AdrianMartinus Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 heys just thought i would give you a little bit of a back story before i jump into my questions. In the last year my brother and i have quit our day jobs and started woodworking full time mostly using old skateboards as our material. for those of you who dont know skateboards are made with 7 -1/16" plys of hard maple and different manufactures die the plys with a water based die to keep there boards unique, each company with different color patterns. my brother and i then cut the boards in to different pieces and make turnings, furniture and wall hangings from them. over the 3 years we have been experimenting with them we have managed to work out most of the kinks making degripping them and stripping the paint off them in to a profitable situation. sorry for the long winded explanation but i thought of it as an informal introduction as well. so for some of the wall hangings we rip the boards into thin strips and lay them onto plywood in a fashion similar to laying a hard wood floor toenailing the strips from the side with a pin nailer making geometric patterns or just randomly laying them. after we belt sand the surfaces flat and fill them with a black wood wood filler to fill any gaps between boards. but alot of the time the filler will end up falling out after sanding it back to expose the wood as the gaps between strips are small. so we were planning to try using epoxy over the entire surface to avoid this from happening and having to re fill and waiting on it to dry. so my questions are these. what can you add to the epoxy to color it? we really like the look of the black filler we are using but obviously not the proformance. do we need to seal with shellac first to avoid blackening the whole piece? is there something other epoxy that would work better? another filler i dont know about that has a little more grab to it for filling gaps? is this going to cause finishing problems? we do one coat danish oil then water based poly via hvlp afterwards. we were looking at the west systems from lee valley, is that the best option if we do deside to go the epoxy route? thanks alot theres more pictures on our instagram if your interested or curious. http://instagram.com/adrianmartinus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 I use Speedball India Ink to tint epoxy. http://www.amazon.com/Speedball-2-Ounce-India-Super-Black/dp/B0007ZJ8TM/ref=sr_1_1?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1417703023&sr=1-1&keywords=speedball+india+ink Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Tarbell Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 Hopefully someone has an idea as to if the dye in the epoxy would stain the underlying wood. Sadly, that someone is not me.. but i wanted to say that the artwork you posted on instagram is truly amazing and beautiful. Nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 Very intriguing. Where in the world do you get all of the skate boards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMartinus Posted December 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 thanks guys, local skateshops save them for us. most skateboards bring there old ones in and set up the one they bought right at the shop. thanks for the link! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 You can try this, (sorry this website won't let me post the picture ) sold at Golfsmith stores. It's black golf club shaft epoxy, about $10.00. Use it all the time to re shaft golf clubs. Nice and black, has a 24 hour cure time so it wont set so fast. I hope this helps. I would suggest testing on some scraps. -Ace- http://www.golfsmith.com/product/30089618/clubmaker-shafting-epoxy-1-2-pint-black-fe/?lcode=CI&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=30089618%20N%2FA%20N%2FA%20N%2FA%20N%2FA&prof=21&camp=7814&affcode=cr545521&cid=46589455991&networkType=search&tcode=GOOGLE&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product+Listing+Ads-_-All+Product+Listings-_-&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.golfsmith.com%2Fproduct%2F30089618%2Fclubmaker-shafting-epoxy-1-2-pint-black-fe%2F%26lcode%3DCI&gclid=CJ_Svsv6rMICFZCEaQodKycA8w Edit for the link in lieu of picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted December 4, 2014 Report Share Posted December 4, 2014 Check to see if Golfworks sells black golf club epoxy in large sizes. I keep it to work on golf clubs, and use it once in a while when I need some black epoxy. I have plenty of experience working with West Systems, and it's as good in quality as the West. It has to keep clubheads on a little shaft while hitting a ball at 120 mph. Sorry. I posted that before I read the whole thread. Golfworks has a larger selection than Golfsmith. They even have their own brand, which is fine, and less expensive than name brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Awesome artwork! I'll pitch in that it probably isn't necessary to seal the wood if you use the colored golf club epoxy, but I'm not sure about epoxy mixed with ink. Try it on a scrap first, but I bet the color stays in the epoxy rather than bleeding into the wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick A McQuay Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Adding to the original question -- would polyester resin work as well as epoxy and be less expensive? - sent via Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob493 Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Adding to the original question -- would polyester resin work as well as epoxy and be less expensive? - sent via Tapatalk My wife does polyester resin castings, can't say it would be any cheaper, and its FAR more finicky as well. More room for error with it, and being really thick