I really beginning to wonder if fill coating epoxy with a brush is a good way to go. In fact I think it’s pretty crap. Takes a ton of epoxy to do the job and lays down really thick. A Bondo spreader does a much better job of using less resin and filling in the weaves but can leave it a bit thin in places.
Anyone got any better ideas? By the way, if you feel like suggesting a West System squeegee, keep a close eye out for a large bomb headed in your direction.
My favorite squeegies are 99 cent store rubber baking spatulas, just the right stiffness/flex for me and inexpensive, the squeegies always forget to get cleaned! For fill coats I find a brush of any type allows too much resin bulk up, I like thin resin layers.
I’m not familiar with WEST squeegee. Resin-X suggests a plastic squeegee with uniform notches for their urethane resin… kind of like what is used to spread floor adhesive at a consistent thickness.
With the epoxies being thicker than poly’s and more costly, I don’t pour resin on the board, but paint it on til the brush drags and apply another patch. once I have it completely covered, I cross brush in both directions and then brush lengthwise.
I did this the first time when I had called it a bit too close to get easy coverage, I thought I had gone and done it this time, but the sanding went very easy to get to no shiny spots, Now it is my go to method of epoxy hot coating.
I do a really thorough pre-sand feather of patches and laps before hot coating, even using some used 100-220 to scuff the flats and NEVER wash with alcohol or anyother cleaner
Wouter, there ain’t supposed to be any holes between the weave, and if you do wind up with some and there is dust in them, use the tip of the brush to pump resin into the holes, if that doesn’t fill them then you are in a lot more serious trouble.
Thanks to Great White North for a tip: use a squeegee to apply a thin coat and get it quickly spread around, mostly evenly. Then come back with a brush to cross stroke it. I’ve tried it and it works well here in sunny Florida.
Also, he uses a casting resin called XP74 to apply a super thin coat for gloss. About 3 oz for a 7 foot board. It has a ton of flow additives and doesn’t fish eye. It won’t sand well, but if you are super careful you don’t need to. ( I add Add F) I wouldn’t use it for laminating, though. Only use RR.
Any suggestions of where to buy a decent heater without paying a couple of grand? I only want to heat a small room up to 25 celsius. Built in thermostat would be nice as well.