Epoxy!

The bathroom countertop, before installing the backsplash and faucet.

Take out a letter and this would be a 4-letter word. It can certainly make you say a few.

When you want to fabricate a one-of-a-kind countertop, it’s very likely you’ll reach for counter/tabletop epoxy. Either as a clear, hard coating or a vehicle for special effects. Unique slabs of wood with interesting grains and colors are good candidates for a clear coating. Want to transform a piece of plywood? Then you’re most likely going for a special effect which involves adding something to the epoxy.

Working with epoxy requires reading and following manufacturer instructions to the letter. 1-to-1 formulas are somewhat less complicated to work with than products which require a small amount of hardener in proportion to the resin. There is a slight fudge factor for large batch 1-to-1 products, when measuring, which will still allow the product to harden. Anyone who has worked with small casting 1-to-1 resin projects might find the similarity to tabletop epoxy comforting. But when you scale up, the complexity and opportunities to screw it up increase with the size of your project. Especially when you’re adding something to your resin.

Let’s just tackle internet learning for a moment, before you plan any large projects. There is no reason not to watch all the videos you wish, and read as much information as you can find about various brands/forms of epoxy. Ask questions of technical support staff for any product you might want to try, too. They should be able to assist you with purchasing the correct epoxy for your project. It is possible learn a lot, with plenty of inspiration. However, none of this is a substitute for actual hands-on practice. Using resin isn’t particularly cheap. Neither are the substances you might add to it. Our bathroom countertop (smallest of 3), pictured above, had 7 colors of pearlescent micro powders added to the resin. It may not take a lot of the powder to get the effect you want. Still, when you price most versions of this stuff, you pay a rather substantial amount of money for a small amount of material. Kristal is a life-long artist with a well-stocked studio. She had 4 of those colors in her stash already, along with the correct amount of resin. Cost wasn’t an immediate factor for the bathroom countertop. When you calculate the costs for a finished piece, it can be very tempting to skip smaller practice pieces.

Take the sting out of cost by starting with projects you can actually use or give as gifts. Such as a small tabletop or wall art. Begin with clear pours and learn the basics of working with this stuff before tackling add-ins. More petite projects will also allow you to experiment with your favorite epoxy brands/types to determine their tolerances for your grand plans. Epoxy is notoriously tricky. It can be affected by temperature and humidity. Did you stir it enough to cure? Including sides/bottom of the container? Did you stir it too long, and now it’s heating up? When it gets hot you pretty much have no hope of pouring and spreading it in time. Not to mention it can almost get hot enough to burn.  There is a learning curve, and you can pretty much guarantee there will be a project at some point which won’t behave the way you expected. It’s only thru practice you learn what works and how to trouble-shoot issues. If you’re a note taker, photographing and recording your procedures/conditions for each project you complete could certainly be helpful when that one piece doesn’t cooperate. For those working toward the goal of completing a larger project, make sure someone else is learning and practicing with you. Additional sets of hands may be necessary to make sure all the epoxy is stirred, poured and spread properly before it starts to gel, especially if you’re working with a fast-cure product. Larger batches of epoxy also tend to heat faster (sign of chemical reaction between the 2 parts.)

This isn’t a seat-of-the-pants type of project, either. It takes planning to make sure you have enough material to finish the job, the proper containers/tools, protective supplies like disposable gloves/drop cloths, workspace and a large enough block of time to supervise the cure. All your needed supplies have to be within easy reach once you begin. The steps necessary to complete the job should also be rehearsed in your mind first or written down. And discussed with your work partner to make sure everyone knows their part. While you’re in the middle of a pour isn’t the time to be asking questions, especially when you begin working with add-ins. It takes time to incorporate paints, tints and powders, which could cut into the time you actually have to apply the epoxy. No, it’s not a good idea to add that stuff when you’re first mixing the 2 parts. Especially if the add-in is opaque. The epoxy we’ve been working with turns cloudy when first stirred and clears again once thoroughly mixed. You don’t want to risk the success of your pour by missing this visual cue. There is also the issue that a large batch not properly stirred is going to be skewed if you’re dividing it up for various add-ins.

To make a larger batch, or several small batches, when adding other materials such as paints or powders? That is the question. The level of complexity increases either way. The small batch route means you have to be really good at attention to detail. Every batch has to be measured and stirred correctly. Don’t get a container or two right, and the entire pour is affected. But this method can buy you more pot time to add your goodies, do the pour, and play with it. We used the multiple small batch method for the kitchen countertop, which turned out fine. To increase the odds of success none of the pots were stirred until both parts of resin were in the last container. Each of us did about half the containers. All the colors were premeasured and ready to add the moment the resin began to clear. Then we started pouring. Our favorite method of mixing and manipulating the colors was to just use our hands, while wearing nitrile gloves, of course. It was fun. And meant there were fewer tools which needed to be cleaned or thrown away.