and in wood, I would say you're probably better off sticking to epoxy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMartinus Posted December 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 we will definitely be doing some tests with the golf club epoxy thanks alot for the tip! the polyester resins might be worth a try aswell if the epoxy doesn't work. Although im hoping it does because the one time i worked with the resin was very unpleasant and when it was all said and done it didn't even end up curing due to a bad ratio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick A McQuay Posted December 5, 2014 Report Share Posted December 5, 2014 Okay. I've never worked with polyester resin but when I priced it at Lowes it was significantly cheaper, but I've never priced epoxy in bulk. One thing I don't like about epoxy is that it looks muddy, that's why I am curious about poly resins. - sent via Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davewyo Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 I've never had the slightest problem with the tint(ink) in the epoxy bleeding out. It just isn't a concern. The problem is getting it into the cracks without voids underneath. I put it on with a screw and after applying I scrape the point of the screw into the void to make sure the epoxy has gotten to the bottom. Thinning it would more than likely help, but I've only done it on small scale for knots and such,not for a whole surface. I can tell you...It's a bummer to sand when it's cured. Just as an aside; I've also seen where the epoxy "plugs" in a wood floor have popped out over time. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Mosher Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 Boat builders use this technique all the time. Here is an excellent article on a technique that may work well for you. I use So-Strong colorants in the resin I use but I am not positive it would be compatible with whatever product you are using. Smooth-On is where I buy most of these types of product other than West System Epoxy which I get from Jamestown Distributors. I think if you called either of these places they could help get you going in the right direction. Make sure to do samples before getting too crazy. The clear polyester sheet over the epoxy works AMAZING, comes out like a sheet of glass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 Try potting resin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boatworks Today Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 West system makes a black tint that can be added to their resin. Would be worth checking out. I think what I would try is to apply a thin coat of clear epoxy (use their 207 hardener) to the overall piece. This would basically be a barrier coat for the next application which would have the black tint. You'll just need to be sure that he initial clear coat does not fill in the low spots. Roll it on with a foam roller and tip off with a brush going with the grain. After this tacks (within a couple hours 70F), next coat with the black tint can be applied in the same manner, but a little thicker and brush across the grain to fill the seams. Let it cure, sand away the black leaving only where it filled the seams; topcoat with whatever you prefer My other suggestion would be to keep it simple and after a seal coat of shellac, use a dark general finishes glaze to fill the low areas. sand flush and topcoat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMartinus Posted December 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 thanks boat works i think we will be trying the general finishes glaze first as im doing the math on the epoxy situation and its not looking good for our thin margins on these pieces. but i would love to experiment with the glassing techniques rick suggested one day after the holiday rush is over. thanks so much everyone i think we have more then enough options to sort this out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bob493 Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 Okay. I've never worked with polyester resin but when I priced it at Lowes it was significantly cheaper, but I've never priced epoxy in bulk. One thing I don't like about epoxy is that it looks muddy, that's why I am curious about poly resins. - sent via Tapatalk Epoxy quality is absolutely key here. Z poxy and west systems are crystal clear and dry rock solid. Its comparable to a decent polyester resin in price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 Ya know....was thinking on this some more. When you say black wood filler. Are you talking about wood filler that is actually Bondo, the auto body type filler with is a 2 part system? I read something or heard something from Charles Neil Woodworking http://www.charlesneilwoodworking.com they were doing an old wood floor, barn wood or something and used body filler tinted with Transtin dye for void filling of nail holes and such. May want to play around with that. Probably sand better than epoxy. Just a thought. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMartinus Posted December 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 thanks ace! i will definitely try that as i have some of that already. have only though of its use on paint grade projects. will definitely be trying this when the shop slows down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Another thought is a product called rock hard, (like you were in your 20ies) it's waterbased, has a bodybuilder dude on a red can. You probably could dye it black with India ink. Never used it but it's very inexpensive. Not sure how it sands? Anyway, report back, tell us what you figured out. -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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