Bar plans? - Page 28

OK, getting close to doing this. I have the table rough built and adding trim all the way around which will double as the dam.

So 1/4" inch thick. Because of the trim, I'm thinking closer to 1/2". Would this be two pours or just buy a big enough kit for that much?

Ok thanks. I don't know if I'll have time for multiple pours (how long do you wait between pours?). After wife telling me we were not having a SB party this year, last night she informed me she has invited 3 couples over and asked if I would cook. So, yea..having a party. Which means I need to have this done by then.

I've already cut the table and painted the surface last night. Trim going on today which will also act as the dam. I plan on using wood filler as a sort of caulk between the trim and inside of the table.

The table is actually fairly small. If it were square it would be 29" X 29". But I lopped off two of the corners. A little on the rear corner so cords and such could go through and larger on the front to match the turn in my bar. All that to say this should be well under 6 SF surface area.

I have a handful of the tiles I used on the bar and toyed with the idea of breaking them up and using them. However, I think, alas I'll go with beer bottle tops. I've been saving them for a project as this and so might as well stick with the plan. This should be a quick, inexpensive (I have all the stuff on hand as leftovers except the stuff for the pour).

After reading through the thread on this specific topic, I think I will go buy an inexpensive touch. Seems easier than blowing as many have reported a significant amount of bubbles when using bottle caps due to the pockets of air.

Do you have a recommendation for the glue to hold the bottle caps in place during the pour and spread? I'll have to read through again to find that. Here is what I'm doing....

Proposed layout,



Top cut out (with the old round pub table on top for comparison),



Recycled the old pub table's legs, and "dry fit" it in place. Also made reusing the same chairs so not making this bar height. I'll cut the vertical 1x2's on the wall so the table fits flush,



Top painted (hopefully to act as a seal and since the caps won't be solid) and trim going on. Yea, I'll have to touch up the trim, but that should be easy,

What does "be careful" using caps mean? I was just going to use a dab of glue. Just enough to hold the caps in place. Or do you mean be careful with the pour so that it goes around the caps and not under them?

So if I do multiple pours the first one should be just enough to cover the caps? This would make it easier for the bubbles to come up?

I'm done with the table. Used wood filler at all corners (the between the table and molding + at a all the inner miter cuts of the molding). Then repainted the entire inside. Touched up the stain on the molding and hopefully, set to go.



And yea, I got plenty of bottle caps for this little project. Do I sort by color or brand? Or by general type? And will I make a pattern or just go random? Decisions, decisions. Guess I'll have another beer to decide.

OK, thanks. This guy filled each cap with hot glue so that there would be no space. Damn. That would take forever!

http://windfarmisrecords.blogspot.co...cap-table.html

Well I assume as some point the bubbles show, or they don't. So I can sit there and wait. Thankfully, not that big of a table.

Well I don't know if smart or not, but I did a dry fit of the caps. Dear lord, I didn't realize how many it would take. I almost didn't have enough. After throwing out a handful of bad caps, I only have a handful left!

I also not sure if I like the paint on the inner table and inner molding. I used the dark tan that is the same color as the walls. I'm thinking black would be better. I didn't realize how much you would see the table itself.

I did a couple of outer rows in a pattern. But then didn't have enough of the same so then went random. Finally in the center I put all the tops that have the state of Texas on it (St. Arnold).

Ha! Not a bad idea...but alas...on a timetable...I do think I'll take one more day and repaint the table black. Than I should be able to start gluing the caps down tonight or in the morning and hopefully do the pour this weekend.

Just be aware, it take a lot more caps than you think I thought I had plenty. But I pretty much had to us them all.

First coat of glossy black on. I like the black much better.

I also bought two types of glue for a test. I want to make sure whatever I use drys clear.

The Gorilla Glue sort of foams up after a bit and seems to be a light tan in color.

The Loctite "Stik'N Seal" seems to dry pretty clear (it says "transparent").

I also bought a tube of Loctite "Clear Power Grab". It says instant grab, but it doesn't seem so on this. And the none clear version is my regular glue for moldings and such. And normally it is instant grab. Will see how it dry's.

Started gluing the caps tonight. Little tedious, but going fairly quickly.

To my surprise is looks like I'm going to need close to 2 gallons?? That doesn't seem right. My table top is less than 6 SF. But I'm going to need to go nearly 1/2 an inch.

http://eti-usa.com/Calculator.html

I understand this will take multiple coats. But I'm confused has to how to figure how much product to use on each coat.

http://eti-usa.com/envirotex-lite/

All caps glued down and drying....it take a while for that glue to dry to clear. Looks like it will be a full 24 hours on some of the areas where I used a thicker amount. And yea, I took tlogan's idea and used the Texas beer tops I had and made an outline of the state. I like the added feature, but with the odd outline there were a few more gaps than I would have liked. But the black paint helps "hide" this. I also caulked the underside of the table at the molding. Though with the wood filler and four (4) heavy coats of paint, that is probably over kill.

