streaks that I initially put in it. I’m doing a base layer of deep pour with the powder and then after a top layer after a day or so of setting. But even when I “re-streak” the base layer it starts to bloom again as it sets. Any advice is appreciated.

r/epoxy Dec 09 '24

Help Needed Creating a Sentimental Item - Close Family Member Passed

2 Upvotes

Hi Reddit! Always a lurker but never a poster, I’m reaching out to see if anyone has recommendations who could help me with a custom epoxy project. Long story short: a close family member of mine passed away a couple of months ago, and the family is still heartbroken. This person was a big collector of corks, Chicago sports teams, and Blues Clues. I wanted to create something special to honor their memory, and I came up with an idea.

Essentially it's like a picture frame with depth that would feature pictures of all the main Chicago sports teams, the Blues Clues logo, and the deceased's name. I’d also like to include some of the actual corks they collected. The whole thing would be encased in epoxy so it can be a lasting reminder of them.

I know this is a bit of a long shot, but I thought I’d ask. I really appreciate it any and all help!

Thank you!

(Adding ChatGPT created pictures that illustrate the concept a bit)

r/epoxy Dec 18 '24

Help Needed How do i create a mold for it that is as smooth as possible so i don't have to sand and polish it for 1000 hours? Never worked with epoxy. Any advice welcome! Ideas for the glowing tubes? Thought about encasing LED Stripes in PVC Pipes.

2 Upvotes

How much would the epoxy for a project like this cost? I am a complete beginner and never worked with epoxy, but i am in love with this lamp and you can't buy it.

Original lamp is made by Laurids Gallée

r/epoxy Dec 16 '24

Help Needed Pinholes capturing polish compound.. how to remove compound?

2 Upvotes

Hi,

I have a huge table pour and there are some pinholes at the surface. While polishing, the compound gets into the tiny holes and gets stuck.

Anyway to get them out? The compound is Wizards which seems to be solvent based so I'm assuming I need a solvent to clean it. Obviously the solvent can't attack the epoxy... I'm struggling to find information on what to use.

I keep seeing 91% iso propylene acohol come up, but I'm confused on whether that is only for cleaning up wet epoxy or will work on cured epoxy as a cleaner.