Hello!
I was hoping for some help with information from those that may have more experience with a variety of Epoxies. I am looking to make a (rather large and about 1 1/2" deep) pour and want to do my best to get a “glass-like” finish on the resulting epoxy. I have tried to research different brands and their reviews. It is so convoluted with ads and people that I cant be sure of their credibility. If I buy a good grade deep pour epoxy and am able to vacuum it first will that negate any of the issues that would normally arise with air bubbles or are there certain physical/chemical properties to the epoxy that really make a difference. Preferably, I would like to get one off of Amazon or Locally due to my time constraints but would like to keep it under the $200 per gallon range. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Tyberius
what is your final product you are making? And when you say glass like, do you mean water clear, or just something that will finish with a mirror shine?
Most casting epoxies don’t require vacuum degassing before you pour, as they’re thin enough that air bubbles should naturally rise to the surface. Most pours are also usually so large that degassing is impractical due to volume constraints.
The bubbles might not pop at the surface though, so either allow for enough ‘head’ that can later be planned off (where the bubbles will be entrapped at the upper surface) or be sure to blow torch/co2 gas the top surface to try and pop the bubbles before the resin gels.
1 1/2 inches is relatively deep for a pour, so make sure that you’ve selected a casting epoxy that can handle that if you’re looking to do it in a single pour (which I’d recommend). Many ‘bar top’ epoxies, which were the most common before the resin river table trend took off, don’t allow for such a thickness, but there are certainly options out there that do.
There are two local Resin suppliers that might also stock epoxies of the type you want to use. One of these places is BITY (Brick In The Yard). Can’t remember the name of the second supplier. BITY also has classes and workshops.
I’m mentioning these brick and mortar local suppliers in case you want to go in person to talk about your project and get their recommendations for an epoxy, or find out if another product will work better for your project needs.
Just want a good polished glass look. Actually found my epoxy last night thankfully. Going with flowcast ecopoxy.
Thank you very much!
Thank you very much for the detailed info