Finishing a slab to perfection is achieved with some high end spray equipment, finishes, and advanced techniques. That being said, you might be surprised how high of quality of a finish you can produce with a little “can do” attitude and some hand tools. If we’ve planed and sanded the slab.
Filling Pock Marks, Fissures, and Holes
Here’s the things you’ll need
This is probably the most complex part. Buy the list of items above for the easiest and quickest ways to get this part done.
- Place the painters tape all along the sides of all the holes you want to fill. Take your time doing this because any place that voids are left it will leak out onto the wood and you’ll be having fun with sandpaper getting it off. If you have a hot glue gun it is quite quick to run beads of glue all around each hole.
- In a small container, mix the resin and the special clear hardener according to the directions. The pump pack is wonderful for this because it mixes the perfect amount of hardener and resin every time which is essential to getting the epoxy right.
- Pour the epoxy into the holes and let harden. I like to do this in two parts, a bottom and a top because the epoxy looks more clear and if you do have a blowout with the tape you don’t lose all the epoxy.
- The last thing you’ll want to do is blow towards the epoxy through a straw. There are bubbles that get trapped in the epoxy when mixing and the easiest way to remove them is to blow on them, most will come out on their own but this just helps make sure you have a perfect finish.
Note: If you want the marks to be black you can add graphite which gives a neat look. If you want to make the consistency a little thicker you can add silica which will make it much more forgiving if you messed up on the tape/hot glue part. The silica does make it a bit cloudy though. When using an additive like graphite or silica, mix the epoxy thoroughly before adding the additive. The special clear is a product that makes it so finishes will stick to it.
Prepping For the Finish
Every slab in transport is going to gain small scratches, dings, or water marks of some sort before it gets a finish applied to it. Here is a couple things you’ll need to get those out and get on your way to having a beautifully finished slab.
- 120 grit sandpaper
- A blower or broom
- Clean tack cloth
- Wood Conditioner (optional)
- Bucket of warm water
- Take the sandpaper paper and wrap it around a scrap block of wood, I prefer to use something like a 2x4. This makes it more uniform as you sand instead of conforming to your fingers it conforms to the straight line of the block.
- Sand with the grain along any marks that you see. If you’ve filled any of it with epoxy, you’ll want to pay special attention to those areas. If you scratch the epoxy pretty badly you can quickly buff it with some 220 and when you apply the finish it will go away provided you follow the next steps.
- After sanding, sweep or blow off the top of any residual sawdust.
- Soak the tack cloth in warm water, wring it out, and wipe down the slab a couple of times to make sure ALL of the sawdust is removed.
- It’s optional to use a conditioner at this point. If going with clear, than a conditioner isn’t really needed.
Applying the Finish
If everything else has been done correctly this part should be a breeze. With the right brush it won’t look quite as good as if it was sprayed by a good finisher but it will be close. The choice of finish will be up to you. Oil based urethane’s will yellow over time but traditionally hold up better. Water based are just so easy to clean up and apply, it’s hard to decide against water based. Gloss is a matter of preference as well, but here is a general way to apply the finish. Best practice is to use a sanding sealer or a shellac before your top coat.
- 120, 150, 180, and 220 grit sand paper
- Shellac or a “sanding sealer”
- A natural bristle brush
- Polyurethane or Lacquer
- Car wax (optional)
- Car scratch remover
- Application pad for wax (optional)
- If you choose a high gloss you will want to make sure that it is mixed up well. The satin’s and such don’t need to be mixed as thoroughly.
- Here’s a quick tip you’ll thank us for later. When you take the top off your finish punch some holes in the indention that holds the top, this makes it so the excess finish drips back into the can.
- Choose a good high quality brush, natural bristles are usually pretty good. The label should say it’s for varnishes.
- Apply the first coat of shellac always going with the grain, you can apply this pretty liberally to make sure the first coat goes in the pores well.
- After it dries, sand it with the 120 which will knock down any raised grain, again; going with the grain.
- Apply another coat of shellac, thinner this time as this will completely seal all the pores making it suitable for your top coat.
- Once that coat dries sand it with 150 or 180 grit very lightly just to remove any brush marks.
- Now you are ready for the next 2-4 layers of lacquer or Poly. Sanding in between each coat with 220.
- When you are happy with the finish but want to take it to the next there is one last trick you can do with a polyurethane satin or semi-gloss sheen. Final sand it with 320 grit which gets rid of any brush strokes. Then take car scratch remover and apply it, this will get rid of the cuts the 320 made in it. Then use a high quality car wax which will make it shine again.
It’s possible to bring it all the way to high gloss by going up in grits before using the scratch remover and car wax. The problem is you have to do anywhere from 4-8 coats of the urethane and getting all the way up to the “1,000-2,000” grit mark. Most people are well suited at 320. Enjoy your beautiful new table top. This whole process is easier if you have a palm sander or random orbital sander. If you plan on doing it often, it’s worth the investment… Your hands will thank you.
We also sell hairpin legs for an elegant and easy solution to a complex problem. Some time in the future we’ll be adding some tips to putting those on as well, which can be mortised in or just screwed straight to the bottom.