Well. Next problem. I can't find anyone that has a bigger box than the 32oz. So far tried Michaels and Hobby Lobby.

None in my area...I'm still looking.

Looks like Lowes sells a similar product. And seems to be cheaper. About $68 at Lowes for a gallon where as the Envirotex is about $90. Yes, if I could find it at Hobby Lobby in that size, I could use a coupon and get it cheaper. I might see if they can look up if any of their stores carry that size in the area.

http://www.glazecoat.com/GlazeCoat.htm

Well, if my calculation are right I'd need 8 of the 32oz kits. Which seems a pain. But yea I could do that. But that is pretty pricey for what I thought would be a cheap product ($240). Now HL does have a 40% coupon, but only on one item. So I either got to go buy a bunch more newspapers or see if they can look up their other stores to see if they gallon size.

Though the one benefit of buying 8 kits is if I only mix two at time and I don't use them all I could return the unopened one's.

Yes, I checked Michael's. They only have the 32oz as well and at $5.00 more per box than HL.

I'll look at HD. They don't show it on their web site. But I'll go to a store tomorrow and check

I just read the instructions and watched the video for Glaze Coat at Lowes. It seems identical to the Envirotex Lite. Two parts. Carefully measure. Carefully mix. Pour (self leveling). Use your breathe or torch to eliminate bubbles. If doing a thick coating, do it in multiple batches. And only $65 per gallon.

But I got to find it and decide tomorrow if I have to wait a day or two between pours, I need to get the first one down no later than Sunday.

Found a general article on these Resin coatings and mentions several brands,

Brands Commonly Available (similar resin, but may differ in package size sold, or in price)

Castin Craft - widely available in small packages of hardener and resin for under $10, range of coloring agents and fillers available. Buy Direct
Envirotex Lite - widely available via craft stores, hobby shops, boat suppliers, plastics shops. Available in small packages of hardener and resin for under $10.
Ultra Glo – similar to Envirotex Lite, different range of distributors.
Glaze Coat - similar to Envirotex Lite, usually available from woodworking suppliers.
Crystal Sheen – similar to Envirotex Lite, usually available from plastic and casting suppliers.
Aristocrat Liquid Glass (note, the term Liquid Glass is also used for car polish brands, the epoxy resin is Aristocrat Liquid Glass) - similar to Envirotex Lite, often available from craft sections of big box stores, or art suppliers.

Edit: nearly 36 hours later, still some of the glue has not "cured" to transparent. I pretty sure it will all get there. It is just a few areas near the center where I used bigger globs of glue. All the glue is set and none of the caps move and it all seems to work well. Just taking longer than I anticipated for it all to go to transparent. If you look close, near the center you can see some of the white of the glue (it goes from white to cloudy to transparent as it cures). In my experience in doing this, the thicker the application of glue, the longer it takes to get to transparent. I really don't want to do a resin pour till all the glue is transparent.

Confirmed that Lowes has the Glaze Coat product in stack. And HL doesn't stock the 1 gallon Envirotex Lite. They "may" be able to special order. They also only have 3-4 of the 32oz product on hand.

I'll likely go with the Glaze Coat. All these poured resin's seem the same. They just seem to vary by size and where sold. I'll buy a gallon and see where that gets me over 2 maybe 3 coats. Than can buy another gallon or they have smaller sizes as well.

Found an instruction sheet....looks like no sanding between coats is needed if adding the next coats within 24 hours. Which is good. Especially after the first coat.

http://www.eclecticproducts.com/_pro..._pour_tips.pdf

Did "first" pour this morning. Well I say first I actually did two 24oz pours. My original plan was one very thin pour to just seal up the caps. However the stuff is so thick I couldn't be that precious and it was obvious it was not going to hit all the areas as I couldn't spread the product between the caps. So I mixed another batch and poured right away (per instructions, this is ok and how you do a really large pour anyway). The total of 48oz pour got just to the top of the caps. Most caps are not covered or if they are just barely.

No leaks at all. Which is good. Only real issue is I had a couple of floaters. Which is annoying after after all the gluing I did. And now that I poured it, it looks like that there are still 2-3 blobs of glue that were not totally transparent yet. Annoying.

I pushed down the floater caps (only 3-4) and the resin should hold them. But I'm not overly worried about them. They can't float much because of how little glaze there is and it might actually give a 3D look to it. I've only got one at the edge that I'm worried about and am clamping for a bit till the resin sets up enough to hold it in place.

Bubbles are not really an issue. Yes, I have some. But I'm actually finding it easier to blow on them than use a touch. I plan on babysitting it at least two hours. Been about an hour so far. But I go over and check it every few minutes and usually find 2-3 new bubbles.

