Sanding an Epoxy River

[TomInNC]

As I mentioned in another thread, I am starting my first epoxy river table build. I was wondering if folks could provide some guidance on the sanding process for these builds. In the Blacktail studio videos (e.g., https://www.blacktailstudio.com/blog/how-to-get-a-perfect-finish-in-a-dusty-shop), he runs the wood and epoxy through the same sanding sequence up to 320, then applies the finish.

When I was talking with the folks at Klingspor, they mentioned that some people continue to sand the epoxy well beyond 320. Have any of you tried sanded/polished the epoxy beyond the final grit used on the slab? If so, what was your process?

I haven't decided on a top coat yet, but the Rubio Monocoat is appealing. The technical specs for Monocoat (https://www.monocoat.us/content/pdf/RM Furniture 2C Data.2.14.pdf), however, recommend against sanding beyond 120 grit, so now I'm all confused.

 

[John Jimenez]

I’ve only ever sanded to 220 and have always been happy with how it turned out. I’ve also used Rubio monocoat on last three tables and have been very happy with the buffed finish.

 

[ednl]

Tom - as you know, you are mixing apples and oranges... or rather, wood and epoxy. I have sanded the entire slab, wood and epoxy to 320. Then, assuming your "river" is at least a few inches wide, continue sanding the epoxy - although your ROS may overlap the wood. If the river is too narrow you may have to do a LOT of hand sanding. If you can design your table with a river roughly 5 or more inches wide it will be a lot easier to just sand the epoxy. I have sanded the epoxy up to 12000 to remove all the scratches and give it a high luster. I've used Odie's Oil and it leaves a silky smooth finish. Only oil the wood, it does nothing for the epoxy. In fact, I have a LOT still in the jar if you would like to test it, rather than buy your own jar. The stuff goes a long long long way!!! Good luck.

 

[TomInNC]

Tom - as you know, you are mixing apples and oranges... or rather, wood and epoxy. I have sanded the entire slab, wood and epoxy to 320. Then, assuming your "river" is at least a few inches wide, continue sanding the epoxy - although your ROS may overlap the wood. If the river is too narrow you may have to do a LOT of hand sanding. If you can design your table with a river roughly 5 or more inches wide it will be a lot easier to just sand the epoxy. I have sanded the epoxy up to 12000 to remove all the scratches and give it a high luster. I've used Odie's Oil and it leaves a silky smooth finish. Only oil the wood, it does nothing for the epoxy. In fact, I have a LOT still in the jar if you would like to test it, rather than buy your own jar. The stuff goes a long long long way!!! Good luck.

Thanks. The river in this case will, on average, be about 8 inches wide, so I have plenty of room to get the ROS.

What grit sequence do you use on the epoxy beyond 320? I got some epoxy sanding pads (forget the name) at Klingspors, but I'm not sure if I can go straight from 320 to the pads or if there's something I need to hit in between.

Bought the melamine today and planning on making some "river coasters" this weekend to test out the process. Excited to learn something new.

 

[Mark Johnson]

Tom - as you know, you are mixing apples and oranges... or rather, wood and epoxy. I have sanded the entire slab, wood and epoxy to 320. Then, assuming your "river" is at least a few inches wide, continue sanding the epoxy - although your ROS may overlap the wood. If the river is too narrow you may have to do a LOT of hand sanding. If you can design your table with a river roughly 5 or more inches wide it will be a lot easier to just sand the epoxy. I have sanded the epoxy up to 12000 to remove all the scratches and give it a high luster. I've used Odie's Oil and it leaves a silky smooth finish. Only oil the wood, it does nothing for the epoxy. In fact, I have a LOT still in the jar if you would like to test it, rather than buy your own jar. The stuff goes a long long long way!!! Good luck.

I agree. I have used the same approach.

 

[TomInNC]

Given the amount of sanding involved, I'm wondering if this would be a good time to upgrade from the Dewalt ROS that I've been using for years. Any thoughts on which Festool sander would work best for finishing work? I have a bunch of 5" ROS discs from Klingspor, so ideally I would be able to use that with whatever sander I pick up.