Epoxy loves heat and will flow and level much better around 80f than 65f to 68f. Another trick is to warm the wood then apply the epoxy. The cooling of the body will draw in the epoxy and helps eliminate bubbles.

You should use a digital scale when you pour the two parts in the cup. Those cups are tapered so the second pour was larger. Some epoxies are fussy with the ratio.

Thanks for the useful information!

i just did a test with Famowood epoxy and applied it with a piece of paper towel to see if it would level out using a poor applicator. Well after 24 hours it was rock hard and smooth as glass and i only noticed a couple of bubbles in an area about 6inx6in. I think I have finally found the clear coat I have been looking for. In my humble opinion bar top epoxy is a very good choice. The instructions say not meant to go over oil based stains so i will test putting it over a seal coat of dewaxed shellac. Thanks for the video!!!

Good to know, and nice analysis.

Thanks Chris! Looks like a good alternative

Your summary was exactly what I thought it would be. Glad to see the experiment.

Yes! It was extremely helpful. Thank you.

Thank you for making this video, it realy helped me.

I've seen some epoxy users make a rotating holder made with an old barbecue rotisserie motor that slowly keeps the work subject (guitar in this case) rotating like a roast chicken so the epoxy product can be put on very thick and it never finds a drip point. In the case I've seen making fishing lures which are quite small, he submerges it so it's really put on super thick, puts it on the rotisserie and forgets it for a few hours. But even though it's a much smaller piece the stuff still runs and drips the same if you just set it in one place.

Thank you! Great work !

I've done it and it came out great

Good to hear about the low temps not affecting it much! I just did a second "flood coat" on a guitar I put a base layer of glued paper, followed by paint, on. I used a medium sized plastic tub, some dryer vent tubing, and a fan to create a curing chamber

Ive had good results with Rustins Plastic Floor Coating, it dries hard as nails it can also be sprayed with 10% thinners.

Thanks this video Is very useful

very helpful video as I was thinking about this option

I used SolaRez UV cure on the guitar I built for my son. Brush on a coat inside then take it outside in the sunshine for about 10 minutes. Do this for however many coats you want. You'll be polishing the same day. My son's looks like it's made of black glass.

Thank you 👍🏾

awesome!

Wow, thanx.

Interesting. Thanks for checking it off of my list of things to try. I'm surprised not to see any "A guitar walks into a bar" jokes in the comments!

Interesting info! Good to know. Don’t think I’ll be trying this!

I'm not sure how the people saying you should pour are dealing with the fact you're manipulating a 3D object. How do you make the back and sides and front transitions seamless that way? Not saying they're wrong, I can't see past that, but brush coats seem to me the best idea. I've used epoxy on fretboards before but then you do have a relatively 2D surface to deal with. ...and yeah, it's one of those "best if you don't have other options option". Thanks for taking one for the team Chris with your experiments :) I guess fibreglass auto people and canoe makers deal with all sorts of shapes... actually, I should research there too. Thanks again.

nice Chris i was going to do this to my flying v you know the wings are always getting chips on them so i figured this would be good

Chris, Thanks for trying this product. For a hobby builder like me, this would be a good choice since I am always looking for durable finishes and I have the time to do the sanding. I wonder, though, if it is possible to mix some kind of flattening agent with the epoxy to give it a more satin look instead of the deep gloss, or if there is some other kind of super hard clear finish that can be flattened somewhat. Please do a video on that if you know of an ingredient that works this way.

Hey Chris, thanks for always putting out great content. I work R&D with paints and coatings, and was curious if you've ever tried any defoaming products. One or two drops in the cup during your epoxy mix should prevent bubble and microbubble formation. This should save you the step of torching to pop bubbles.

