BEST sealer to STOP epoxy bleeding - SURPRISING RESULTS!

[@Franklin-s9i]

I've done the exact same tests, trying six different sealants including Epifanes marine varnish, poly-urethane, shellac and My best result came from a wash of Titebond III. Some unsolicited advice, from an Emmy-winning cinematographer and producer and serious woodworker whose work features pigmented epoxy fill. Apologies. If you find this rude, you'd probably be right. Sometimes I can't help myself. Your LED soft-lite, well-done graphics and good mike indicate attention to the craft of video production as well as wood craft. Thank you. Your video is already head and shoulders above 95% of what's out there in KZbin woodworking land. Try adjusting your light position to improve reflections on your glasses (or take them off). Tie your left hand to the table. A little less talk and more b-roll. Go Buffaloes!

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks Franklin - no offense taken. Always a program of progress, not perfection. Check on the glasses - I routinely forget to switch from my computer glasses to my regular glasses, which reflect a lot less light. That said, my lights are far too close for comfort, but I'm very limited in depth so I need to deal with it. Good news - recent videos are less "handy" and "more b-roll :) Thanks for the feedback and watching!

[@jayarcher4200]

I know this video is a little older, but I use Rustoleum 2X glear gloss spray. Spray it on heavy in all directions and let it sit overnight before filling with epoxy. I have even used this method on pine and no bleed.

[@cyberreefguru]

Hi Jay -- thanks for the feedback. That's definitely on my list for the follow up. I routinely used poly (or lacquer) when I was making a lot of signs and it worked very well with paint, so I'm curious if it will also work with epoxy. Thanks for watching!

[@jstarr3676]

Im pouring dyed resin into routed out letters. If I spray on the entire piece of wood would the resin stay in the letters as I intend?

[@stevegunderson2392]

I watch Blacktail make epoxy table and he has never mentioned bleed through....I am very happy to see that issue addressed in a very well done way! Thanks you have a subscriber.

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks Steve - I really appreciate it. Cam has said he uses Shellac to seal his wood before pouring epoxy to avoid bleeding -- I'm second guessing that choice! Thanks for watching.

[@joshneill6057]

He does talk about it on a round table build . It was a colab piece sealed with clear epoxy

[@cyberreefguru]

@@joshneill6057 if I recall, Cam recommends shellac -- I have his epoxy course so I will have to go back and rewatch that section to verify. Thanks for watching Josh!

[@joshneill6057]

@@cyberreefguru He talks about it in a video named “Giant round epoxy table” he seals with clear epoxy before using colored on this one at least.

[@joshneill6057]

@@cyberreefguru Anyways thanks for your time and video! Much appreciated!

[@NWGR]

The shellac in a can has a 3 year shelf life. Also, for sealing, dewaxed shellac works best. It's sold as zinsser sealcoat and is a 2lb cut, though I mix my own from flakes these days (blond is my preference). Any time you're using shellac as a sealer you want dewaxed. I coat the whole area that will be getting epoxy.

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks for the suggestion - excellent thing to ensure for the next round!

[@aaalharmi]

I used dewaxed shellac on a pine piece and it bled badly. Do I need to do more than one coat?

[@NWGR]

@@aaalharmi You have to make sure everything is coated. If doing text inlays, after routing away the letters to be filled, you have to coat that area as well.

[@fjelstednord3159]

PC Petrifier is the best pre-sealer when working with epoxy. I've used it for 10yrs on thousands of pieces. I never use epoxy as a pre-sealer either.

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks -- I'll have to look into that!

[@kevinbroady6843]

I have been sealing my small carvings with Aquahere [ a PVC glue] on several Australian species of wood including pine and found it to completely prevent bleed . Tried a few other wood glues and all seemed work fine - the PVC is cheaper and very easy to apply especially to fine lettering.

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks for the info Kevin -- I will see if I can source something here and try it out! Thanks for watching!

