Marri Dining Table

[Marrinovice]

Hey friends,
So I have just Moved over to WA and thought it would be a great project to make a Marri slab dining table. I am a total novice but have managed to get all my cracks filled with west systems epoxy (well most), cut the timber to dimension and I have it sanded back to 240 at the moment.

The big question, how do i finish it? I love the glass look of the resin but after experimenting with filling the cracks I am nervous about attempting an entire clear coat. I have read elsewhere that some people use several coats of cabots exterior marine grade gloss and sand inbetween. would this be a better alternative? if so how many coats and what grain would i sand it back to?

also one last question some of the black resin i have sanded over has gone a dull grey will i need to use anything on that to bring it back to a glassy black or will that occur naturally with a higher grit paper?

any help would be very much appreciated here is a pic of where I am at so far thanks in advance for any advice :roll: (sorry cant seem to rotate image)

[hurcorh]

Higher grit wet / dry paper will make the epoxy glossy again. Any oil based finish will look great. Nice work mate.

[Marrinovice]

Thanks heaps mate!

[Arron]

West system epoxy is not really self levelling, so you are right to be a bit nervous about it.

Check out Wattyl 7008 for a super-durable gloss finish which is easy to apply.

It's going to be a great looking table.

Cheers
Arron

[LGS]

Hi and welcome to the forums.
I'd like to suggest a finish that you may like to use on your table. It's a local oil product which gives a very silky smooth and resistant finish, while giving a beautiful result on all timber. You can see some pics and info at damnfinefurniture.net. This site (my site) gives you the method and shows the result. You can also look at this site (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f9/cabots-danish-oil-formula-change-166948) and see how resistant it is.

Regards,

Rob

[Christos]

If you are after something that you can pour over the table and give you a glass look you might want to read up on Glasscoat. Their website is
http://glasscoat.com.au/

I have not tried this myself only seen this in the wood shows. I should also state that personally I don't really like the shinny look but I can see where this would come in handy for tables that get used in boardrooms.

[Marrinovice]

Thanks Arron, I like the sound of this 7008 as I like polys it is a bit hard to track down on the net but I've found a local paint store that should stock it any idea on price? I have had a bit of a read of the TDS but its very vague any suggestions on mixing and applying it. how fine should I sand before applying the first coat, how long should I wait between coats and sanding back at what grain? Thanks again.

[Marrinovice]

thanks Christos i'll have a look now!

[Marrinovice]

Rob the website looks great mate that furniture is beautiful. Hard to tell from those pics what it would look like with lighter coloured Marri but it certainly looks the goods on that Jarrah. The sanding method was very informative also, would you apply that method to most finishes ?

[Marrinovice]

[QUOTE=Arron;1993463]West system epoxy is not really self levelling, so you are right to be a bit nervous about it.

Check out Wattyl 7008 for a super-durable gloss finish which is easy to apply.

It's going to be a great looking table.


Hey Arron went ahead with the 7008. Applied a first coat to the underside yesterday arvo as a tester and also thinned it. I noticed at the time it was super dark but wasn't too concerned as Its says clear high gloss and thought it would dry lighter. I've checked it this morning and its still quite dark just wondering if it will get any lighter than what it is now throughout the day attached is a pic taken this morning...

Cheers
Marcel.

401747

[LGS]

Hi Marcel,

Sorry for the delayed response. Almost all the furniture on my site is finished with Hard Burnishing oil. It comes up well on both light and dark timbers. It doesn't significantly alter the colour of the timber.

As far as sanding goes, I sand to at least 400g before adding a finish of any kind. Seems to work for me, but I don't use plastics.

Regards,

Rob