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Tips and Buyer's Guide
Epoxy’s behavior is predictable, if not always desirable. If you inadvertently put cap A on container B, it will glue itself on. Label all the lids and mixing sticks to avoid confusing them and starting an unwanted reaction. Also, always use clean containers and mixing boards. Contaminating newly mixed epoxy with partially hardened epoxy can accelerate the reaction, leaving you less time to work.
Caution: When using epoxy solvents, work outdoors in a well-ventilated area, or wear an OSHA-approved organic vapor respirator with fresh cartridges.
You don’t have to wait for the consolidant to harden completely before filling with the epoxy wood filler. Mix the epoxy filler and use a stiff putty knife to work the first layer into the wood. At 70 degrees F, you’ll have about 30 minutes before the epoxy starts to harden. The epoxy is formulated to allow enough working time under normal conditions, but temperature is the key factor. Heat accelerates the reaction; cold slows it down. Use this to your advantage. Work in the shade and keep the epoxy materials cool (about 70 degrees F) when you’re mixing and applying the epoxy. Then if you want to speed up the hardening process, use a hair dryer or a spotlight to warm up the epoxy repair.
Tip:
Don’t waste epoxy when you’re making large or deep repairs. Cut or carve blocks of wood to fill most of the cavity. Then use epoxy paste to glue the block in before covering it with additional paste filler. Use the same kind of wood for the repair and line up the grain in the same direction.
You Don’t Need Fancy Tools to Shape the Epoxy
Shape the epoxy with your fingers and by patting it with a scrap of wood. Don’t try to get the shape perfect, and make sure to leave enough material to match the surrounding profiles. On warm days, the epoxy will be firm enough to start shaping in about three to four hours. In cool weather, allow the patch to harden overnight. If you can’t dent the epoxy with your fingernail, it’s hard enough to start filing. Once it hardens, epoxy is easy to shape and sand with standard woodworking tools. Start by roughing out the basic contour with a Surform plane or coarse rasp. Follow the shape of the surrounding wood. When you’ve ground off the major humps and the shape is beginning to emerge, start working on the details. Depending on the profile you’re re-creating, you may need flat, round or half-round wood files or rasps, or wrap 80-grit sandpaper around a dowel or fold it around a stick and use this to grind out the shape. Use the profile of the surrounding wood to guide your tools as you gradually file away the epoxy. Fine-tune the shape and get rid of the sanding marks by sanding with 80-grit and then 120-grit sandpaper.
Tip:
When you do the final sanding, make sure to rough up the surface of any hardened consolidant that may be coating the surrounding wood. Otherwise, the paint may not stick.
Don’t worry if you file away too much epoxy or didn’t use enough to begin with. Many repairs require a second application. Dust off the repair and mix and add more filler. To make a thinner filling material that’s easier to apply, first mix a small amount of consolidant. Then mix a small batch of filler and add some of the consolidant to the filler to reach the desired consistency. If you’re in a hurry to sand again after you touch up the repair, heat the new filler with a hair dryer to speed the hardening process.
Protected with a good paint job, your epoxy repair will probably outlast the surrounding wood.
Buyer’s GuideThe following companies manufacture epoxy products for wood repair. You can buy directly from the manufacturer or through special suppliers.
Abatron Inc.: (800) 445-1754. www.abatron.com
Housecraft Associates: (973) 579-1112. www.conservepoxy.com
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