Greetings folks, I'm a newbie hobbyist woodworker. I just made a backgammon board. I routed out the triangles to 1/8" deep and I want to fill them with a liquid colored epoxy type material. The two products that I think will work are 'Inlace"
No answers, but a suggestion: you might find some folks over at rec.crafts.woodturning with some experience using Inlace, if you don't get the info you want here.
Please let us know what you find out and if it works for you. I have a friend who has used colored epoxy instead of string inlay with mixed results (he colored his own epoxy with some powder from an art supply store which wouldn't stay a uniform color). Why didn't you use a veneer inlay instead of an epoxy one?
Also, be careful with the thickness of the poured "inlay" with respect to the thickness and stiffness of your substrate.
I once made a BEAUTIFUL chessboard out of 1/8"-thick plywood squares glued onto 1/4" plywood. I had a raised border around the chessboard, maybe an 1/8" deep, and filled the playing surface with epoxy resin.
Long story made short: the curing resin caused the whole chessboard to curl up into a bowl shape. It was BAD, maybe a 1/4" difference between the edges and the center. It was a total waste.
The moral of the story: make sure you've got a heafty substrate or adequate bracing to keep it flat.
-Zz
I haven't used those products, but I use regular 30 minute two part epoxy to fill defects and knots on a weekly basis.
Sometimes, I tint them with artist's oil colors (a LITTLE, not a lot!). Black, burnt umber, burnt sienna, and yellow ochre, are all the colors I've needed.
T:
I've used polyester and epoxy resins in other applications. Casting a foundation layer without lustrous waxes used in some top coat is a good idea for grab and minimization of the exothermic reaction which may cause difficulty with thinner wood. If you want a matte finish waxes or the two-layer approach might not be an issue. If really necessary, heat can be carefully moderated by ground ice in plastic bags below the wood as long as you are also careful to keep the resin catalyzing temperature above bottom point in the range literature will specify. Both layers should have a UV inhibitor unless you will make the top layer truly opaque with dyes or pigments.
If you find the range of colorants available insufficient, look at ceramic glazes which can be very finely powdered; it is also a very wise idea to make sure that any improvisational use of these glazes does not involve materials which might be toxic when released in dust if you decide to sand the entire board for a mirror finish. The difficulty with sanding is the differential erosion of interfacing plastic and wood along with the differential loading that can occur unless. Do experiments which test this approach with the particular materials proposed. Again, a matte finish is another matter.
In your application, you hopefully can avoid the use of thixotropic compounds which invite trapped bubbles. Remember to stir in any colorants slowly and let the mix sit before catalyzation to allow release of any introduced bubbles. Lastly, do your pour evenly and in some place you can cover without dislodging floaters in the process. Bugs, dust and debris love curing resin. See fossil amber for proof. You might want to run these points by your tentative suppliers for their reaction. The report of anything interesting you learn would be welcome here. . Regards,
Edward Hennessey
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.