Quote:
Originally Posted by Mojo7
Hey guys I've been struggling with the epoxy finishing. I'm using e-tex lite and use childrens medicine syringes to measure accurate parts of each part. I also read about adding 10 drops or so of acetone which I tried yesterday. I've built a turner that turns at 6 rpm and heats to 90-95 degrees. The trouble I've been having is dimpling and a bumpy finish. When I apply the epoxy it seems to be pretty thick and drags a bit. Should I add more acetone to thin it out a bit? I've tried putting both bottles in warm water for 10 minutes before mixing and spin the plugs in the turner for 20 minutes to warm them up. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong? Thanks, Mark
|
using E-Tex is truely one of those things that apply to the K.I.S.S. theory.....forget the syringe.... they are messy and cause more problems than they solve...there is no need to add anything to it... working in small batches of warm epoxy keeps it flowing just fine...
here is what after alot of trial and error i use and have done for hundreds and hundreds of plugs without a problem.. NOT ONE...
First...after paint has cured for 24 hours... clear /scratch coat your plugs...I prefer lacquer and I apply it over any and all water based paints, including Createx.. and never an issue( provided you dont touch the plug or bang them together until the lacquer dries)with lacquer over the base paint( acrylic enamel)I would recomend testing on one "scrapper" for compatibility..what this does is seal the paint.. be sure to hit the end grain as well.. wood once was a living orginisim.. even in death it breaths.. when you heat the wood ( plug in the spinner) air trapped in the wood expands and is released from the pores in the wood( even in sealed wood).. the less dense the wood .. the more you tend to have this problem .. this adds to the gassing issue in the e-tex.. the epoxy will naturaly exhaust itself...it's the released air from the plug that causes the bubbling around the eyes, gromets( end grain in their own right) and end of the plugs... on occasion you will have multiple bubbles from in one spot.. this is the plug releasing the air from a large pore... sealing the paint seems to end this problem...
First warm the epoxy...( I use the bulbs inside my spinner, but a pan with hot water to soak the containers in works as well) to 70-75 degrees... mix your epoxy ( e-tex) in small batches... I use a plastic tea spoon for measureing... 3 teaspoons of hardener .. 3 teaspoons of resin.... adding the resin to the hardener seems to make a better mix( I also read it in the West system epoxy directions )I use the container electrical tape comes in as I add each tea spoon I use a round ended splint to scrape the fluid from the spoon so each spoon full is accurate...when you begin the mix.. mix in both directions.. being sure to scrape the sides... once the mixture is clear and no longer cloudy you will see it begin to gass freely.. it is ready to use.... when i apply th epoxy... i use a acid brush ( 5/16 ) I secure the bristles by adding a bead of super glue around the edges where the bristles meet the handle.. this keeps stray hairs off of the plug.. i start at the head of the plug.. as the plug spins.. i apply a heavy coat around the entire plug( head end).. carefully working the epoxy towards the tail.. I keep adding epoxy floating a fairly thick coat... as i reach the 1/3 point( towards the rear) I now go back and move a "wave" of epoxy evenly from the head thinning the actualy ammount left on the plug until I reach just beyond the 1/3 point... i reload and continue the rest of the plug in this manner... you can work much quicker with this method and end up with a better finnish because you are floating a layer of epoxy rather than constantly dragging a thin layer of differant thicknesses... when you reach the end of the plug, as you "pull" epoxy off of the tail, the excess can be wiped into your container.. this method alows enough epoxy for 6: 8" plugs or 10 -12: 6" plugs.... it's fast the epoxy is starting to get hard to work just about the time you are half way through the last plug.. but not to the point of detriment..