# Problems with epoxy finish



## EagleTRL57 (Mar 24, 2011)

I have a challenge I have never run into before and need some advice from the expert community.

I decided to refinish my oak dining room table - after 15 years of wear and tear (three boys, three grandkids and a "crafty" wife). The table is actually over 25 years old, but I have refinished it twice before with no problems. For the second time in my woodworking life, I decided to use some stripper to take the poly off, then stripper finisher to remove the residue - probably not the wisest decision ever, but I thought I might save some time. I let the table dry for over 36 hours, and all looked good, so I stained it (two coats of MinWax). I noticed some shiny spots on the surface as it was drying, and wiped it down a few times over two days.

I didn't notice the shiny spots again, so did the final sanding and applied a layer of epoxy resin finish. It came out terrible - see pictures. There are pock marks scattered across the table top and there is an oily sheen in the epoxy as it dried. I am guessing the spots I saw were oil seeping out of the wood, but not sure what it would be from.

I spent four days stripping it back down - had to use stripper again to knock the epoxy off, but then sanded it down to bare wood. I have applied stain again, but am still seeing the oil spots along the wood grain.

Any ideas on what would have caused the oil and any advice on how to deal with it? I like the epoxy resin finish - first time using it - but don't want to go thru the expense if it is just going to do the same thing. Plus, at this point, I don't know that regular poly or anything else would work any better.

I assume it is related to either the stripper or the finisher, but haven't seen any references to indicate what is going on.

Here is a pic of the finish.


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## TinWhiskers (Oct 17, 2015)

Would fisheye preventer work with epoxy?


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

I would guess you did not get all of the residue off from the stripper and or you may not of neutralized it either after the process.


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## EagleTRL57 (Mar 24, 2011)

I thought using the stripping finisher would neutralize it, but is there something else I might use? I have seen some references to using plain vinegar - not heard of that before, but haven't used stripper much to begin with.

Thanks,


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

For cleaning start with naphtha then to neutralize use baking soda mixed with distilled water and then just distilled water.


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## TinWhiskers (Oct 17, 2015)

Fisheye


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## carpenterson (Nov 26, 2013)

Often furniture like your table has been treated overtime with "furniture polish" to clean or dust with. Some of these polishes/ dusting compounds contain silicone. Silicone builds up over time and practically nothing will remove it . I have encountered this when refinishing furniture that has been subjected to this treatment. Fish eyes invariably show up in the new finish. The only way I have found to combat this is to apply a seal coat of blonde dewaxed shellac, after which finishing with several coats of polyurethane has given very satisfactory results. Most finishes will be compatible with a shellac seal coat. Not sure about epoxy however. Even fish eye eliminator has not worked for me in these situations.


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## carpenterson (Nov 26, 2013)

Often furniture like your table has been treated overtime with "furniture polish" to clean or dust with. Some of these polishes/ dusting compounds contain silicone. Silicone builds up over time and practically nothing will remove it . I have encountered this when refinishing furniture that has been subjected to this treatment. Fish eyes invariably show up in the new finish. The only way I have found to combat this is to apply a seal coat of blonde dewaxed shellac, after which finishing with several coats of polyurethane has given very satisfactory results. Most finishes will be compatible with a shellac seal coat. Not sure about epoxy however. Even fish eye eliminator has not worked for me in these situations. You must start with bare wood excepy of course the stain you wish to use.


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## EagleTRL57 (Mar 24, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions. I tried the epoxy one more time, after taking back to bare wood and using the treatments suggested - same results. Scraped and sanded it back down again, restained and used a shellac. I applied five coats and it looks great - back in the dining room again! I now have a happy wife, and thus, a happy life - LOL!


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