[@h4z4rd42]

Just to make sure... you refer your choice as 'PVC' glue, while later you mention 'other wood glues'. Are you sure the first isn't PVA glue instead of PVC? Also, is that SELLEY'S AQUADHERE glue? If it was, that answers my above question.

[@westof130haidagwaii4]

I quite often use watco danish oil for sealer

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks - added to the list!

[@robertjohn527]

Newbie epoxy pourer here. Thank you for a very informative video. I evolved into epoxy after several inlays. I used select pine to receive the inlay. Experimenting with sealers, I discovered that General Finishes WB Poly did best at sealing and NOT darkening the wood. Also, pleasantly surprised that after forgetting to brush some epoxy to seal the surrounding area of my pour, I had no bleeding. I must mention I was super careful no to overpour and needed no sanding. I can provide a picture if you would like.

[@cyberreefguru]

Hi Robert - thanks for the valuable information. I will add your recommendation to the list for the next round of testing and hopefully I can reproduce your results. Thanks for watching!

[@ValinPrezkowski]

Good info. Yeah, do one (if you haven’t) with multiple coats. And how about pine and mfd? Getting so you gotta get a bank loan for the other stuff! (Lived in Ballard Hall for a year. Engineering center was brand new! Could actually walk over to Folsom and wander around right down on the field. Different times!)

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks Valin -- will add them to the list (MDF will be difficult!) - those buffs! ;)

[@seacrabby]

What about thin super glue?

[@cyberreefguru]

Hmmm, I didn't try it. I will definitely add that to the list though! Thanks for watching!

[@stevensavage3765]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I know a person who swears by Minwax wood Hardner as a sealer. Might be something else you wanted to look into. Thanks again.

[@cyberreefguru]

@@stevensavage3765 thanks Steven - I will add it to the (ever growing) list!

[@Tony66M]

I use total boat and powdered pigment on ash wood. I use no sealers. I just leave .015 for facing once the epoxy has hardened.

[@cyberreefguru]

Excellent suggestion! Thanks for watching!

[@kjk9771]

@Tony66M What does facing mean? The internet has failed me on this one...

[@matthewbeasley1164]

I would be interested in the following results of multiple coats and I do believe age dose matter on the sealer in question

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks Matthew -- I do plan on an update with all the suggestions -- I hope I can pull it together in the next month or so. We will see! Thanks for watching!

[@brianlister6036]

a second test would be interesting, I have used Spray lacquer with some success, perhaps you could incorporate that also

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks Brian -- I was just pondering a follow up! I will add this to the list. Thanks for watching!

[@jean-claudevaudrin5994]

Very informative and useful, as I'm soon to start trying some projects with epoxy.

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks for watching Jean-Claude!

[@SomethingOutOfAlmostNothing]

Thanks for this video! It would have been useful to see how you applied the different sealers. Did you just use a brush?

[@cyberreefguru]

Hi Vlad - yep, I used a foam brush. I would recommend a nylon brush though -- the foam does have a tendency to break down if it it's old. Thanks for watching!

[@tomws6336]

This was useful, but I was interested in the case you mentioned where you compared heartwood & sapwood on Walnut. I didn't see that in this video. Do you have that test case posted?

[@cyberreefguru]

Hi Tom -- thanks for pointing that out -- didn't mention it in the summary. I saw only minor differences between the two -- it's not clear if it is a grain issue or a sealing issue. One more reason for additional testing. Sorry for the rather inconclusive results on that front. Thanks for watching!

[@johnterdik4707]

I'd be interested in your follow-up testing. I'm new to this and using a Shaper Origin but plan to get a Shapeoko 5 with a 4x4 surface. I've been testing on pine, sealed the cutouts with 2 coats of shellac and still get bleeding in a few areas. I have not tried more than 2 coats or epoxy. Which epoxy

[@cyberreefguru]

Hi John - any epoxy should work but I used Total Boat. Planning a follow up - hopefully in a few weeks (well, months, but still ;)). Thanks for watching!

