I'm planning to mix up about 1.5 gallons of Envirotex and flood my bar top with it. This is polymer will not be allowed to run over the sides in that I aiming at a 3/16 inch coat over the marble top. I have an edge all around so my plan is to flood up a sheet of the polymer to make the finished bar top surface. I have heard that you need a torch to remove the bubbles that might accumulate in the mixture. Do any of you have any tips that might apply. Has anyone ever attempted such a project? Thanks. Wolf-==-
I have used epoxy but not the product you are using. Bubbles appear when the area you work in gets warmer as the day goes on. Several ways to elimate the problem. Easiest way is to heat the top with a heat gun, apply epoxy. If any bubbles do appear ,apply heat gunto bubbles and they will pop.You have to stay with it as more bubbles may appear.Most of the time bubbles will appear if you start out in the morning and the temperature rises as the day goes on.A hair dryer will work instead of heat gun. mike
Most of your bubbles will come from the inherent chemical reaction AND from the marble itself. I would suggest at least one thin coat to seal the marble first. You can scuff and repair any nasties at that stage. Then lay on as much epoxy as you want (lol..less than 1/4 due to heat) Use a heat gun to coax out any bubbles.
Sealing marble (if that is your main objective so it won't stain) can be done without all that drastic coating. There are some serious sealants on the market which apply like water and protect for up to 15 years. All your granite countertop suppliers will sell that stuff. (Some of the better quality, teflon based, grout sealers will work just fine.)
I just worry that the epoxy will discolour over time, thassal.
I forgot to add this: (painfully obvious, DAMHIKT) make sure that top is flat (like a within 1/32" or better) and level. LEVEL. That should have been obvious to me too. Otherwise it will all float to one of the bar and drip over the side and fall on the floor and make a mess, right THROUGH a dropsheet.
Or so I'm told.
Oh come on guys..that was a LONG time ago! And I didn't get any of it on my Led Zep poster OR my black light, okay? And how did *I* know that the remaining mixture would start to smoke and stink and warp the gallon metal paint can? Huh? Huh? THEN I find out that WEST (Gougeon Bros, Bayfield MI) isn't really made for bartops, but to glue together ICEBOATS! I should have known, I got it from an uncle who was a master shipwright woodworking genius. (BTW, and there may be a lesson in this for some of us, all he had was a MOTHER of a bandsaw and a MOTHER of a jointer, the rest were handtools. He married one of my dad's sisters, so none of his DNA is in Robatoy. My uncle KNEW the ratios.
Here's a post I made recently on how to do Envirotex properly (and without the blowtorch). Addendum, the reason alcohol is not mentioned in the instructions is probably because if you thin it with more than
10% alcohol, it weakens the epoxy (becomes like crumbly rubber). This is next to impossible to do if you're just spraying the surface.
Another thing you might do is talk to the guy that makes tomb stones. He might be able to grind the high spots down and leave you with a nice polished marble surface.
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