Good tip on oiling the wood. I'm working on an epoxy river table and I was taping the edges so I wouldn't get compound on the wood and noticed the edges were super clear. Now I'll seal the wood and not worry about the compound touching the wood.
Wow! What an excellent video. I have watched several videos from other channels, but they come up short, skipping steps or glossing over details. You provide concise explanations, but with much needed detail on both the procedure and the products used. This will have immediate impact and take my epoxy pours to the next level. Thank you. I'm heading out to your website to look at the products now.
Thanks for the feedback, we try and cover every process in detail and not miss anything out. We think it's important to show not just the result, but how to get there and the work involved.
This was a very good educational video. I found it very easy to follow the steps and feel comfortable and confident, that when I try it now I should be in good shape hopefully.
Thank you, your step by step instructions were fabulous and very understanding. I've built a set of cornhole boards, and a friend poured the resin for me. I would appreciate it if I could se d a pic after I have co pleated the project.
Good video on polishing epoxy, however the danish oil finish doesn't protect the wood from getting stained/stripped off by the polishing compound as you can easily see at 10:50, and from my experience as a woodworker who works with epoxy every day this is something I still struggle with to find a solution, would be nice if there was actually a good method in polishing the epoxy without messing up the wooden sides other than just epoxying the entire wooden surface just to be able to evenly sand/polish the river
THANK YOU...THIS IS THE $64,000 QUESTION! To complicate it even further, I don't like wood to have the unnatural glassy look of epoxy. I would much rather have a satin look on the wood. (BTW, I asked almost the same Q here 11:49 before I saw yours. I notice he answered all the questions except yours. I.have not seen ANYONE address this critical issue. I do hope he answers.
This answers my question, thank you! Incase anyone else is struggling with this same problem. I'll explain my situation... I make Chess boards. Half the squares wood, the other half epoxy. Obviously I can't sand just the epoxy squares without getting the wood. I was wondering what the point of finishing was if the buffer was going to remove material. Now I understand. I guess the only way to seal the wood properly would be to cover it in something that has the same strength at the epoxy and that brings us back to finishing the entire thing with epoxy so it can all be polished to the same level. Thanks again guys. Looks like I have a choice between leaving the wood exposed or coating it in epoxy.
hi, thanks so much for the video - so detailed and helpful! however, no matter what i do, i am getting the swirly pigtail marks from the sander. i am trying to follow the instructions in this video exactly, and the sanding pads do not look clogged, but i cannot get rid of them. any advice is appreciated!!!
Make extra sure both the surface and the pad are clean. If you pick up even the smallest bit of coarser grit or debris, it will scratch the surface leaving those pigtail marks.
Gonna be rewatching this because seeing multiple passes is new to me! Can this be applied to a resin table top that has a few flowers sticking out so it can be a flat shiny surface?
The flowers should really be fully encapsulated in the resin which will prevent them from absorbing moisture and decaying any further. If they are protruding from the surface then you should cut the flowers back flush and sand out a small amount of resin around the flowers, you can fill with a small quantity of resin to seal them in place. This can then be sanded flat and polished as demonstrated in the video. Alternatively you could cut the flowers back to the surface and apply a 2mm coating of GlassCast 3. GlassCast 3 cures with a flat glossy finish so you shouldn't then need to do any more finishing work.
Thank you so much for your nice video, I have a question please help me how can I use epoxy resin on basin and old basin and how to make perfect and glass glossy smooth finishing
@@glasscastresin thanks. What would you recommend for spot sanding and polishing? I did a small 17 by 17 project that came out pretty good but dripped off the edges. After it hardens I tried doing an additional epoxy repair by tripping epoxy on the places that it didn't cover. Unfortunately I ended up making it lumpy around the edges. Is it possible to sand and polish some areas but not mess with the good areas? Hope that makes some kind of sense?
@@greglegakis4177 Small areas can be polished by hand or a more precision rotary tool. Masking off the good areas will mean that they don't become scratched or scuffed by any oversanding.
I'd love to know exactly which connector you found for your Dewalt sander (which I also have) so you can connect it to your shop vac. Having a hard time finding one.
Great video! Sets the standard for this topic. Only 1 question. What kind of marker pen are you using: permanent, non-permanent, sharpie, or something else?
Thanks for your comment, any kind of marker is fine. It's just to indicate where you've sanded and areas that you haven't, I think we used a sharpie as that was what we had to hand.
A product such as that wouldn't improve the finish on the epoxy in any way. As an oil based product it would simply sit on the surface of the epoxy so can be wiped away once applied to the wood. If you are using a one with a stain to alter the appearance of the wood it would be a good idea to so this relatively quickly rather than letting it sit on the epoxy, especially with light coloured or clear resin.
Great video! After you get the glass like finish, how do you protect it? Also, I have a project where I would want to epoxy the wood part too so do I flood the whole piece first and then finish per your instructions? Thanks again...Subscribed.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Once cured and polished up the GlassCast resin is often considered to be the finished result. Some customers do apply a PU topcoat but this isn't something which we supply. If you want to coat the wood as well then there is no need to polish the resin, simply flat and key with 120 grit. You can then use GlassCast 3 to flood the surface which will cure with a flat glossy surface. We actually show the process in this tutorial ua-cam.com/video/dTLLFntPD60/v-deo.html
Thank you. Quick question. I know in the video you had finished the wood. And then you continue to polish the epoxy. However, in the end it look like you took off some finish of the wood. So did you go back and finish the wood again?
It's inevitable that in polishing the resin the pad will cross over onto the wood and take off some of the coating. It's perfectly fine to go back and top this coating up once polishing is finished. It's recommended to give the wood a good clean first to remove any polishing compound which may have transferred onto the surface so as not to trap it under another layer of wood finish.
Hi, thank you for this great tutorial 👍 I will do same steps but ı have question mark. You apply that polish also to wood. Are those polish can apply also for woods? Should ı apply only resin part or both of them? I wish that; ı explained my self clear 😊
Its only really for polishing the resin itself and would be best to avoid getting it onto the wood as if it gets into the grain, it might alter the appearance of the wood itself.
I want to cut narrow strips out of a decorative epoxy slab that I poured and then be able to polish the strips and glue them together around her rectangular stainless steel box. How do I glue the strips in the box and how do I glue epoxy to epoxy?
