Regardless of which product you use, it is imperative that you coat all sides, not just the top.

Later!
Mr. Ed

 

Very, very true

 

So here is the finished wood planks. I applied 3 coats of RAKA epoxy and sanded each prior to the next coat. After the third coat of epoxy I block sanded the surface to remove any remaining grain in the wood. I then sprayed the planks with 3 coats of House of Kolor USC01 clear, allowed to dry, block sanded with 800 grit wet. After sanding I sprayed 2 flow coats of clear. I did buy some Epifanes and was going to use it instead of the USC01 but after looking at the varnish I decided that it was too dark...not as clear as I wanted.

 

All you will be hauling now is air . Looks like wet glass . Awesome Job .

 

Thanks. This is the last piece of a truck that I painted for a guy...hopefully he will have it assembled soon I would like to see all the pieces I had my hands on become a truck again.

 

You guys never, cease to amaze me. Its almost unbelievable what can be accomplished when a true craftsman, applies every thing he has learned by doing hundreds if not thousands of jobs, that has taught him exactly what to do and what not to do, to accomplish true perfection. But then there it is, perfection right in front of my eyes. So I know it is possible. I just don't know how. Beautiful job Charlie, just beautiful.

 

Charlie, great looking work. The owner of that truck will be proud

 

Good job Charlie. Inspirational.

 

Thanks guys...I guess I have answered my original question regarding the RAKA epoxy. The version of the RAKA epoxy that Mar-K used/recommended in their various tests was the number 127 used in conjunction with the number 350 hardener. The 127 is advertised as "low viscosity" but it appeared more gel-like to me when poured from the bottle. The 350 hardener is touted to be a non-blushing product...I saw no blushing at all but then again the humidity has been less than 20% here this week with a temp of 90+. After it was mixed it rolled out very nicely with a high density foam roller. As it cured it flowed out very evenly. Since I knew that I would be sanding each coat fairly aggressively (100 grit on a DA) I didn't spend a lot of time tacking the surface down prior to application. For those who may want to use this epoxy in the future, be sure to spend a little extra time with blowing off the pieces and tacking them down well. Dust seems to want to float right up to the surface. Had a few bubbles, not sure why but I assume that they were the result of air being displaced in the wood as the resin soaked in. Sanding the resin was fairly easy, the dust is irritating so a mask is in order.
Bottom line...from an application standpoint I give the RAKA high marks. Mar-K did some extensive environmental testing on it which proved that it is very durable when isolated from UV light (the bane of all epoxies). That kinda wraps it up...

 

Nice! Wish they were mine. Pics when you see it assembled is required.

 

Any resemblance ?

 

Would some sort of sealer have helped with the bubbles? I have done some coffee tables and counter tops with an acrylic coating and have had a few bubbles come up from the oak boards. Not so much with maple. Nice work you two.

 

Very nice indeed. The truck that these boards are going in is also red so that is probably a closer match than you thought. Did you do the finish work on the oak? Any thoughts to share on your process?

 

I would have thought that three coats of epoxy resin would have done the trick in sealing the wood. One of the problematic areas was on the endgrain so there were no surprises there with the bubbles. A heat gun works great on popping the bubbles but in my case they did not appear until the resin was well on it's way to curing.

 

Boards are ash from Grandpa & Dad's mill in N. Wis .no longer in existence . Sanded by machine progressively to 220 . Block sanded with 320 . Light oak stain . 2 coats of lacquer sealer sanded w/ 320 in between coats . 8 coats of Alphatic Urethane applied lightly with 16 hrs. of block sanding (320 ) 2 hrs. x 8 boards . Results in pic.