epoxy fisheyes over redwood...

General Discussion
1

Not about surfboards but…

I made a simple redwood display shelf of redwood. It was to hold potted plants and might be subject to water spills so I tried coating wtih epoxy. Hoping for a “bar top” finish, I spread a coat on pretty thick but it fisheyed like crazy. I wiped it down with denatured alcohol and sanded the heck out of it and recoated. The fisheyes came through again.

I’m thinking I should have sealed the redwood before coating but at this point, I have a lot of epoxy on there and wondering if there is a good way to seal the fisheyes to keep the next coat from doing the same thing. There is a raised frame around the edge that would make a complete strip difficult.

Alcohol wipes and sanding don’t seem to be removing what I believe is the wood oil coming through.

Any ideas?

2

Howzit John, Could it be the oils in the redwood,I know new growth lumber has this problem. Why not just use Spar varnish. We used to use Sickens for a lot of our outdoor projects but I wasn’t happy with the results as far as durablity was concerned. Since I started using varnish thing are lasting a lot longer and the glossy finish looks great also. Aloha,Kokua

3

Hi Kokua -

I was hoping for the thick “bar top” look. Like the old hatch cover tables you’d see in restaraunts?

Since the top will frequently get wet, I was thinking something thick would stand up better.

Any way to seal the fisheyes so additional coats will cure smooth?

Even though my plank is laminated with a center stringer and raised frame around the edges, I’m ready to just scrap it and start over.

4 
Howzit John, By sanding the finish and recoating you will probably get the finish you want without the fish eyes. I did a bar top with varnish a while back and put down 5 coats and the finish is really nice. So far I 've done the bar top, some window sills, table tops,a bench and will be doing more bar tops and some out door furniture next. These are all items that are at a beach front home so durablilty is a factor and since spar varnish is used on wooden boats and wooden( older ) water skis, it just seems to work very well. I have used epoxy on a dolphin carved out of redwood that I restored,never got fish eyes.Aloha,Kokua

P.S. I have seen many bartops and tables that were done with poly or epoxy and if there was no fiberglass laid down the tables would crack after a while.

5

Hi Kokua -

Do you think I can varnish over the fisheyed epoxy without the oil coming through?

6

Howzit John, Now that’s a question I can’r answer since I’ve never tried varnish over epoxy but the epoxy should have sealed the oils in to the wood. When ever working with poly over wood I sweet coat the wood first to keep the oils sealed. I have always done this as a prep before glassing balsa boards and tail blocks. I guess the thing to do is check the varnish can for applications and see if you can use it on finihes besides wood.Aloha,Kokua