I have done this already a few times. It is very durable. I have done a pour on, not a brush on. Wax paper is the best to put under your work. Epoxy will not really stick to wax paper. Brush on is not the same as pouring it on. Using a small tooth plastic trawl and doing the top and sides first, don't worry about the runs or drips on the sides that can be sanded. Pour on and torch will get rid of the bubbles and level sanding you will now get the pinhole marks. The way I did it is on my channel and it works great as a finish, just is a lot of work to get the look your looking for.

I wonder if you could hook it up to a rotisserie motor to slowly move it while it sets up....

Was gonna try this w/ ez poxy, but I've seen nightmare stories, thanks for the honest answer, I don't get it at all, all these epoxy manufacturers demo video are just like oh yeah u just mix it up and poor it on, then when I see the diyers try it it turns into a giant Hassel

Thanks for the great video!!! I was wondering what grit did you start level sanding with? Some coarse 80/120 or did you start much higher like a 600? I am attempting one right now and this info would be really helpful. Cheers

Instead of a bard top epoxy, would it be a good idea to use that Solarez "Polyester Sanding Resin", then level sand and then apply the Solarez Gloss Polyester Resin, then fine sand and buff? I guess that would be easier to work with.

hi, great that i found your channel, massive knowledge. the reason i was searching is that i have a guitar body that was painted on by an artist but after 3 years the finish (some king of a lacquer) is still tacky : ( so i thought i can do a layer of epoxy. wet sand the guitar many times over the years but still tacky/ sticky. any solution to that please?

I am in this predicament, (no spray equipment) I was told by Crystalac that you can brush on the water-based finish you often use on your guitars. do you have any experience with this? I've been considering trying it out as I don't need my guitars to be nuclear war proof. thanks for inspiring me to take the CNC route too, your videos have been tremendously helpful to me. best regards from Denmark.

The epoxy I can get in Italy is dry to the touch in about 36-48 hours. impossible to sand before that.

Perfect timing, I need this info right now. Big take away for me week wait time..I am doing guitar with LED flames under the epoxy. Hope I have time to finish. Thanks again! Do you think it will build up enough to level over decals??? Any thoughts?

Do you buy into the finish affecting the sound of a guitar? I have poured many bar tops with these products. Just curious if you think it would matter at all...

i think id rather have a bomb proof finish...guitars can get banged up pretty quickly

what about dust particles? is there a way you can prevent them from going onto the body of the guitar whilst the epoxy is setting? cheers

Is it possible to use this type of epoxy to protect stain (dye) paint? Thank you

You used new brush in every coat?

I will pint my tele with epoxy as a clear cote , I like it very much ! thank you man

Hi chris i build a electric guitar body with spalted wood, and it was soft, what can i do to harden the wood?

I like working with epoxy more than nitrocellulose

Could you thin the epoxy with alcohol?

A lot of unnecessary work, But it turned out really beautiful. Thanks.

I use epoxy resin as a "sanding sealer" to even the wood and fill the gap. Have tried it for top coat and its totally disaster since guitar is 3D object and have to many curve

I always enjoy watching your videos and I've learned quite a bit. One constructive piece of criticism is you never show the finished product up close. And that is something I would like to see at the end. You did a video on buffing out a finish on a guitar and then you did it and then you kept the body under your arm for the rest of the video. Let us see what it looks like. You obviously know what you're doing but it feels somewhat anticlimactic to not get a close up of the finished work. Okay end of rent

I am planning when the weather warms up on doing a crackle coat - I have a bunch of crystal epoxy resin since I use it for mold casting - was wondering if you knew if you could do the epoxy and then following it coat with a lacquer rattle can to reduce the amount of lacquer it will take to fill the gaps in the crackle coat - I think it would also let me do some effect like a light mix of luminous powder with the epoxy or a dusting without disturbing it too much - just not sure on the adhesion or if I say need to wait some period for the epoxy to fully cure to keep the lacquer (or could go poly) coat from cracking

wait...but how does epoxy sound??

Your technique here was not ideal. You should have rather used the same method as they use to flow-coat surfboards. Would have been easier and taken less time.