Charlie E Posted May 24, 2023 Report Share Posted May 24, 2023 (edited) My 6 year old grandson has become a Star Wars fanatic so I cut this for him. It was going great but it had so many tiny parts, toothpick sized light sabers, I decided to do my second ever resin pouring to protect it. It looked beautiful for a few moments. Won't go into detail but hundreds of bubbles started coming out from under the layers just as it was heating up/hardening. Too late to use the heat gun again. I made a bigger mess pulling the top hardened layer off to see if anything was salvageable. Stuff's a nightmare to get off your hands. On the bright side I got the pattern for $2 from this site for paper cutting, Kricut machines that has tons of patterns similar to this that would make cool scroll saw projects. Some with several layers. https://lightboxgoodman.com/products/kirigami-star-wars-1-paper-cutting?variant=36701434249378&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google+shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwpayjBhAnEiwA-7enayNJvEBM0RG4SdyNJlu2cKNhjTWIP2B7cobCu93gYazShLBlnG7EwRoC2kwQAvD_BwE Edited May 24, 2023 by Charlie E Gene Howe, FrankEV, wombatie and 4 others 2 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Moreton Posted May 24, 2023 Report Share Posted May 24, 2023 Looks like that was almond pretty cool! Charlie E 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dak0ta52 Posted May 24, 2023 Report Share Posted May 24, 2023 I'm not sure how thick your piece is but I've seen some that were what I would call a mess run through a thickness planer or sander which made them look good as new. If the bubbles still show, dust it with some gold or silver glitter filling the holes then pour clear epoxy over the entire piece. Then the holes would look like stars. Sand it down to a polishing compound to bring out the shine. Just an idea. danny and Charlie E 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie E Posted May 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 6 hours ago, Dak0ta52 said: I'm not sure how thick your piece is but I've seen some that were what I would call a mess run through a thickness planer or sander which made them look good as new. If the bubbles still show, dust it with some gold or silver glitter filling the holes then pour clear epoxy over the entire piece. Then the holes would look like stars. Sand it down to a polishing compound to bring out the shine. Just an idea. Thanks Rodney. I'm afraid this one is just a totally lost cause. I started over today but I'm not going to try the resin again. Dak0ta52 and Gene Howe 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieC Posted May 25, 2023 Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 Charlie, I am so sorry to hear that....The problem I have had with epoxy pours is if there are any air pockets under the wood, bubbles will come out forever...so to avoid that. I put a very thin layer of epoxy down (I use Jess Crows from Total boat....I get it from Woodcrafters) and use it as a glue to the back board. I paint it onto the back of the picture and the back board and stick the two together. Let that sit up for 4-6 hours (not too tacky) then do my next pour over the top. I also put really good packing tape around the entire edge of the picture so it doesn't leak out. My 2 cents. Charlie E, danny, Gene Howe and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatie Posted May 25, 2023 Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 Oh Charlie that is awful, I bet you didn't know whether to curse or cry, I would have done both. Better luck next time. Thanks for the link, my grandson is also a massive Star Wars fan. Marg Charlie E 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RabidAlien Posted May 25, 2023 Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 Very nicely cut!!! I haven't had much luck with epoxy either, but may try my hand at it again. Charlie E 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barb.j.enders Posted May 25, 2023 Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 You are one step ahead of me. I haven't tried epoxy. Charlie E and danny 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted May 25, 2023 Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 Unless a super thick pour is needed, applying resin with a cheap paint brush usually gets the job done if area coverage is all that's needed. Not sure, that for small projects, simply coating with resin is all that efficacious, anyway. Charlie E 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveww1 Posted May 25, 2023 Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 better luck on the next one Charlie E 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie E Posted May 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 10 hours ago, MarieC said: Charlie, I am so sorry to hear that....The problem I have had with epoxy pours is if there are any air pockets under the wood, bubbles will come out forever...so to avoid that. I put a very thin layer of epoxy down (I use Jess Crows from Total boat....I get it from Woodcrafters) and use it as a glue to the back board. I paint it onto the back of the picture and the back board and stick the two together. Let that sit up for 4-6 hours (not too tacky) then do my next pour over the top. I also put really good packing tape around the entire edge of the picture so it doesn't leak out. My 2 cents. I nearly messaged you beforehand since your wedding piece turned out so nice. That method would have worked perfectly I believe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie E Posted May 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 9 hours ago, wombatie said: Oh Charlie that is awful, I bet you didn't know whether to curse or cry, I would have done both. Better luck next time. Thanks for the link, my grandson is also a massive Star Wars fan. Marg You’re welcome. There’s lots of cool Star Wars stuff on there as well as other stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieC Posted May 25, 2023 Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 Charlie, Darn it that was such a cool picture, too! If you do it in the future and want more details, please message me. I think I gave you the gist of it in this thread but something else might come to mind. You could try sanding that down to the wood to "open up the bubbles" (you