You can use a clear epoxy adhesive such as ET500 which will bond both the epoxy and wood to the metalwork. Just be sure to prepare the surfaces with 120 grit key to promote bonding. A degrease on the metal will also be advised. www.easycomposites.co.uk/rigid-5min-epoxy-adhesive
Great video, very well executed! One thing I didn't see addressed - should this be done on both sides of the piece? I imagine yes as if the bottom is not as clear as the top you'll see that as you look through it. I've made several river tables, though all with a dark epoxy - not see through, so I sand the bottom up to 180, while the top is sanded to 800 (on the epoxy part).
Thanks for the feedback. Correct If you wanted to be able to see through the entire piece with clarity then you would also need to polish up the underside of the 'river'. If, as in your case the bottom side is hidden then you can do as much or as little finishing as you please.
For the most transparency then you you would need to polish both sides of the resin. If the resin is pigmented with a tint or a solid colour then often it's not required to do quite as much finishing work as on the top side of the surface.
I was so worried how i will be able to polish epoxy when its mixed with wood. Thank you for disclosing that! Do you think its a good idea to oil and also polish the wood?
Hi, it entirely depends on your personal preference when it comes to finishing. I would recommend some kind of treatment prior to polishing the resin as it will protect the wood from potential staining from the polish used on the resin.
Hey there 👋. Wondering if the sanding swirl marks will be seen in my opaque black epoxy River table after I top coat with table top epoxy? Or does the top coat epoxy fill on the swirlies and make it all uniform? Thanks!
@@glasscastresin oh wow, so glad I asked. I thought because it was solid black epoxy that the clear coat would accent the scratches. Thank you so much for responding🙏.
If you are doing a top coat then we recommend just keying the surface with 120 grit. Because you want some texture on the surface for the resin to grip too then you aren't looking to polish the resin at this point, as long as the surface is flat.
If you use Glasscast50 and then put a layer of Glasscast3 on top, do you still need to polish the 50 in order to make the whole thing clear all the way through?
Hi Oliver, You would apply the GlassCast 3 at the 'B' stage or key up the surface of the 50. Either way, you don't need to polish the surface first and any scratches from the keying process will be filled with new layer of resin.
Hi. Thanks for the video. I have a question regarding the speed setting of my orbital sander (from 1 to 5) for each grid and polish stage. What’s your recommendation? Thanks a lot.
Hi Eduardo, we recommend a high speed but low pressure. You need to keep checking the surface of the item to make sure that it doesn't get warm, if it does move onto another part of the item.
Super nice video! I have a artwork that I would like to polish but the resin layer is only 2mm thick. How much material is removed during this process? Thank you very much!
In reality, very little - fractions of a millimetre as you're only working down through the deepest scratches. As you progress to the next, finer level of abrasive papers, the only material you're removing is between the scratches, you're not going deeper; the idea being that your smoothing out the surface prior to polishing.
That was an awesome video. Do you typically add a finish to the entire piece after finishing or leave the glass-like epoxy untreated, and just finish the wood? If adding a finish to both wood and epoxy what do you use?
Hi David. Once polished, the resin already has its finish so there's no need to treat with any further product. Also any waxes or oils will simply sit on the surface and wipe off rather than being absorbed into the surface. The wood on the other hand can be treated and finished as per personal preference.
bonjour, I have a very important new question, I have to finish my table and I would like to know if the 2 finishing products that you use in this video and that I bought protect the surface from stains, scratches ……… I look forward to your response to finish my table, thank you very much
The polishes do not offer additional protection to the resin surface. Durability on resin surfaces is down to the properties of the cured resin itself.
Yes you can. It can be useful if there is a lot of material to remove or a warp you are trying to sand out. A drum sander can also be used to do the same thing.
First timer here. laser engraved a flag in some mahogany. Did seal with shellac but one area of surface bubbles started to form so I torched. Think I spent too much time in one area and got a hardened blob that I was lucky enough to be able to scrape off with a popsicle stick. Took the rest of the resin off so it’s basically just “wet” no real buildup other than in the engraved portion. When this hardens/cures I plan on sanding again and doing another flood coat. While I don’t want coating to be thick, I do want the surface to be flat and not able to feel texture of non engraved portions. Any tips/suggestions? Just using clear no color. FYI, This is my backup piece, my first attempt ended in prickly bumps that I sanded down to do something similar in the video, but got many small deep white pockets of resin dust that are not aesthetically pleasing nor easy to fix (they are probably original bubble paths).
Hi Wayne, You're probably best treating this resin layer as another sealing coat which should eliminate the bubbles, as you say it will have filled the engraving and will now give you a completely flat surface once sanded down. I would just give the surface a light flat and key with 120, leaving a slight amount of resin on the surface. You can then go ahead with the 2mm flood coating which is the thickness that the resin needs to properly self level. You might also be able to recover your first attempt by vacuuming the surface to try and pull the dust from the holes and then recoating again with resin.
@@glasscastresin I was hellbent on trying to wet and wipe it with alcohol, never even thought of vacuum! First attempt might be salvageable! Thanks. The 2nd attempt dried up pretty good over night just some barely visible lines where I scraped and didn’t see but nothing a light sanding won’t fix as you said. Only thing I’m concerned about is where I originally had the “crust” issue. It’s just a tad more textured. Hopefully with the sanding it’ll knock it all down. Thank you soooo much for the pretty quick and helpful reply!
can you comment on the speed of the polisher for the polishing compounds-starting out and progressing through the passes. Is 5000 slow enough to 10000 too fast or is this adequate? Thank you.
Hi Robert, the only difference if you were doing a darker colour is that you may wish to use the NW1 and TopFinish black rather than the white. Everything else would be exactly the same.
Bonjour, Following your video I bought the products for polishing, sanding discs and the 2 polishing creams, I ask myself 2 questions, if you sand the wood like resin, will the wood sanded so fine absorb the creams? and with creams I have to use a harder pad for the 1st and a softer pad for the 2nd (finish 2)? THANKS
can I use my Dewalt sander in 125 like yours for finishing with the 2 creams that I bought from you? I believe that the video you use a used disc?? THANKS
When you put your finish on the wood. Did you also do that to the epoxy? Or do you use something else or once’s it’s buffed you don’t need to put a finish on your resin?