[@paulhill1662]

❤ Thank you

[@cyberreefguru]

You are welcome! Thanks for watching :)

[@Momostravel]

Great video, just what I needed, thank you! New sub

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks Joseph -- hoping to get a follow up video out shortly. Fingers crossed :) Thanks for watching!

[@JamesWilliams-en3os]

The problem with shellac as a sealer is due to its best feature as a finish: each successive coat partially dissolves the coat(s) under it, which allows the layers to blend into asmooth, even finish. It seems that the epoxy pour dissolves and blends with the shellac, allowing the dye to bleed. Also: hardness and porosity of woods are different properties of woods. The differences in porosity explains why woods with similar hardness, like walnut and cherry, take stains and dyes differently, and also explains why you got more bleeding into your cherry samples than you got in your walnut samples.

[@cyberreefguru]

Excellent points James. Thanks for watching!

[@JamesWilliams-en3os]

@@cyberreefguru it was an excellent video!

[@cyberreefguru]

@@JamesWilliams-en3os Thank you so much! Happy holidays!

[@christophermalli9983]

Sanding sealer and Shellac are meant to have bleed. Sanding sealer and shellac are blotch control basically. they let color in but control blotchiness. so you would need a couple coats to prevent the color bleed.

[@cyberreefguru]

Hi Christopher - thanks for the feedback. I don't know how anyone can determine the difference between "blotch" control and "bleed" but it is possible based on my experience. One more reason to try again and see what happens. Thanks for watching!

[@rickchambers2132]

Did you use Deep Pour Epoxy or Thin ? Did you seal the Entire Board then sand or surface it back or just seal the Pockets ?

[@cyberreefguru]

Hello Rick. I used Total Boat High Performance Epoxy with the Medium Hardener (amzn.to/3PxF5Vo). As shown in the video, I seal only the pockets and let the epoxy cure for various time periods. Then I planed and sanded the over pour off. Thank for watching -- hope it helped!

[@oldsmobuicktb]

Great information. thank you.

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks for watching!

[@kevinwillis6707]

i would have cut a pocket encompassing the text and insrted a ready made plug that had been carved and filled, but theres lots of ways to get things done, cheers.

[@cyberreefguru]

Thanks Kevin - excellent suggestion for the future! Thanks for watching.

[@edwardhoward3562]

yes more tests

[@cyberreefguru]

Hi Edward -- it's in the works -- not sure when I will get the video out though. Stand by for more :)

[@TheOttacat]

I never found a single-coat solution that was perfect. I think a second coat is required. For hobbyists, why not, better to spend a bit extra time and be happy with the results.

[@cyberreefguru]

Totally - thanks for watching!

[@perrys5954]

Thanks for sharing the video. I was hoping there would be less video of a 'talking head' and more visual. Let me explain. The entire video I was wondering just how you sealed the piece. Did you seal the bare surface then engrave or did you seal the piece after the engraving but just the top non-engraved parts? or did you seal only the engraved areas? It is my understanding epoxy bonds best over bare wood I was wondering how the 'epoxy sealing coat' was done. Id the inside of the engraving was sealed with epoxy wouldn't that mean the colored pour risks not bonding well to the piece? I hope you understood my rambling, I would understand if you don't get my confusion. Perhaps I'll have to rewatch the video and hope I'd missed something.. but its a lot of only talking and no visual reference of what part to key in on and when.. and in circles I go haha Oh, lastly. I also wondered if letting the colored epoxy thicken up some (at least my deep pour epoxy lets me play with the time/viscosity variable. Would be curious if the thicker stage epoxy would be inhibited enough to bleed less into the wood pores?

[@cyberreefguru]

Hi there -- thanks for the feedback. I do briefly show the sealing process at 7:32 but agree I needed more B role -- program of progress not perfection! Thanks for watching.

[@BillLeonard-c8s]

I believe sanding sealer is simply 1lb cut shellac.

[@cyberreefguru]

Interesting - I'll have to look into that. I believe the sanding sealer I used is water based; all the shellac I've used is not. Thanks for watching!