Another option for manipulating pot time would be temperature of your workspace. Going a couple of degrees cooler might buy more time. Once your work is done however, it’s best to use the optimal temp recommended by the manufacturer for a cure. Whichever route you choose to reach your destination, make sure you use a torch after the epoxy is spread. It is virtually impossible to keep air bubbles out while stirring. The flame will pop the bubbles, as well as assisting the cure process. After the first sweep, check to make sure all the bubbles are gone. You may need to go over the surface again, or just a few small areas.

Rehabbing existing countertops is going to require some extra thought before you decide to coat them with epoxy. It is messy stuff. You can cover things with plastic and painters tape, but miss one small spot, and the epoxy will find it. Which could mean epoxy in your sink or on an appliance. Pour-in-place has other issues too. The epoxy will run off rounded edges like bull-nose. Which means it will be on the floor. What steps are you willing to take to make sure the epoxy doesn’t migrate to your flooring via your feet? To minimize the likely-hood of an epic mess, it would be better to remove the countertops and place them on a larger, level work surface which can catch the drips. The RV renovator has to consider all the following issues for an in-place pour. Is your RV itself perfectly level? If it’s not, the epoxy will run downhill and possibly right off the surface you’re trying to cover. The product won’t self-level, and if it doesn’t stay thick enough, curing may take longer or not cure at all. What are temps and weather conditions for the time allotted to your project? Will you be able to provide the correct conditions for a proper cure? You may need to run heat or AC. Plan on having enough propane, shore power, or both for at least three days. Working in a confined space with more than one person, if the project needs it, offers challenges too. Choreography will need to be planned ahead of time, to stay out of each other’s way.

All this info may make epoxy sound scary. And it will be, at first. To become consistently successful with it, you should be able to embrace failure occasionally. You will learn something from it if you’re willing.

Kristal was immensely pleased with the bathroom countertop. It turned out beautifully, exceeding her initial expectations after it cured. The countertop covering our new electrical equipment was another matter. A bit more than twice the size of the bathroom countertop, the second project was nothing but a problem child. It was large enough not to be suitable for one person using the same techniques. The larger batch of resin heated up far too fast to work with it. Kristal had just finished dividing it up and mixing in the various colors. She tried to work as fast as possible. After she poured the first color and was reaching for the second, she was horrified to discover the remaining colors not only hardening in their containers but melting them. That initial batch of resin was a total of 64 oz. Ouch! The first pour of colored resin hardened so fast on the countertop, there was no hope of scraping it off. Extra coatings of plain epoxy, and a good amount of sanding to level the surface again, stretched a three-day project into almost a week. To salvage the piece without further waste, Kristal made the decision to rub the base-coat paint into the sanded resin surface, brush the powders/glitter on it, then cover with one last coat of clear resin. This change resulted in a surface whose dark blue base color was more prominent and gave a somewhat subtle appearance to the pearlescent powders. It’s still a nice piece in its own right, even with a few small flaws. None of these countertops, including the kitchen, are exactly the same anyway. Now the front countertop also has an interesting story.

This story does illustrate one of the biggest issues with epoxy. When a project goes wrong, can you still salvage it, or is it necessary to start over? If your product hardens, saving an item is possible. Unless your time frame won’t allow you to do the necessary work. When it doesn’t cure, starting over might be the only option you have. Unless you can completely remove the uncured batch, it will contaminate the next pour. For the person who abhors creating waste, guilt over throwing a failed project away is bad enough. Increased cost of reaching the eventual goal doesn’t help either. But the most difficult part of scrapping your hard work is separating your emotions from it.

Your emotions are attached before you ever begin a project. Otherwise, there would be no motivation to begin and see it thru in the first place. In the project realm, there is nothing worse than the sick feeling in your stomach when you realize your brilliant idea is not working out. It’s only natural to struggle with disappoint for a bit. This is another area where practice helps, though. It doesn’t just make “perfect”. Folks with a long history of DIY have experienced their share of failures. You eventually reach a point when pragmatism becomes second nature. The left side of the brain is engaged from the very beginning. Anyone who says the creative process is strictly a right-brain activity has no idea what they’re talking about. You can’t plan and organize any of the technical aspects of a project without the left side. It may still take some time to resolve issues, but when you’re in the habit of consciously engaging your logical side, you’ll soon find yourself moving into this phase much faster. This particular skill is also helpful in recognizing when you’ve done everything possible to make an item stunning, and now it’s time to leave it alone.