We apply the oil after the sanding stage before using the polish on the resin area. There is no need to apply oil the epoxy as it doesn't soak into the material and will simply wipe off the surface. The glossy finish on the resin is achieved with polishing alone.
This sort of product is designed to soak into a wood so it wouldn't coat the resin at all and would wipe off the surface. It would be ideal for the wooden area of a river table but wouldn't have any effect on the resin.
I use rubio monocoat on my projects but it says to only sand the wood to 180 grit. So how do you do all these steps and not sand the wood in order to still be able to use rubio monocoat
only the resin needs to be sanded so, depending on the shape, you may be able to carefully sand the resin. Alternatively once the resin is finished, mask it off then go 180 grit on the wood.
Thanks for the feedback, for sanding we recommend at least a P2 grade mask. The dust is not toxic, but it is an irritant in the same way as any other fine particle dust such as that from MDF or sawdust would be.
@@glasscastresin brother how it ain't toxic? It's resin dust. Please explain. As well I'd like to ask how do i find a polishing paste in India? What do i google? Polishing paste for sanding?
@@AryaBoi Once cured the resin becomes like any other hard plastic and not classified as toxic. We can ship NW1 and Top Finnish 2 to India and you can purchase through our website. Alternatively you will want to look for a resin/composited polish.
Hi Phil, you should be able to clean away most of the remaining polish with a damp cloth. The wood preservative (oil in our case) should be enough to prevent it from staining to much an and make cleaning the residue off fairly easy. It may want another coat of oil once finished polishing.
Any additives mixed with the resin, be this a reinforcing fibre or filler powder will inherently reduce the clarity and be seen within the resin to some extent.
Hi there very useful video! I personally make art clocks using acrylic paint and to finish them off i put resin top coat over it (possibly 2 thin layers) would this process work for me? Thanks in advance
I would have thought so, its a fairly generic sanding/polishing process. Just be sure not to overheat the resin, if you sand/polish too aggressively you could soften and melt the surface.
It's better to use a dry sander for the initial stages as the dust can be extracted and its easier to see the areas which need more attention. When you get down to the finer grades of abrasive then you can switch to wet sanding.
Great video and very helpful. You used Danish oil to seal the wood before polishing with the compound. How long after sealing do you have to wait to polish. Is it possible to use like an Odies oil to seal before polishing as well?
It is not a product we have tested. However it looks to be made of oils and waxes so is likely to offer similar levels of protection. However test on a small area first to be safe.
That's difficult to say as it depends how well it is looked after - in normal use, it should stand up well but if heavy objects are dragged across the surface or if keys/utensils for example are used directly onto the surface, it may begin to scuff. However, it could be polished back up as scratches and surface marring is likely to be very light.
Thanks a lot for sharing this video, and really nice work! The tabletop I'm working on doesn't have a 'river' of resin, instead it's scattered across the surface of the wood to fill holes, indentations, etc. What would you recommend I do when it comes to the sealing of wood and polishing of resin stage?
You could do the process in a very similar way. Applying the oil coat before you polish the resin surface will reduce the chances of the compound absorbing into the grain. For small areas you may wish to polish by hand which might reduce the spread of the compound over the wood areas.
I’m new to this resin thing but after making a bottle top table for my bar I’m keen to move onto bigger and better. The polishing video will help me as I move ahead, thanks.👍
How do you manage the wood when the stain I'm using recommends only going to 180 grit. Is it possible to polish the resin without further sanding the wood to a grit higher than 180?
Ensuring that you sand up the whole of the resin surface well without going over to the wooden section might be difficult but may be possible if you are careful. You could always key up the surface of the wood with 180grit once the resin surface has been polished
The sleeve is a Mirka product that came with the sander. Some sanders have the sleeve as a kit, but it is available individually. It wraps around the vacuum hose and power cable to keep things neat.
Hi from New Zealand, thank you for this great tutorial. I get excited when I want to learn new projects, but then I get anxiety. But I try & push myself & after watching this video...well I'm goanna give it ago. I'm happy to to start a new project & I'm happy to be a new subscriber, thanx loads looking forward to watching more from you 🥰
So when do you seal the wood to keep it from staining and after completely finishing the polishing what do you need to do to the wood to complete the project?
Hi Joshua, your choice of wood finish is a matter of personal taste as different products will provide different levels of protection and varying finished appearances. In this case, a couple of layers of Danish Oil are used to seal the wood although other wood sealers can work too.
@@glasscastresin I get that but then after sealing you wet sand and polish. My question is do you then need to redo the Danish oil after that process or does it hold up to the abuse? I assume you couldn't do a rubio monocoat prior and then polish?
@@joshuawendt2050 Sometimes, you have to apply a little bit more finish but generally close to the area you have been polishing up but it really depends on the finish you have used. I think it would be fair to say some touching up would be likely but its unlikely you'd have to do a full recoat.
Joshua, I share the same thoughts. Once you're project is completely polished, you'll need to apply a protective finish like Rubio or osmo. How do we achieve that mirror finish with the finish applied?
The oil in the instance is to protect the wood from the polishing compound used on the resin and prevent it staining. Once the resin has been polished the wood can be retreated and finished appropriately.
Generally when you get to the polishing stage, you can apply Danish oil or similar. Then when you polish the resin, any polishing residue will easily clean off the wood.
would you use the same process for smaller areas of resin-for example is its being used to fill large crack/splits in a piece of wood that will be turned?
The problem that you might find with a rotary sander is that it leaves swirls in the surface, also due to the fact that the outside of the disk is moving faster than the center your sanding can be uneven. That being said, if you're careful and use the right technique, it can still be done.
The sander should be set to a medium speed and care taken not to apply too much pressure to the surface, to fast and too hot can cause the resin to overheat and soften which can cause deeper marks. If you are still seeing scratches then you'll need to keep on at the next finest grade and not move onto the next step until they all disappear.
