Supplies/Tools Needed
Table Saw (a circular saw works too)
Belt Sander
Orbital Sander
Thickness Planer
Glow In The Dark Pigment (color depends on your preferences)
Applicator
Epoxy Resin
Blue Paint Tape
Sandpaper 80 and 150 grit
Plastic Measuring Cups
Stirring Stick
Tape Measure
Danish Oil
Disposable Foam Brush
Mesquite (size depends on how big you want your shelves to be)
Wall Mount Brackets
READ ALL DIRECTIONS BEFORE STARTING EACH STEP
Step One
I got my mesquite slabs laid out and now I just have to decide where I want my inlays to be. A lot of the cracks and holes were dirty and showed signs of wood rot so I had to go in and clean them out a bit. I don't need that crap ruining my resin inlays.
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| Decided I'll use this side as the surface. |
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| Scraping out the holes. |
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| This was super loose so I decided I'd just pry it off. |
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| Aaaaaaaand that's disgusting. |
One of my boards was WAY more crooked than the other two so I ran it through the planer until both sides were level.
Note: Later on after the resin has cured I'm going to plane them down again anyways so you don't have to go crazy with this on all your boards unless they're super uneven.
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| Feeding it through the planer |
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| All done! It's nice and level now. |
I used aluminum plumbing tape to seal up any cracks I saw on the bottom because it's really sticky and doesn't give way easy. Doing this prevents any leaks from happening when I pour in my resin.
Note: Okay after having completed this project DO NOT use aluminum plumbers tape EVER. It's waaaaaay too sticky. See the note on step seven for more details.
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| All taped up! |
Step Four
Now I'm isolating where I want my inlays to go by taping around the area with blue painter's tape. This helps prevent any mess from overflowing cracks. This isn't super important seeing as I'm going to sand it down later but it still helps you remember which cracks you're going to fill.
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| Got my inlays isolated! |
Step Five
The mixing process is 5 ounces of resin per every 1 ounce of pigment. The pigment actually mixed up a lot better than I had hoped for so I only had to use 3 ounces for this project. I mixed the pigment with the resin for about 3 minutes using a stirring stick then I added the activator (5 ounces, same as resin) and stirred for another three minutes before transferring to a clean cup and mixing it again.
Note: The hardening time varies depending on what kind of epoxy you're using. Mine was very fast acting and started becoming unusable after about 25 minutes because it was hardening too fast so you may have to be quick after mixing in the activator.
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| Mixing the pigment with the resin. |
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| Now mixing in the activator! Looks like a small galaxy. |
I decided an applicator would work be best to inject the epoxy directly into the cracks. Especially the smaller more intricate cracks.So I filled up my applicator and went to town filling in all those cracks.
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| Applicator I bought for under $1 from Walmart. |
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| Filling in those cracks! |
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| This is going to look awesome! |
I let the epoxy cure overnight (some may take longer) and started back up the next day. For this step I scraped off all the painters tape, CHISELED off all the aluminum plumber's tape (SEE NOTE BELOW!), cut my boards in half, and ran them through the planer until all the excess epoxy was gone and my boards were level.
Note: The aluminum plumber's tape was an absolutely HORRIBLE idea and I'm never going to do it again, ever. I read online that's how others were doing it so I figured "Well if that's how they did it then it must work, because everything on the internet is correct right?" Spoiler alert: I was horribly, horribly wrong . I had no idea it would be that sticky. Apparently the sticky "goo" on the plumbers tape actually soaked into the wood fibers of my shelves and it literally took me at least four hours of scraping, pulling, chiseling, planing, carving, and sanding to get that crap off. I literally pulled out every trick in the book short of using chemicals or a flame thrower to remove it. I may be missing something but I can say with a clear conscience that from my personal experience that there are definitely better alternatives to using aluminum plumbers tape.
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| Chiseling off my tape. |
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| Cutting my board in half. |
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| Planing my boards until the excess epoxy is gone. |
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| All done!... Minus that last one in back. I'm getting that later. |
Alright so I forgot to take pictures of this next step but it's not too hard to conjure up a mental picture of the process I used here. I just used my belt sander with 80 grit sandpaper to sand down the tops and edges. Then I used an orbital sander with 150 grit to finish sanding it off, making sure to round the edges.
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| After everything's all sanded down |
Used some danish oil and applied about 5 coats on each side. Some spots were absorbing more than others so I had to apply extra oil to these spots. Mesquites shelves are looking good now!
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| Using a foam brush to finish and a cloth to wipe the excess. |
Mount your shelves and enjoy!
So I hope you enjoyed my "How To" on how to make these glow in the dark resin inlay shelves! Wish I had bigger boards of wood to work with but eh, whatever these are fine for now. If you liked this How-To tutorial please share this link with any of your other friends you think may be interested! Also don't forget to like, share, and follow me on social media! It helps me out a lot!! And don't be afraid to share what you made either! I like to see what kind of cool stuff other people come up with! And if you have any questions, concerns, or remarks you're more than welcome to leave a comment in the comment tab or my email if you want to do so more personally!
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Love your shelves!! Do you remember what pigment powder you used?? I've been looking all over but am having trouble finding a nice looking blue color that's visible during the day, as well as a glow in the dark. Also, do you know what resin brand you used as well?? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteemail me at bicycleliz@yahoo.com
Hey Beth sorry for the two year late response. But I used pigment from GloNation. They have great deals on pigment and it lasts for a long time. My shelves still work and it's been two years.
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