[Katherine Swift]

This question comes from Maxwell:

Hi, I’m feeling a little lost and have failed a couple times. I’m trying to make these (https://i.imgur.com/P1wJwEl.jpg) river coasters in bulk by making a big 4-4-15inch coaster block and slicing them off. That leaves me with roughly a 15 inch long, half inch wide, 4 inch deep volume to fill with resin. Because of the deep gap, its hard to pop bubbles between pours so I would like to do it in one pour. I tired epoxy resin which over heated and cracked and I tried polyester resin which I think worked (we’ll see) but I almost fainted using it outside. Is there any alternative you’d recommend for such a wide pour? Thank you for your advice.

[Katherine Swift]

Hi Maxwell,

For what you want to do a clear polyurethane resin would work best. You will need to pressure cast it, however, to make sure to get all the bubbles out. Otherwise, you could try the epoxy again, but try pouring in smaller batches.
I wouldn’t expect polyester resin to work well for this either as it tends to shrink enough that it pulls away from wood once fully cured.

Unfortunately, clear polyurethanes are not something we sell because of the short shelf life. Instead, we recommend going to Alumilite.com. They have a couple that should fit what you want to do. Please let them know we referred you.

[Maxwell Roth]

Thank you for your quick response. I’ve never worked with a polyurethane resin, what is required when working with one?
I’m a little intimidated to buy more specialized equipment. Would this be pulling the bobbles out of the resin before pouring or placing the whole project into a pressurized pot?
I was able to cut up my 2 failed experiments to further evaluate them and despite the horrid smell the polyester resin seemed to have worked alright. Are there any tips you can give me for working with polyester resin? I was surprised that no where on the chart of drops did it say “per ounce” and my 1st failed casting had the recommenced 6 drops but for 16 ounces.

[Katherine Swift]

If you want to try working with clear polyurethanes, we recommend going to Alumilite.com. We sell several of their products, but not the clear polyurethanes because they have a short shelf life. They can make the best recommendation for what you want to do. Please let them know we referred you. *smile*

As for working with polyester resin, this article should help: https://resinobsession.com/resin-resin-resin/polyester-casting-resin

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