[Joseph]

I purchased a redwood slab that I would like to encapsulate in resin (Lots of info on this) and use as a vanity floating countertop in my master bathroom. My thought was that I could recess my ceramic glazed vessel sink 2″ into the 3″ thick wood slab. I wanted to know if its possible to incapsulate the entire slab in resin and have a 1” thick clear resin top that could surround/seal/embed & waterproof my sink in the 1″ top layer?

So my questions are:
1) Is this possible?
2) If so what products should I purchase.
3) What are the steps to achieving this?

Thanks for any suggestions or guidance. – Joseph

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Joseph,

Yes, this is possible, but you should know this is going to be a big project. 😉

The first thing you are going to need to is to build a mold box large enough for the table and the piece of wood. For something of this size, I would suggest a mold box made of acrylic. You will either need to treat with a heavy coat of mold release, or line it with wax paper in order for the cured resin to release.

The finished casting will also be very heavy. I don’t know that it will be suitable for a floating shelf.

For a casting this large, the amount of resin needed will be quite expensive. A resin used for industrial purposes will save you money, but will likely yellow faster as compared to resins designated for jewelry and crafts.

As for embedding the sink, I would do that after casting the slab of wood into the resin. You will need an industrial jigsaw (or something similar) to cut the space for the sink. Personally, I wouldn’t embed the sink during the resin pouring process as if for some reason the sink needs to come out, you will have to take out the entire slab of wood and resin.

[Bear Goode]

Something else to think about would be to use a form of a suction of some kind. I have used a “food saver” to remove the air from my projects. The woods I have used in the past absorb some of the resin to make a really strong bond and strengthen the wood. Most wood supply places have materials to do the size of projects you are thinking about. The wood gets Stabilized in some cases, which sounds perfect for your project.Hope this helps.

[Author]

Posts