If the resin is clear then yes you will need to polish both sides to give you the best clarity through the resin. If not, then it really depends on the finish from the mould, how likely you are to see under the table and if an unfinished surface bothers you.
un grand merci pour ces explications tres utile pour mon projet. je n arrive pas a obtenir une surface correct ( les rayures apparraissent a parir du gain 320 et sont de plus en plu présentes jisqu au grain 3000 !) . des paquest se forment sous les diques et le resutat est horrible. je vais suivre vos conseils et acheter les disques de ponçage que vous conseillez dans cette vidéo. encore merci et bravo pour ce partage.
You still sand it the same way, just take extra care to keep an even pressure so you sand evenly. On edges its easy to end up putting too much pressure on the corner if you are not careful.
This was exactly my question. Can you do a video on doing the edges? What is considered a single pass on the edge? Obviously you can't go up and down, do you go around it a 2nd time? how do you go about an edge with a round over or a more complicated router bit? How do you handle that?@@glasscastresin
@@sarahweerheim6123 For complicated or undulating surfaces you may find that sanding by hand is better. It may take more time than with a sander, but you'll have more control and a better feel for the contours in the edge.
Yes; it needs to be fully cured prior to sanding and the longer you can leave it after the initial cure, the harder and therefore easier to sand and polish it will become.
The oil finish is generally applied just before the polishing stage so that the oil helps stop the polishing residue sticking to the wood. Most oil finishes are designed for occasional recoating to restore finish over time.
Often they have the same style velcro pad fitting system. However it depends on the speed and type of sander as to if it would be suitable to also polish with.
In this case, no we didn't because the finish directly off the mould was already very good and as you wouldn't see it in normal use, it didn't need any additional attention. However, there's certainly nothing to stop you polishing the bottom of a piece as well if you need to or for something like a serving board where both sides will be used/seen.
This is the first video I’ve come across that has helped me clearly understand how to sand and polish resin. Thank you 🙏🏻
Glad you found it helpful!
Was that a message disc
@@randyhakes9050huh?
Me too 👍
Ditto
After staring at my first dull Resin effort and wondering why I couldn't get it to look clear, hey presto 1 video later and I can smile again, thanks.
Finally i understand how to sand and polish my resin and can finally complete the 2 side tables i have created. Thankyou
Best of luck finishing your tables.
Good tip on oiling the wood. I'm working on an epoxy river table and I was taping the edges so I wouldn't get compound on the wood and noticed the edges were super clear. Now I'll seal the wood and not worry about the compound touching the wood.
It's still best to avoid spreading the compound onto the wood too much but treating it first certainly helps to prevent staining.
Wow! What an excellent video. I have watched several videos from other channels, but they come up short, skipping steps or glossing over details. You provide concise explanations, but with much needed detail on both the procedure and the products used. This will have immediate impact and take my epoxy pours to the next level. Thank you. I'm heading out to your website to look at the products now.
Thanks for the feedback, we try and cover every process in detail and not miss anything out. We think it's important to show not just the result, but how to get there and the work involved.
This was a very good educational video. I found it very easy to follow the steps and feel comfortable and confident, that when I try it now I should be in good shape hopefully.
Great to hear, glad you found the video useful.
This is the best video about sanding I've ever see
Thanks - glad you found it useful 🙂
Thank you, your step by step instructions were fabulous and very understanding. I've built a set of cornhole boards, and a friend poured the resin for me. I would appreciate it if I could se d a pic after I have co pleated the project.
Hi Donald,
Sounds like a great project, sure if you want to send some photos through to help@glasscastresin.com we'd be delighted to take a look.
Thank you for the advice on sealing the wood first. I hadn’t seen that before and my project turned out perfect
Great news, glad to hear it.
Thank you I’ve been using resin for a while and couldn’t figure out how to get it polished right. This really helped a lot. Thank you.
Glad you found the video useful, thanks for watching.
Thank you very much for this video. Superbly explained! And many thanks for the helpful information about processing time and material.
Good video on polishing epoxy, however the danish oil finish doesn't protect the wood from getting stained/stripped off by the polishing compound as you can easily see at 10:50, and from my experience as a woodworker who works with epoxy every day this is something I still struggle with to find a solution, would be nice if there was actually a good method in polishing the epoxy without messing up the wooden sides other than just epoxying the entire wooden surface just to be able to evenly sand/polish the river
THANK YOU...THIS IS THE $64,000 QUESTION! To complicate it even further, I don't like wood to have the unnatural glassy look of epoxy. I would much rather have a satin look on the wood.
(BTW, I asked almost the same Q here 11:49 before I saw yours. I notice he answered all the questions except yours. I.have not seen ANYONE address this critical issue. I do hope he answers.
This answers my question, thank you!
Incase anyone else is struggling with this same problem. I'll explain my situation...
I make Chess boards. Half the squares wood, the other half epoxy. Obviously I can't sand just the epoxy squares without getting the wood. I was wondering what the point of finishing was if the buffer was going to remove material. Now I understand. I guess the only way to seal the wood properly would be to cover it in something that has the same strength at the epoxy and that brings us back to finishing the entire thing with epoxy so it can all be polished to the same level. Thanks again guys. Looks like I have a choice between leaving the wood exposed or coating it in epoxy.
Could the wood be taped to protect it from the polish, or no?
@@mikechis051 No the tape doesn't hold up. Been there. Dealing with abrasives and high RPM polisher.
Thankyou this was. really very clear and helpful tutorial. Want to buy some materials.
hi, thanks so much for the video - so detailed and helpful! however, no matter what i do, i am getting the swirly pigtail marks from the sander. i am trying to follow the instructions in this video exactly, and the sanding pads do not look clogged, but i cannot get rid of them. any advice is appreciated!!!
Make extra sure both the surface and the pad are clean. If you pick up even the smallest bit of coarser grit or debris, it will scratch the surface leaving those pigtail marks.
Outstanding video, very clear and included a lot of PRO tips! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Gonna be rewatching this because seeing multiple passes is new to me! Can this be applied to a resin table top that has a few flowers sticking out so it can be a flat shiny surface?
The flowers should really be fully encapsulated in the resin which will prevent them from absorbing moisture and decaying any further. If they are protruding from the surface then
you should cut the flowers back flush and sand out a small amount of resin around the flowers, you can fill with a small quantity of resin to seal them in place. This can then be sanded flat and polished as demonstrated in the video. Alternatively you could cut the flowers back to the surface and apply a 2mm coating of GlassCast 3. GlassCast 3 cures with a flat glossy finish so you shouldn't then need to do any more finishing work.