may need to poke a few to really open them up and then pour a nice thin layer over the top (it will fill the bubbles especially if you poke them with a pin to make sure no air is trapped with the new pour), then use your heat gun per usual... It might be worth a try.... Charlie E 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted May 25, 2023 Report Share Posted May 25, 2023 (edited) On new wood or, porous stuff, spraying sanding sealer before the pour will mitigate some of those problems. Often, I'll brush on a seal coat of resin, also. Edited May 25, 2023 by Gene Howe red river, MarieC and Charlie E 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAIrving Posted May 26, 2023 Report Share Posted May 26, 2023 18 hours ago, Gene Howe said: On new wood or, porous stuff, spraying sanding sealer before the pour will mitigate some of those problems. Often, I'll brush on a seal coat of resin, also. Yes, seal the wood before you pour, especially if the wood is porous, such as plywood, oak or such, and most especially the edges of plywood. Then you can do a deep pour. I prefer to use a deep pour epoxy. It is thin and fills in all the small places. It is slow to set and I let it set overnight, maybe even 2 days depending on the weather. That gives it time for any bubbles to float to the surface and resolve themselves. I do not use a heat gun to speed the curing as that might cause bubbles and, at the same time, speed the curing to the point that the bubbles do not have time to float to the surface and resolve. Hope this helps. Don't give up just because you had a bad result on the first try. Fab4, MarieC and Gene Howe 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieC Posted May 26, 2023 Report Share Posted May 26, 2023 (edited) Charlie, I am glad @Gene Howe and @TAIrving posted as well...they are sooo right. You need to seal the wood some way first. What I do is I use a spray lacquer because I have so many weird fret holes and my wood is about 3/4 inch thick so I want to make sure I get a good cover. Also, I hang my wood on a clothesline so I can spray it in all directions Edited May 26, 2023 by MarieC Gene Howe 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie E Posted May 27, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2023 (edited) On 5/25/2023 at 12:50 PM, Gene Howe said: On new wood or, porous stuff, spraying sanding sealer before the pour will mitigate some of those problems. Often, I'll brush on a seal coat of resin, also. 13 hours ago, TAIrving said: Yes, seal the wood before you pour, especially if the wood is porous, such as plywood, oak or such, and most especially the edges of plywood. Then you can do a deep pour. I prefer to use a deep pour epoxy. It is thin and fills in all the small places. It is slow to set and I let it set overnight, maybe even 2 days depending on the weather. That gives it time for any bubbles to float to the surface and resolve themselves. I do not use a heat gun to speedBe the curing as that might cause bubbles and, at the same time, speed the curing to the point that the bubbles do not have time to float to the surface and resolve. Hope this helps. Don't give up just because you had a bad result on the first try. 8 hours ago, MarieC said: Charlie, I am glad @Gene Howe and @TAIrving posted as well...they are sooo right. You need to seal the wood some way first. What I do is I use a spray lacquer because I have so many weird fret holes and my wood is about 3/4 inch thick so I want to make sure I get a good cover. Also, I hang my wood on a clothesline so I can spray it in all directions So, yesterday before I read any of these posts I cut it again, this time in pine. I put down a thin layer of resin and glued the fretwork inside the frame as @MarieC mentioned. All went well until I did the second pour about 4 hours later. As I said I hadn't read these posts yet and I did not seal the pine. Sure enough, after about 10-15 minutes, thousands of tiny, milky looking bubbles came from the pine. What I now know as off gassing. I started the third cutting today, out of my favorite wood to work with, red oak. While I think I might have better results after two miserable failures, I'm not going to use resin this time around. I'm sick of cutting this thing out and don't want to risk it. I cut a piece of plexiglass the shape of the frame and will cover it with that. Edited May 27, 2023 by Charlie E MarieC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarieC Posted May 27, 2023 Report Share Posted May 27, 2023 Oh, I am so sorry I forgot to mention that earlier. Wow, Charlie, you must be crazy fast to cut it three different times! I am still working on my second picture....Anyway, I am glad you finally got it done and I am sure your grandson will love it. danny 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amazingkevin Posted May 29, 2023 Report Share Posted May 29, 2023 On 5/24/2023 at 11:12 AM, Charlie E said: My 6 year old grandson has become a Star Wars fanatic so I cut this for him. It was going great but it had so many tiny parts, toothpick sized light sabers, I decided to do my second ever resin pouring to protect it. It looked beautiful for a few moments. Won't go into detail but hundreds of bubbles started coming out from under the layers just as it was heating up/hardening. Too late to use the heat gun again. I made a bigger mess pulling the top hardened layer off to see if anything was salvageable. Stuff's a nightmare to get off your hands. On the bright side I got the pattern for $2 from this site for paper cutting, Kricut machines that has tons of patterns similar to this that would make cool scroll saw projects. Some with several layers. https://lightboxgoodman.com/products/kirigami-star-wars-1-paper-cutting?variant=36701434249378&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google+shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwpayjBhAnEiwA-7enayNJvEBM0RG4SdyNJlu2cKNhjTWIP2B7cobCu93gYazShLBlnG7EwRoC2kwQAvD_BwE Hey!? i see some of my work under yours,lol Charlie E 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie E Posted May 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted May 29, 2023 22 minutes ago, amazingkevin said: Hey!? i see some of my work under yours,lol Good one, Kevin. amazingkevin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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