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I am currently working on a another project (not a guitar) where I am using System Three epoxy as a finish. Has anyone had any luck finishing with epoxy and if so do you have any tricks?

Also, does anyone have advice for getting a good satin finish?

Thanks!

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Brad
Avon, OH

Brad...I tried this with Zpoxy about 6 months ago and found it to be too soft, scratches too easily and doesn't hold a polish. Other than that, it makes a great pore filler and substrate for lacquer or shellac.

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Brad-
I've done a lot of epoxy (WEST and System 3) work, but never tried to use it as a finish coat - UV degradation means that it has to be protected with varnish if exposed to sunlight.
I do know that System Three (and WEST) will not get hard enough to rub out and get a good gloss (by guitar standards)- it is designed to stay somewhat flexible. A hard, brittle epoxy is not what you want to keep the ocean out of your bed on a stormy night!
Using a different epoxy might help. I have a friend who is a didj-maker. He (and most of the makers he knows) use Envirotex epoxy, because it is a food-grade product. Apparently it has good working properties,sands well, and some makers get it to rub up to a glassy finish.
Another possibility would be one of the plastic finishes that people use to make clocks out of tree slices, embed coins in tabletops, etc.

What sort of project are you working on?

Cheers
John

[Quote=JohnAbercrombie]What sort of project are you working on? [/QUOTE]

I am building a Kiteboard. Below are a few pictures. Kiteboarding (or Kitesurfing) is a newer sport that is gaining much popularity around costal areas. Below is a picture of the sport (a friend of mine riding on Lake Erie). You can see the board, control bar, and in the background one of the kites.



The board I made is below....The bottom is .100 thick cherry, the top is .100 thick maple. The core is foam with fiberglass and epoxy. The overall thickness is about .450".

The top with the bindings....


Part of the bottom...at the end are the fins.



The interesting part of the design is that the bottom is concave...



The top is convex...



And the whole thing is an shallow arc from one end to the other...



It was an interesting project that required an interesting 3 dimensional mold that I had to figure out how to build.

This has cut into my guitar building but has been a good project.

By the way the current finish is System Three epoxy. I like how the epoxy really sticks tight to the wood and looks very durable. UV is an issue but since the board is only out in the sun for limited hours it should hold up ok. The Epoxy dries so slow that is hard to get a glossy finish without stuff in it. On the bottom I rubbed it out and finished to a satin sheen. The top I am still figuring out what do.

Still looking for the perfect finish so I am open for ideas.

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Brad
Avon, OH

Brad-
Slick project!

I'd look to some sort of top coating, rather than depending on the epoxy for the final surface. Yo might be surprised how quickly unprotected epoxy starts to deteriorate with UV. You don't want to have to be covering up your board all the time when you are at the beach.
Varnish can give a nice finish, and I've also used Cetol Gloss as a topcoat which works quite well.

It's not an issue for you since the board has bindings, but you can also mix anti-skid granules (see your marine supplier) into the varnish if you don't want it to be too slippery. I did this on a natural-finish boat deck and it worked OK- so far (1 year).

Neat project- if you can build a guitar, you can build about anything!

Cheers

John