Awesome video, thanks so much! I am exploring setting in stones with my epoxy, any suggestions on sanding process for this?
If the stones are covered completely then the process is the same. If trying to sand around stones sticking out, that would be much more fiddly.
Atleast i find the perfect video for the perfect way to polishing thanks
Thanks for the step by step video. I’m wondering if you wore a specific mask during sanding?
A good quality P2 or better quality mask is recommended for epoxy sanding dust.
Thank you so much for your nice video, I have a question please help me how can I use epoxy resin on basin and old basin and how to make perfect and glass glossy smooth finishing
What would you say was the total time it took you from beginning to end to finish the polishing process?
You could estimate between 1-2 hours for a piece this size.
@@glasscastresin thanks.
What would you recommend for spot sanding and polishing? I did a small 17 by 17 project that came out pretty good but dripped off the edges. After it hardens I tried doing an additional epoxy repair by tripping epoxy on the places that it didn't cover. Unfortunately I ended up making it lumpy around the edges. Is it possible to sand and polish some areas but not mess with the good areas? Hope that makes some kind of sense?
@@greglegakis4177 Small areas can be polished by hand or a more precision rotary tool. Masking off the good areas will mean that they don't become scratched or scuffed by any oversanding.
I'd love to know exactly which connector you found for your Dewalt sander (which I also have) so you can connect it to your shop vac. Having a hard time finding one.
We fabricated an adaptor using some carbon fibre tube.
Great video! Sets the standard for this topic. Only 1 question. What kind of marker pen are you using: permanent, non-permanent, sharpie, or something else?
Thanks for your comment, any kind of marker is fine. It's just to indicate where you've sanded and areas that you haven't, I think we used a sharpie as that was what we had to hand.
Just huge thank you from USA!!!
You're very welcome, hope the tutorial helps.
Can you add a finish like Osmos to both the wood and the epoxy? Great video thanks.....
A product such as that wouldn't improve the finish on the epoxy in any way. As an oil based product it would simply sit on the surface of the epoxy so can be wiped away once applied to the wood. If you are using a one with a stain to alter the appearance of the wood it would be a good idea to so this relatively quickly rather than letting it sit on the epoxy, especially with light coloured or clear resin.
Awesome! How to protect it from scratches now going forward?
The epoxy resin is generally a hard wearing surface once fully cured. Occasional light polishing will remove any build up of scratches during use.
Great video! After you get the glass like finish, how do you protect it? Also, I have a project where I would want to epoxy the wood part too so do I flood the whole piece first and then finish per your instructions? Thanks again...Subscribed.
Thanks for taking the time to comment. Once cured and polished up the GlassCast resin is often considered to be the finished result. Some customers do apply a PU topcoat but this isn't something which we supply. If you want to coat the wood as well then there is no need to polish the resin, simply flat and key with 120 grit. You can then use GlassCast 3 to flood the surface which will cure with a flat glossy surface. We actually show the process in this tutorial ua-cam.com/video/dTLLFntPD60/v-deo.html
Thank u for this very informative video...can u help me where to get the different grit papers n the polishing compound
Glad you found it useful. You can find the abrasive papers and the polish from our website. www.glasscastresin.com/
Brilliant. Can you use the sander instead of the polisher?
If you have an appropriate polishing head for your sander then absolutely.
Thank you. Quick question. I know in the video you had finished the wood. And then you continue to polish the epoxy. However, in the end it look like you took off some finish of the wood. So did you go back and finish the wood again?
It's inevitable that in polishing the resin the pad will cross over onto the wood and take off some of the coating. It's perfectly fine to go back and top this coating up once polishing is finished. It's recommended to give the wood a good clean first to remove any polishing compound which may have transferred onto the surface so as not to trap it under another layer of wood finish.
Hi, thank you for this great tutorial 👍 I will do same steps but ı have question mark. You apply that polish also to wood. Are those polish can apply also for woods? Should ı apply only resin part or both of them?
I wish that; ı explained my self clear 😊
Its only really for polishing the resin itself and would be best to avoid getting it onto the wood as if it gets into the grain, it might alter the appearance of the wood itself.
Thank you for this. How much product and materials would I need for a bar top that measures 22ft x 2.5ft?
Assuming you mean how much resin would be required. You'd need a 15kg kit for our GlassCast3 to cover a countertop of this size.
Best tutorial on polishing resin I’ve ever seen. Good work guys 👍👍👍
Glad you enjoyed it
I want to cut narrow strips out of a decorative epoxy slab that I poured and then be able to polish the strips and glue them together around her rectangular stainless steel box. How do I glue the strips in the box and how do I glue epoxy to epoxy?
You can use a clear epoxy adhesive such as ET500 which will bond both the epoxy and wood to the metalwork. Just be sure to prepare the surfaces with 120 grit key to promote bonding. A degrease on the metal will also be advised. www.easycomposites.co.uk/rigid-5min-epoxy-adhesive
Great video, very well executed! One thing I didn't see addressed - should this be done on both sides of the piece? I imagine yes as if the bottom is not as clear as the top you'll see that as you look through it.
I've made several river tables, though all with a dark epoxy - not see through, so I sand the bottom up to 180, while the top is sanded to 800 (on the epoxy part).
Thanks for the feedback. Correct If you wanted to be able to see through the entire piece with clarity then you would also need to polish up the underside of the 'river'. If, as in your case the bottom side is hidden then you can do as much or as little finishing as you please.
When staining wood, I guess you wouldn’t want to sand up to 1200? Maybe stop on the wood around 320 and keep sanding the epoxy?
Do you polish the bottom to be the same?
For the most transparency then you you would need to polish both sides of the resin. If the resin is pigmented with a tint or a solid colour then often it's not required to do quite as much finishing work as on the top side of the surface.
I was so worried how i will be able to polish epoxy when its mixed with wood. Thank you for disclosing that! Do you think its a good idea to oil and also polish the wood?
Hi, it entirely depends on your personal preference when it comes to finishing. I would recommend some kind of treatment prior to polishing the resin as it will protect the wood from potential staining from the polish used on the resin.
