Coating tables and bar tops with thick clear pourable plastic

A. Hi all,
I figured the torch out (use mapp gas)...but I cannot deal with Envirotex any more. There are always imperfections, something and I cannot run a business like this anymore. I wonder if there are some other coatings out there that might do somewhat the same thing that Envirotex does. I don't need heat resistance, nor such a thick coating. I am covering wood veneers and they are about 1/32 of an inch high.
any thoughts
bill

Q. This question is for Bill Carli (St. Thomas) from Jan. 2011-- Did you ever find a solution/product better than Envirotex lite? Sounds like my art pieces are very similar to what you are doing. Thanks for any input.

A. Have used Envirotex Light for years for covering paintings on panels huge and small.
Wear a respirator [on eBay or Amazon] with organic filters, not a mask. The stuff is carcinogenic even though it doesn't smell too bad at all.
Do it in a totally dust free area with plenty of heavy plastic on floor as you will make a mess the first few times and, if you do, it's there to stay unless it's on a wood or non porous floor.
Warm temps like 70 to 80° speed up drying of epoxies like this.
Mix equal parts, stir very well until it gets clear and makes bunch of bubbles.
Pour onto surface center and with latex gloves spread to edges. if it goes over it will continue to drip for hours (thus the plastic on the floor)
You have about a half hour or more depending on room temp to spread it. It is very easy and just fills out nice, nothing to it.
I then come back in 1/2 hour and crank up the butane torch [on eBay or Amazon] and lightly go over the surface as a very shallow angle to pop any bubbles. Do this a few times, then let it cure, which takes about 8 to 12 hours to surface dry and 12 to 24 before it's hard.
If you do a thick pour it will crack as it heats up with the epoxy reaction; and also will show a yellow cast with coats over 1/8 inch thick.
Clean up is with rubbing alcohol. Don't use a hair dryer instead of torch to pop surface bubbles - you will just get tons of lint in it!
Never gets super hard; can get soft in heat. I would not use this product at all for bar tops. that is a different product altogether that is more durable to scuffing and won't crack when the internal temps get to 150° F if pouring out a half inch of e-tex.
-rudy

I just completed a penny bar using US Composites Kleer Coat. All the advice on the page was correct. I mixed a total of 1 gal at a time and stirred for just over 10 min. The working time was longer than expected. I made a raised edge around the bar using molding and used liquid nails and finish nails to mount it. Any corner I thought was sealed well enough, wasn't. Almost every corner dripped, but not badly. (I'm not a carpenter, so my angles weren't perfectly cut.) This IS NOT AS HARD as you think. I used cabinet grade plywood for top, stained it and then put 3 coats of regular poly on it and used molding to as described above to trim it out. I used fruitwood wood stain [affil links] , would go darker if I did it again. The tip on popping bubbles with torch is awesome. It is especially useful on second coat where most bubbles are tiny (I thought they were dust particles) from the mixing process and the torch pops them very easily. First coat bubbles were bigger and used nail to pop. Top is CRYSTAL CLEAR ! Not that difficult. 2 man project though. Would definitely do it again. LOVE IT!

A. Most Artists are using EX-74 epoxy coating to coat paintings. It has a UV inhibitor, which retards the ambering of the finish. EX-74 is also used to coat bars, and tables, and for making plaques with pictures, etc.
Other products which are similar but do not have the UV inhibitor are EX-88, Envirotex Lite, Crystal Sheen, GlazeCoat, and KleerKote. All of these products are similar, and work the same. They are easy to install, but you have to read the instructions.

I have been coating bars and tables for over 20 years, and I have also coated several paintings. Most people that have problems with the coatings do not mix them properly, and that is a critical point. If you want it to look swell, you gotta mix it like H......

A. I have used clear resin to cover decals and also mixed paint into the clear resin to add additional color. As far as the bubbles... find a spray bottle that when sprayed gives you a real fine mist. If you spray alcohol across the top of the resin, it will cause the bubbles to come to the top and pop all by themselves.
If you mist the surface of the 3 to 6 times for the first hour that should do it, you can use more if needed. But, do not spray so much causing it to pool. I have used US Composites Kleer Coat for the last 3 to 4 years.

Like everyone else has said... make sure you mix it correctly, makes sure the resin is mixed well, mix it slowly so you don't cause bubbles, take your time. I
normally pour the thinner hardener into the thicker portion
of the resin. If you have a large area get some help, one person to mix and one person to pour. Hope this helps.

A. Leggari products sells the epoxy you are looking for it was specifically formulated for resurfacing countertops.

A. Hi, Cindy. I'd use the polyurethane made for floors as this bartop stuff is rather soft and probably not good for foot traffic (deep scuffing). A think the poly will stick to the pennies, but do a sample: put four pennies on a scrap of wood and try it before committing it to your kitchen floor. Cleaning the pennies with acetone [on eBay or Amazon] will probably help, but remember that it is highly flammable, so best done outside and with only small quantities at risk. Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hi neighbor. Rather than the thick pourable stuff, I used several coats of polyurethane spar varnish on cabinet grade plywood for my outdoor bar countertops as we've always had great success with it outdoors.

Of course, it's very thin by pourable standards. If you want the thick pourable stuff, I'd probably follow Tyler's advice about using EX-74 because I think yellowing would be a serious problem if the coating doesn't have UV inhibitors. You can be talking serious money for those thick coatings if it's a large bar. A gallon is 231 cu inches, so divide that by the thickness you want and by 144, to determine the coverage in square feet -- and you'll see that you'll probably need several gallons.

Good luck.

Regards,

A. Hi Heather. It's a beautiful cabinet-grade bar. Maybe just use spar varnish instead of 1/4" thick pourable coating?

Otherwise, you can probably take a length of 3/4" diameter flexible clear plastic tubing, slit it in half lengthwise, and cover the hinge line with a dome of half tubing. Your pourable coating should run up to it and hide it pretty inconspicuously.

Regards,