Epoxy River Table
Not Cured Properly
This might look like it is the end of life for this unfortunate river table. Luckily we are there; follow our quick and easy river table repair instructions to get your table back on its legs!
Diagnosis
The first step in any troubleshooting scenario is to come back at the initial stage of our projects and determine if crucial steps or directions might have been overlooked or not appropriately applied. With regards to epoxy not curing properly, there are two leading causes. One culprit is the curing temperature, the other is the result of a flawed mixing process and pour quality epoxy resin, or on some rare occasion, the epoxy resin has gone bad. In this quick tutorial, we will go through simple steps to restore your epoxy river table that has not cured correctly.
Accessories Required:
- DIY Epoxy River Table & Countertop Kit
- Protective equipment for your safety, gloves, protective eye gear and an apron to protect your clothing
- Border for your casting mold, such as melamine board, corrugated plastic sheets
- Tools to build the mold, drill, screws, tape, glue gun or caulking for sealing the mold
- Sanding block, buffer/polisher
- Solvent such as denatured alcohol to clean your wood slab and any items that will be in the epoxy river table
- Brush to apply & scrapper for seal & top coat
- Sponge, scrapper & disposable cups to remove the bad epoxy resin
- Isopropyl alcohol
Curing Temperature
When the epoxy resin is mixed with the hardener, a thermogenic reaction occurs and starts the curing process. Depending on the formula, the optimal curing temperature differs from resin to resin. DIY Epoxy River Table requires the weather to be at 25°c / 77°F. If the temperature was not at the mentioned degrees, ensure that you bring it up to the optimal temperature and restart the curing process.
Homogeneous Mixture
Ensuring to mix in a round container is crucial to ensure a homogeneous mixture. A square container might leave unmixed substances in the corners. Mixing for 5 minutes is also essential; it ensures that all of the solutions are well mixed and ready to cure.
Epoxy Quality
Trying to save costs for a river table project is never a good idea! Or maybe you purchase a good quality epoxy resin, but the shelf life has expired. Epoxy resin has a shelf life of 1 year. In the case that you did purchase our epoxy and it was not the temperature or the mixtures, contact us immediately, and our expert will assist your whitin the briefest of delays.
If the curing temperature was set at the right degree, or you've elevated it and waited the proper curing time, then the uncured resin has to go. If the entire batch is still liquid, you can remove a side of the mold and let the epoxy flow out of it. If it is only small spots, you can use sponges and small cups to remove the liquid epoxy. After all of the uncured epoxy is removed, use isopropyl alcohol with wipes to clean all of the surfaces that the uncured epoxy resin was in contact with until there is no more uncured resin.
With a grit 220 sandpaper, apply a quick sanding and clean all of the surfaces the epoxy will be in contact with thoroughly, then clean, ensuring there is no more dust and debris. If your river table pour had only a few uncured and tacky parts, jump to step 4. If the entire pour was uncured, follow our next step.
Apply a DIY epoxy countertop seal coat to the surfaces that will be in contact with the river table epoxy. Mix only the amount required to prevent loss. Cure for 24h and sand briefly to scuff the surface with a grit 220 sandpaper. This will ensure proper adhesion between the two layers.
Whether you are entirely re-pouring or just pouring over an uneven coat, pour your river table epoxy until you've reached the desired pour height. If the tacky/partially poured layer was 1/8 of an inch or less, you can skip this step and go directly to the next step. Please wait 72 hours at 25°c / 77°F for a complete cure.
With a grit 220 sandpaper do a quick sanding of the entire top; this will ensure the epoxy clear coat adheres to the table. With DIY Epoxy Countertop, apply a flood coat to your river table. Depending on the thickness of the uneven surfaces, you might need more than one topcoat to ensure a smooth finish!
After applying enough top coat to render your surface smooth & glossy, you can now buff the final coat. A lot of our customers prefer their final coat unbuffed as it gives a similar final product with less effort.