Hey there 👋.
Wondering if the sanding swirl marks will be seen in my opaque black epoxy River table after I top coat with table top epoxy? Or does the top coat epoxy fill on the swirlies and make it all uniform? Thanks!
A flood coating will completely fill any scratches on the surface. In fact, you will want to key the surface with 120 grit abrasive.
@@glasscastresin oh wow, so glad I asked. I thought because it was solid black epoxy that the clear coat would accent the scratches. Thank you so much for responding🙏.
Do you have to make sure the scratches are sanded out from the previous grit if you're doing a top coat instead of polishing?
If you are doing a top coat then we recommend just keying the surface with 120 grit. Because you want some texture on the surface for the resin to grip too then you aren't looking to polish the resin at this point, as long as the surface is flat.
If you use Glasscast50 and then put a layer of Glasscast3 on top, do you still need to polish the 50 in order to make the whole thing clear all the way through?
Hi Oliver,
You would apply the GlassCast 3 at the 'B' stage or key up the surface of the 50. Either way, you don't need to polish the surface first and any scratches from the keying process will be filled with new layer of resin.
now i know what the diff between rotary and dual action. how and when to use it. thank u.
Glad we could help.
Hi. Thanks for the video. I have a question regarding the speed setting of my orbital sander (from 1 to 5) for each grid and polish stage. What’s your recommendation? Thanks a lot.
Hi Eduardo, we recommend a high speed but low pressure. You need to keep checking the surface of the item to make sure that it doesn't get warm, if it does move onto another part of the item.
Thank you very much for your prompt response.
Thanks for the tutorial amazing results!
and dont forget..if you polish a table its still a table!
Thanks for watching.
Super nice video!
I have a artwork that I would like to polish but the resin layer is only 2mm thick.
How much material is removed during this process?
Thank you very much!
In reality, very little - fractions of a millimetre as you're only working down through the deepest scratches. As you progress to the next, finer level of abrasive papers, the only material you're removing is between the scratches, you're not going deeper; the idea being that your smoothing out the surface prior to polishing.
That answered so many questions i've had
That was an awesome video. Do you typically add a finish to the entire piece after finishing or leave the glass-like epoxy untreated, and just finish the wood? If adding a finish to both wood and epoxy what do you use?
Hi David. Once polished, the resin already has its finish so there's no need to treat with any further product. Also any waxes or oils will simply sit on the surface and wipe off rather than being absorbed into the surface. The wood on the other hand can be treated and finished as per personal preference.
@@glasscastresin ah finally I understand
bonjour, I have a very important new question, I have to finish my table and I would like to know if the 2 finishing products that you use in this video and that I bought protect the surface from stains, scratches ……… I look forward to your response to finish my table, thank you very much
The polishes do not offer additional protection to the resin surface. Durability on resin surfaces is down to the properties of the cured resin itself.
@@glasscastresin ok so for everyday use of the table, aperitif, dinner, it is better to have a product like Rubio monocoat 2c?
What a very informative video , found it very useful , and very easy on the eye so it was easy to watch
Thanks Terry, glad you found it useful :)
If v r making it for home n dnt hv these kind of equipment....what wl b the possibility to make it possible at home?
You can sand and polish by hand, it just takes longer and requires more physical effort.
@@glasscastresin every type of epoxy required polishisg ?even glossy one ?
Can you start the wood + epoxy project by running the piece through a standard shop wood planner? Ray.
Yes you can. It can be useful if there is a lot of material to remove or a warp you are trying to sand out. A drum sander can also be used to do the same thing.
bonjour, for a next polishing use, should the pads be cleaned? and if yes, how ? merci
If they have any build up, gently clean in soap and water then carefully rinse and dry before next use.
First timer here. laser engraved a flag in some mahogany. Did seal with shellac but one area of surface bubbles started to form so I torched. Think I spent too much time in one area and got a hardened blob that I was lucky enough to be able to scrape off with a popsicle stick. Took the rest of the resin off so it’s basically just “wet” no real buildup other than in the engraved portion. When this hardens/cures I plan on sanding again and doing another flood coat. While I don’t want coating to be thick, I do want the surface to be flat and not able to feel texture of non engraved portions. Any tips/suggestions? Just using clear no color.
FYI, This is my backup piece, my first attempt ended in prickly bumps that I sanded down to do something similar in the video, but got many small deep white pockets of resin dust that are not aesthetically pleasing nor easy to fix (they are probably original bubble paths).
Hi Wayne,
You're probably best treating this resin layer as another sealing coat which should eliminate the bubbles, as you say it will have filled the engraving and will now give you a completely flat surface once sanded down. I would just give the surface a light flat and key with 120, leaving a slight amount of resin on the surface. You can then go ahead with the 2mm flood coating which is the thickness that the resin needs to properly self level.
You might also be able to recover your first attempt by vacuuming the surface to try and pull the dust from the holes and then recoating again with resin.
@@glasscastresin I was hellbent on trying to wet and wipe it with alcohol, never even thought of vacuum! First attempt might be salvageable! Thanks. The 2nd attempt dried up pretty good over night just some barely visible lines where I scraped and didn’t see but nothing a light sanding won’t fix as you said. Only thing I’m concerned about is where I originally had the “crust” issue. It’s just a tad more textured. Hopefully with the sanding it’ll knock it all down. Thank you soooo much for the pretty quick and helpful reply!
can you comment on the speed of the polisher for the polishing compounds-starting out and progressing through the passes. Is 5000 slow enough to 10000 too fast or is this adequate? Thank you.
We would typically aim for around 800-1500 RPM. If the surface starts to heat up then reduce the speed and or pressure and wait for it to cool.
Great video any suggestions for a mixed epoxy countertop tops?
Hi Robert, the only difference if you were doing a darker colour is that you may wish to use the NW1 and TopFinish black rather than the white.
Everything else would be exactly the same.
Bonjour, Following your video I bought the products for polishing, sanding discs and the 2 polishing creams, I ask myself 2 questions, if you sand the wood like resin, will the wood sanded so fine absorb the creams? and with creams I have to use a harder pad for the 1st and a softer pad for the 2nd (finish 2)? THANKS
The polish may soak in the surface and discolour the wood. Hence why we recommend treating the wood before you polish to prevent that happening.
