Seal Coat
Always apply a seal coat before flood coating. To start, the surface must be clean, dry and free of contamination. Next, apply a thin coat of mixed epoxy to surface. Take care to cover and seal any voids or cracks present. Allow the seal coat to cure to a rock hard solid, and sand with 80-120 grit paper, paying special attention to imperfections such as air bubbles. Lastly, wipe clean with a cotton t-shirt rag and denatured alcohol. The purpose of a seal coat is to minimize the effects of off gassing by creating a thin air-tight barrier between a porous wooden surface and the Table Top epoxy flood coat so air bubbles won’t percolate up through the curing epoxy creating cosmetic defects.
You could seal coat your project with the MAS 2:1 Non-blushing system or MAS Penetrating Epoxy, but we recommend sealing with MAS Table Top so you don’t have to invest in multiple systems to complete one project. That being said, MAS Table Top is the absolute clearest epoxy system we offer, and specifically formulated for flood coating applications. You can dilute down the mixed Table Top resin/hardener with 2-5% denatured alcohol to stretch the material a bit further on seal coats. A little goes a long way. Do not over dilute. Only dilute for seal coat. Never for final flood coats.
my log slices kept bubbling even after torching. What can i do to prevent that?
Seal them with a thin coat of epoxy before doing a flood coat. Heat opens the pores of the wood and allows more air to exit as the epoxy soaks in. Sealing the wood with MAS Penetrating Epoxy or thinning down MAS Tabletop Pro with 2-5% denatured alcohol will stop the off gas bubbles from forming