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Epoxied wet slab, salvageable?

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  hg1027 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
A friend got a slab of cypress from a local sawmill to make into a table for his restaurant. The slab came out great, I made up some legs for it, the sawmill guy slapped some epoxy on, and the restaurant opened. The slab had only been drying for 18 months, and it's 3 inches thick, so I raised my concern, but the sawyer was convinced it would be fine.

Now, a few weeks later, the wood is starting to (mold? mildew? chickenpox?) under the epoxy. I expect this will get worse until my friend is forced to admit his big beautiful table is now a big blotchy eyesore, and toss the whole thing.

So, can we run this through the planer or sander to get the epoxy off, and let it dry properly in service, and all will be fine? Is it permanently ruined forever? Will I need to bleach it or something else?

If it can be saved, what can we put on it to protect it from spills while it dries? Don't mind running it through the sander again in a few years to get the spills off and epoxy again, so it doesn't need to be impermeable.

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#2 ·
If you can get the finish off then oxalic acid will remove the mold and return the color. That finish will be a problem. It's awfully hard to sand, and I know from experience that if you run it through the planer the little slivers of epoxy will embed themselves into the rollers and cause slippage. It's a bear to clean them off too.
 
#3 ·
Any suggestions on what to put on it once the epoxy is off? It will be in use in a casual Italian restaurant, so expect a few spills and slightly careless staff. I'm in about twice a month, so I can certainly do some regular maintenance if needed to keep it looking good.

I'm assuming that some combination of scrapers or possibly grinders with wire wheels will get us most of the way down to wood, then maybe flap discs, then belt sanders, before we send it through a planer or a drum sander.
 
#4 ·
Might be best to go with a $40 HF electric hand plane to remove the majority of the epoxy before going to abrasives. I would be afraid of digging grooves and gouges with a flap or other grinders. For $40 you could keep it set for light passes and if it's toast at the end of the job then to me it would be worth it.

If it's going to go back into service without letting it dry for a couple of years, I can only think to treat it like a cutting board and keep it oiled with mineral oil or one of the block oils with some wax in it. Your friend could put oiling the table onto the servers side work schedule and it could get oiled weekly for awhile. There are several LJ's that are sawyers and many more that likely have more experience or thoughts for an interim finish than I do, a non-film oil finish is the best I've got for my $0.02, it's a beautiful table and certainly worth some work to get back in service.
 
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