@@glasscastresin ok merci
can I use my Dewalt sander in 125 like yours for finishing with the 2 creams that I bought from you? I believe that the video you use a used disc?? THANKS
Awesome tutorial, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Did you need to oil the wood again after polishing? Thanks
Not in this case but, like most oil based products, semi-regular re-application can help restore the finish depending on how it wears.
When you put your finish on the wood. Did you also do that to the epoxy? Or do you use something else or once’s it’s buffed you don’t need to put a finish on your resin?
We apply the oil after the sanding stage before using the polish on the resin area. There is no need to apply oil the epoxy as it doesn't soak into the material and will simply wipe off the surface. The glossy finish on the resin is achieved with polishing alone.
Can you put an oil based poly over the epoxy after following all these steps?
This sort of product is designed to soak into a wood so it wouldn't coat the resin at all and would wipe off the surface. It would be ideal for the wooden area of a river table but wouldn't have any effect on the resin.
I use rubio monocoat on my projects but it says to only sand the wood to 180 grit. So how do you do all these steps and not sand the wood in order to still be able to use rubio monocoat
only the resin needs to be sanded so, depending on the shape, you may be able to carefully sand the resin. Alternatively once the resin is finished, mask it off then go 180 grit on the wood.
Hey brother, great video. Is dry sanding harmful? How do you protect yourself from it?
Thanks for the feedback, for sanding we recommend at least a P2 grade mask. The dust is not toxic, but it is an irritant in the same way as any other fine particle dust such as that from MDF or sawdust would be.
@@glasscastresin brother how it ain't toxic? It's resin dust. Please explain. As well I'd like to ask how do i find a polishing paste in India? What do i google? Polishing paste for sanding?
@@AryaBoi Once cured the resin becomes like any other hard plastic and not classified as toxic. We can ship NW1 and Top Finnish 2 to India and you can purchase through our website. Alternatively you will want to look for a resin/composited polish.
what if you dont have an orbital sander machine? is it ok to manually do it?
Yes it just takes longer to do by hand.
I see quite a notable discolouration to the wood where the polish has made its way into the grain of the wood. Any tips for removing that?
Hi Phil, you should be able to clean away most of the remaining polish with a damp cloth. The wood preservative (oil in our case) should be enough to prevent it from staining to much an and make cleaning the residue off fairly easy. It may want another coat of oil once finished polishing.
For epoxy strengthened with fiber glass what do you suggest for the 'glass' look ?
Any additives mixed with the resin, be this a reinforcing fibre or filler powder will inherently reduce the clarity and be seen within the resin to some extent.
Hi there very useful video! I personally make art clocks using acrylic paint and to finish them off i put resin top coat over it (possibly 2 thin layers) would this process work for me? Thanks in advance
Hi Ben,
Yes the resin polishing process will still be the same. As long as you don't sand too much and break through the resin into the paint.
Hello, does this method work for polishing acrylic?
I would have thought so, its a fairly generic sanding/polishing process. Just be sure not to overheat the resin, if you sand/polish too aggressively you could soften and melt the surface.
Do you always use the abrasive discs dry? Can I use the wet? Maybe last longer?
It's better to use a dry sander for the initial stages as the dust can be extracted and its easier to see the areas which need more attention. When you get down to the finer grades of abrasive then you can switch to wet sanding.
Great video and very helpful. You used Danish oil to seal the wood before polishing with the compound. How long after sealing do you have to wait to polish. Is it possible to use like an Odies oil to seal before polishing as well?
It is not a product we have tested. However it looks to be made of oils and waxes so is likely to offer similar levels of protection. However test on a small area first to be safe.
I wonder how long will this last before you need to repeat the polish process?
That's difficult to say as it depends how well it is looked after - in normal use, it should stand up well but if heavy objects are dragged across the surface or if keys/utensils for example are used directly onto the surface, it may begin to scuff. However, it could be polished back up as scratches and surface marring is likely to be very light.
Excellent demo on the product, will be trying this process out on some knives for my channel. Thanks again!
Thanks Sweetknives :)
Love this video. Explained step by step
If you have a 3d object, do you sand and polish all the sides? Thanks
Yes you can if you need to do so to get a good finish.
Thanks a lot for sharing this video, and really nice work! The tabletop I'm working on doesn't have a 'river' of resin, instead it's scattered across the surface of the wood to fill holes, indentations, etc. What would you recommend I do when it comes to the sealing of wood and polishing of resin stage?
You could do the process in a very similar way. Applying the oil coat before you polish the resin surface will reduce the chances of the compound absorbing into the grain. For small areas you may wish to polish by hand which might reduce the spread of the compound over the wood areas.
I’m new to this resin thing but after making a bottle top table for my bar I’m keen to move onto bigger and better. The polishing video will help me as I move ahead, thanks.👍
It is our please Anthony, glad to hear it has been useful :)
How do you manage the wood when the stain I'm using recommends only going to 180 grit. Is it possible to polish the resin without further sanding the wood to a grit higher than 180?
Ensuring that you sand up the whole of the resin surface well without going over to the wooden section might be difficult but may be possible if you are careful. You could always key up the surface of the wood with 180grit once the resin surface has been polished
Can you use the compounds to finish the wood as well?
The polishes are designed to work on plastic resins so would not work well on the wood itself where dedicated wood treatment products are better.
@@glasscastresin Can you please recommend a product that can be used for wood polyurethane polishing.
I needed help getting the bubbles out of my artwork. Can I use a dremmel and various pads to do this?
you can if they are too deep to sand through. Care needs to be taken so that they can be filled in.
Great video, going to redo the top of my bar. Where in the US can I get the PaiBoats NW1 Plus and the Top Finish 2?
I'm afraid I don't know any specific US based dealers or distributors although if you struggle, we can ship these to the US, no problems.
@@glasscastresin Can you tell me what the cost would be for both of those bottles of polish shipped to 32829? Thanks!
Absolutely great video, thank you.
May I ask what you use as a sleeve on your dust extractor hose?
The sleeve is a Mirka product that came with the sander. Some sanders have the sleeve as a kit, but it is available individually. It wraps around the vacuum hose and power cable to keep things neat.
