Official Luthiers Forum!

Anyone ever use the z poxy pt-39 as a pore filler? It say it a 30 minute epoxy which is much less than the pt-40 everyone is using.
I started playing with it and here is my opinion after two coats applied.
It is much thicker like a gel and the hardener is a light green color. I was suprised at first by this but after applying it the color appears amber like the pt-40. It was dry to the touch in a couple of hours and I applied it fairly thick. I started sanding it with 220 after about 10 hours and it gummed up the paper. I switched to 180 and had less gumming but still got some. I applied a second coat that was thinned with DA 50%. I got some goobers from the paper towel in the finish. Also, it appears that on my highly porous woods I will need at least one more coat. Maybe the resin has shrunk. Possibly I should also apply two thick coats before mowing it down and then applying a thinned coat.   
This zpoxy thing just seems so messy and time consuming to me. Is there anyone using sprayable sanding sealers/pore fillers instead of zpoxy?

I only have experience with the Z-Poxy finishing resin. It sands very nicely and doesn't clog the paper. I tried some 3M and Duco epoxies and they sanded the same as what you described.

_________________
tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I am using the zpoxy resin but the 30 minute pt-39 as opposed to the 3 hour pt-40

If any hard epoxy gums when sanding it is not fully cured. If you use finishing epoxy long enough it is not messy provided you are careful in application. I work on a bout a 3" dia. at a time. starting at the furthest reach working toward myself. this way I don't reach back over where I have been. Speed is not an issue with me efficacy can be but I have found that Speed Kills. Pardon the pun

Don't leave a thick coat on top of the wood if you are using it as a
filler. I use the 5-minute Devcon from the hardware store and it
works fine. Mix a very small amount (like the size of a pea),
squeegee it into the pores with a dulled single edge razor (also
round the corners of the blade). Squeegee down any that is left on
the surface, and you won't have to sand much. After each stroke of
the blade, wipe the blade with a small rag damp with alcohol (just
like when you squeegee your windows). This avoids leaving a bead
of it on either side of the blade with the next stroke. The 5-minute
stuff should be left overnight before sanding.Howard Klepper38385.6062731482

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

I use the pt-40 but I bet the pt-39 does the samr thing when thinning, and that is it cures softer and "could" clog your sandpaper. Try an experiment mixing it straight then lay it across a piece of wax paper, next mix it with about 15%-20% alcohol and lay that across some wax paper. let them cure for 24 hrs at room temp. After 24 hrs try "bending" the epoxy. I'll bet you will notice a difference in hardness. I use pt-40 straight, it's already thin enough.