Only "real" mistake so far was that I wore an crappy old shirt in case I got anything on it. It is about 3 sizes to big on me and once when I bent over to blow on it area, it dipped in the glaze. No shouldn't effect the glaze, but I'm worried about lint or duct in the glaze. I don't see any, but will see.

I am impressed with how easy it is to work with (tho this will be a while for final results, so I might change that). But I got some on the molding and it wiped right up. The mixing was annoying, but following the directions exactly, you could see the product change. So to me that indicated was working. The pour was thicker and heavier than I anticipated, but again, all should be good.

Also, I guess I mismeasured. I thought this would take nearly 2 gallons. 1 just might do it. Which would be fantastic. Not sure how to measure out the 2nd coat. Looks like I still got a good 1/4" to go from the top of the caps to the top of the molding. I'd like the top and the molding to be the same. But will see.



Edit: Aprox 6 hours since pour and appears all is working. About 3 hours ago I checked on it and saw a bubble. Not sure if I missed it or what. But I used a toothpick to pop it. It made me nervous as it wrinkle and sort of cratered. However, about 15 minutes later, it seemed to have self leveled itself and was fine. It seems to be curing properly. Far as I can tell.

Everything I found says to pour the next coat between 10-24 hours. You can wait longer, but then it is recommended to sand. Think I'll do the pour about 10:30 tonight which would be about 12 hours. Not sure how big of a pour I'll or if smart to try to just finish it. Might do another 48oz pour and see where that gets me.

Edit: Nearly 8 hours since pour. The resin is now firm/hard. I don't want to press to hard as I'm afraid I'll leave finger prints. But it has a definite "knock" to it. Looks good.

Just poured true 2nd coat. I mixed and poured 48oz.

I did this more "typical" I supposed. I first spent a little more time making sure table was level and even used those wood shims under each leg so I could make it as level as possible. I then poured all 48oz near the center scraping as much out of the bucket as I could. I then used a plastic spreader to help it and make sure it go to all edges.

This time there were a lot more small bubbles. Not sure why. I know no big one's because the caps were totally enclosed by the first pour. But these seemed to be just from the mix, pour and spread. And while I waved my torch a bit, I seemed to have more control just blowing. And these tinny bubble popped easily. I plan on babysitting again for an hour, but since initially blowing a lot of little one's, few new one's have come up.

I also brushed on (with a foam brush) some of the left over resin in the bottom of the bucket on the wood trim. Figured after my touch up of the stain, I'd need to do another layer of clear coat, so why not just use the resin.

Looks like I got aprox 1/8" maybe a little less to go. I've got some of this left, but I'm sure it won't be enough. I'll go get a small box tomorrow and hope that takes care of all.



And just did a 3rd 48oz pour. Still not to the top. Probably 1/8" or a little less to go. Wife actually said to leave a bit, that way if someone spills something it stays on the table. But I think I'll do one more pour.

I like the "depth" of how thick it is. But I would have been done by now if I had cut another 1/4" piece of plywood and laid it inside my table and glued the caps to it. I could have lowered the trim as well, but I didn't want a lip on the underside. Tho I guess now, thinking about, no one would have known.

Again, lots of little bubbles from the mix, pour and spread. And I must of gotten the worlds worse torch. I can't keep it running when I tilt it down. Wish I hadn't thrown out the box/receipt, I'd take back. But it was a really cheap one. But again, blowing is fine. And few new bubble come up. It is just that initial checking for it at the beginning.

Thanks. Very pleased overall. Looks like I have a little less than an 1/8th of an inch left. I bought one more small kit. Between that kit and a little I have left in the gallon kit, should do it. If it goes over a little that is ok. Or if it isn't exact, it is ok...I'm happy.

However, I forgot to buy me a diamond crusted drill bit. I'm trying to find a good bear bottle (actually I just had a thought. I've got 4 growlers sitting around. I'll use one of them!) to make a lamp out of to look good on the table. Ha!!

Final results. It feels hard and slick. But heavier things still seem to stick to it. Course hasn't been 24 hours yet.





Overall pleased with the results. Didn't need to make it so thick. The final coat really didn't add anything visually. And being the one that did it, I'm pretty critical and notice everything. Like a tinny trapped piece of dust here and there and that one corner is every so slightly closer to the top than another. But these are things only I'd notice. It really is crystal clear and very cool.

Oh yea. I sat it on there to check for fit (I might get a bigger shade) and for photos. When I moved it, that is when I noticed it a touch tacky. But it did nothing to the surface.

I'm very happy. Other than I might make or get taller legs and make it a true pub table. My wife wanted a "regular" table in the bar as she doesn't always like sitting on bar stools. But is my bar, and I might like it at bar height. Will see. Leaving it alone for now and thru the weekend (SB party).

I do need to read back thru the other thread and see what to use to polish it. Windex scares me...so I'll look.