Hi from New Zealand, thank you for this great tutorial. I get excited when I want to learn new projects, but then I get anxiety. But I try & push myself & after watching this video...well I'm goanna give it ago. I'm happy to to start a new project & I'm happy to be a new subscriber, thanx loads looking forward to watching more from you 🥰
So when do you seal the wood to keep it from staining and after completely finishing the polishing what do you need to do to the wood to complete the project?
Hi Joshua, your choice of wood finish is a matter of personal taste as different products will provide different levels of protection and varying finished
appearances. In this case, a couple of layers of Danish Oil are used to seal the wood although other wood sealers can work too.
@@glasscastresin I get that but then after sealing you wet sand and polish. My question is do you then need to redo the Danish oil after that process or does it hold up to the abuse? I assume you couldn't do a rubio monocoat prior and then polish?
@@joshuawendt2050 You shouldn't need to redo the wood with Danish oil after polishing, although you could if you wished.
@@joshuawendt2050 Sometimes, you have to apply a little bit more finish but generally close to the area you have been polishing up but it really depends on the finish you have used. I think it would be fair to say some touching up would be likely but its unlikely you'd have to do a full recoat.
Joshua, I share the same thoughts. Once you're project is completely polished, you'll need to apply a protective finish like Rubio or osmo. How do we achieve that mirror finish with the finish applied?
How well does the danish oil work with such high grits?! Nornally these oils have a sweet spot between 120 to 240 max.
The oil in the instance is to protect the wood from the polishing compound used on the resin and prevent it staining. Once the resin has been polished the wood can be retreated and finished appropriately.
How do you finish the wood with the epoxy up against it.
Generally when you get to the polishing stage, you can apply Danish oil or similar. Then when you polish the resin, any polishing residue will easily clean off the wood.
Thanks @@glasscastresin
would you use the same process for smaller areas of resin-for example is its being used to fill large crack/splits in a piece of wood that will be turned?
Yes, the same process would be used for any size of resin.
Thank you for posting - have a question for you: Will a rotary sander work just as well as the random orbital?
The problem that you might find with a rotary sander is that it leaves swirls in the surface, also due to the fact that the outside of the disk is moving faster than the center your sanding can be uneven. That being said, if you're careful and use the right technique, it can still be done.
@@glasscastresin This is wonderful intel - many thanks!
Hi,
I've been struggling with these sandpaper marks for 2 weeks. How should the machine speed be? Are all grit numbers sanded at the same speed?
The sander should be set to a medium speed and care taken not to apply too much pressure to the surface, to fast and too hot can cause the resin to overheat and soften which can cause deeper marks. If you are still seeing scratches then you'll need to keep on at the next finest grade and not move onto the next step until they all disappear.
Do you have to polish both sides of the project? Great tutorial 😁
If the resin is clear then yes you will need to polish both sides to give you the best clarity through the resin. If not, then it really depends on the finish from the mould, how likely you are to see under the table and if an unfinished surface bothers you.
un grand merci pour ces explications tres utile pour mon projet. je n arrive pas a obtenir une surface correct ( les rayures apparraissent a parir du gain 320 et sont de plus en plu présentes jisqu au grain 3000 !) . des paquest se forment sous les diques et le resutat est horrible. je vais suivre vos conseils et acheter les disques de ponçage que vous conseillez dans cette vidéo. encore merci et bravo pour ce partage.
Thanks for commenting, if the problems persist you can always get in touch by email at help@glasscastresin.com and we'd be happy to advise further.
Great video! What, if anything, do you do differently on the edges of a table? Particularly if it has a rounded-over or chamfered edge?
You still sand it the same way, just take extra care to keep an even pressure so you sand evenly. On edges its easy to end up putting too much pressure on the corner if you are not careful.
@@glasscastresin thanks
This was exactly my question. Can you do a video on doing the edges? What is considered a single pass on the edge? Obviously you can't go up and down, do you go around it a 2nd time? how do you go about an edge with a round over or a more complicated router bit? How do you handle that?@@glasscastresin
@@sarahweerheim6123 For complicated or undulating surfaces you may find that sanding by hand is better. It may take more time than with a sander, but you'll have more control and a better feel for the contours in the edge.
is the cure time of epoxy important to when you sand?
Yes; it needs to be fully cured prior to sanding and the longer you can leave it after the initial cure, the harder and therefore easier to sand and polish it will become.
If I was going to put a top coat over the epoxy what grit should I sand the epoxy to in order the have good adhesion and clear results?
If looking to flood coat resin over the top we'd recommend keying the surface with 120 grit sandpaper ( the coarser the better).
Thanks for replying. What if I was hoping to use a polyurethane or something similar?
@@guitarboomer88 Probably, but we would recommend checking with the top coats manufacturer/ supplier
Do you reapply any oil finish after your done? I would imagine the wet sanding and polishing affects the wood itchy next to the epoxy.
The oil finish is generally applied just before the polishing stage so that the oil helps stop the polishing residue sticking to the wood. Most oil finishes are designed for occasional recoating to restore finish over time.
Is it possible to get buffing pads that fit my random orbital sander?
Often they have the same style velcro pad fitting system. However it depends on the speed and type of sander as to if it would be suitable to also polish with.
Hi the oil used in your video to seal the wood is it food safe? I am making serving trays or charcuterie trays!
The brand we used was not specifically food safe. It may be possible to find a similar alternative.
do you need a polisher or can u use an attachment for the sander?
A polisher generally works better but if you have an attachment for your sander it will make the process faster than doing it by hand.
What are you useing to wipe the dust off your work after sanding?
We're using our microfibre cloths www.glasscastresin.com/microfibre-polishing-cloths
did you also do the same thing to the bottom?
In this case, no we didn't because the finish directly off the mould was already very good and as you wouldn't see it in normal use, it didn't need any additional attention. However, there's certainly nothing to stop you polishing the bottom of a piece as well if you need to or for something like a serving board where both sides will be used/seen.
I feel like a took a really great course today! I’m ready to finish up this counter top I started 4 years ago!! Thank you!👊🏼🙌🏼🙏🏼
Best of luck finishing it off
Thanks for this tutorial. You sounded very professional. I can't wait to try.
Thank you for commenting, glad you enjoyed the video!