Hi,
I usually fill smaller cracks or imperfections with soft wax which is easy to colour match and gives a good result. Now I make some chairs and consider to use epoxy instead as I want the additional strength of epoxy. The cracks are rather thin so I imagine it has to be low viscosity. How do you make colour matching? Any other considerations?
Thanks,
Svante
Epoxy
Posts
Re: Epoxy
Edited #2i use dry painters' pigments to color 5 minute epoxy. squeeze out some resin and then add the colors (mix & match) until you get the color you want - then add the hardener - mix - and press into the cracks. once you get the hang of matching wood colors it's virtually unnoticeable repairs.
jc
Re: Epoxy
#3Oxide powders used for tinting cement come in a wide range of colours. They are great for epoxy, and a small bottle lasts a long time.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Re: Epoxy
#4As a retired gunsmith we used to fill pores and defects with BLO mixed naturally with sanding from the stock.
It was a result of wet sanding. Where the wet part was BLO type finishing I used one called Linspeed oil.
It produces a very natural fill that color matches perfect. It takes many coatings. Apply BLO, wet sand, rinse and repeat.
Final act apply BLO and then wax. BUT that is for a wood gunstock.
Gunsmiths also use epoxy when making repairs but the epoxy color tints are limited in gunsmithing to black, brown and white. The tint is mixed with the two part epoxy. White can be used with other tint materials to make other colors like orange for a gunsite insert.
Products used by gunsmiths can be obtained from Brownells. ( I have not association with Brownells except as a CUSTOMER.)
Hope some of that helps.
Re: Epoxy
#5Instead of artists colors, dry tempera pigments also work if you can find the colors you want. However, any dry pigment will tend to thicken the epoxy, and too much viscosity is already a problem with getting the 5 minute stuff into narrow cracks. I always thoroughly mix the resin and hardener before adding anything else, to be sure I don't have problems with it curing because the additives are keeping all the resin and hardener molecules from hooking up. I also am successful with TransTint dyes, which have the advantage of not decreasing the penetration. After you have poured the mixture into the cracks, you will probably get bubbles rising to the surface. They are easy to pop with a quick swipe of a propane torch, or even a heat gun. For artist's colors, I prefer Sennelier from Jerry's Artarama. Lots of good color matching info on their website. https://videos.jerrysartarama.com/pdf/sennelier/dry_pigment_colour_chart.pdf