Hi All ,I need some advice as to what type of epoxy I should use to fill v carve numbers and figure carving on small boxes.I guess with the v carve I would be no more than4 mm deep if that.
Thanks for any help.
I used a fairly cheap brand on Amazon called Nicpro. Don’t believe the part about bubble free.
I bought a torch to deal with bubbles, but depending on the project it didn’t work so well and I got a heat gun.
I tried the resin which sets with UV light but for this type of work it is basically useless. It works ok for clear but not at all for dark colors. More accurately it will harden a skim layer but the stuff below will never harden.
Lots of people use Total Boat. I think when you are doing small pours like coasters pretty much anything would work. If you are doing larger projects I would spend more to get a really good brand.
I have used 'Magic Resin" (also known as East Coast Resin) with success. I have used both their tabletop and casting epoxies. The trade-off are:
- working time – tabletop shorter, casting longer
- Setting time-- tabletop shorter, casting longer
- viscosity – tabletop higher, casting lower.
For depths up to 1/4" (6mm), you can use either.
Lower viscosity helps let bubble rise to the surface so they can be eliminated.
To reduce bubbles, you need to seal the wood where it is cut. Some people use shellac, or a spray shellac, or a thin coat of brushed on epoxy.
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I use MAS Table Top Pro. It is good for up to .25" deep. If you carving is over .25" you should use a slow cure type. The Magic Resin is pretty good and does not get hot and has a lot less bubbles than the MAS. The MAS gets quite hot and has a lot of bubbles come up.
Which every type of resin you use try to seal the wood with shellac or an epoxy sealer. Air comes up through the wood and causes bubbles.
The MAS is ready the next day. I have a box top ready to sand off.
Always overfill epoxy fills because epoxy shrinks slightly when cured. The table top is best to keep busting the bubbles with a torch or heat gun for about 30 minutes or until not more bubbles form. The deep pour slow cure you have to keep after it until the bubbles stop because it is just a little more viscus than water for a LOOOOOOOONG time.
I have a heat gun that works pretty good. It is an off brand but uses Dewalt 20v batteries. I also have a Benzomatic propane torch. that works better but the one I have goes out if you tip it over too far. They have others with flexible hoses. The reason the propane torch goes out is like a BBQ bottle should be upright with the valve at the top. The reason is is liquid propane in the bottle and the gas flows when up right. When turned upside liquid propane tries to flow and that will not stay lit.
The propane torch is better at raising the bubbles but a good hot heat gun also works.
This is the one I have and it goes out when the gas gets low or you tilt it too far up.
I would not recommend one like this. The one with a flexible host would be better.
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