Suggestions for First Attempt at an Epoxy River Table

[TomInNC]

On 5/1/2022 at 2:40 PM, BonPacific said:

If your goal is a glass-like finish on the epoxy, I like 3M's 06068 polish. I've also had decent results with Chemical Guy's V34. The v34 works better as a single-stage from a rough (400/600 grit) finish than the 3M stuff, which I generally use as a final polish after 1 micron papers (roughly 8000 grit).

I've never polished anything before. How do you apply this?

[BonPacific]

On 5/1/2022 at 12:09 PM, TomInNC said:

I've never polished anything before. How do you apply this?

For a table you'll want a powered polisher or a buffing attachment for a drill or grinder (I haven't tried any of the grinder attachments). I've typically doped a cotton pad with the polishing compound for bulk work like this, though I've never done a full table proper, just smaller resin pieces and lathe work.

What finish are you thinking of applying to the wood? If it's clear and high gloss you can probably skip doing a full polish on the epoxy. If you're going for a non-film finish then the polishing becomes more necessary.

[TomInNC]

On 5/1/2022 at 4:01 PM, BonPacific said:

For a table you'll want a powered polisher or a buffing attachment for a drill or grinder (I haven't tried any of the grinder attachments). I've typically doped a cotton pad with the polishing compound for bulk work like this, though I've never done a full table proper, just smaller resin pieces and lathe work.

What finish are you thinking of applying to the wood? If it's clear and high gloss you can probably skip doing a full polish on the epoxy. If you're going for a non-film finish then the polishing becomes more necessary.

My brother hasn't given me any information on what he wants for the finish yet, but I did get the impression he wanted something glossy. In some of the videos that I've watched, Rubio Monocoat seemed to make the river tables look great.

[justaguy]

On 5/1/2022 at 2:09 PM, TomInNC said:

I've never polished anything before. How do you apply this?

I used Griot's polish.  I used to have cars that I would polish once a year.  Pour on, spread it out with your hand, then polish off.  There are different grits to polish, just like sandpaper.  I would go coarse, medium, and then fine.  Each step removes the "scratches" from the previous step, replacing them with finer scratches.  Wipe the residue after each step.  A slightly damp cloth works well.    I had a random orbital polisher.  A fine mesh scotch brite pad under a random orbital sander would work just as well.  Must be random orbital or you will end up with swirls.