# Epoxy to stabilize cracks in Mesquite



## Porterhouse (May 6, 2016)

Hey all,

I am building a 2in thick mesquite dining table and want to use epoxy to fill any of the cracks and imperfections. This will be used as a structural measure as well as cosmetic. Is there any difference between the different epoxy resins brands out there? System three, west system, kraft kote, its all the same right? Ive used system three before, but at half the cost, im thinking about trying kraft kote and pigmenting it black. Am I missing something?


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## Blackie_ (Jul 10, 2011)

Porterhouse, I've made some furniture out of mesquite and used west, myself I thing any one that you choose to go with would be fine.


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## Finn (May 26, 2010)

I have used a product called "Zpoxy" that I get at a hobby shop or on line. I tint it with ground up blue chalk to make it look like turquoise and this color looks good in Mesquite. Zpoxy is actually a finishing resin and is much thinner than 30 minute epoxy is. It penetrates so much that any crack, like in a knot, will allow it to run all the way through the wood and leak out the other side. I put masking tape on the underside to combat this. With penetration like that I am sure it ads a lot of strength to the wood. This thin product also bubbles a lot less that other epoxies.


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## Johnny_Yuma (Nov 29, 2009)

epoxyusa.com no-blush marine epoxies work very good, as do uscomposites.com/epoxy.html products
Highly suggest you stick with a no-blush epoxy!


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## simmo (Nov 23, 2008)

I have used epoxy for this, coloured is easy , shavings packed edge first into cracks and rolled for knot holes then epoxied flattened and sanded looks pretty good as well 
Chris


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## Porterhouse (May 6, 2016)

I think ive settled on raka epoxy. They have a thin 127 resin which should work its way into the cracks real good as well as give me some work time. Then use the the 350 non blushing hardener which should speed up set time. Seems like the best of both worlds. Thanks for the info!


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## drcodfish (Oct 17, 2015)

Look at Chris Schwartz bench building book (the red version). In there he used a product which professional restoration specialists use. He mixed it with some coloring to show contrast in his roubo bench. The result was absolutely awesome and good for the next 100 years.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

If you ignore the stuff sold in syringes at the BORG (which is thickened), pretty much all epoxy will flow into the smallest of spaces, even where your tape is just slightly wrinkled or not stuck good (and sometimes, even when it is). Make sure that when you tape it off, you do it really well as otherwise it will leak all over the place And most epoxy systems have a clear hardener as opposed to the standard ones, which have a slight amber tint to them - although it will typically have a different hardening rate than the normal stuff. Work time should not be an issue either, as most epoxies have a pot life of at least 10-15 minutes and a working time of an hour or more.

Cheers,
Brad


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