How to build an 1/8" thick clear finish

bruppert

bruppert

<Insert witty comment>
Silver Member
I have an idea I want to try but I will need to build up a crystal clear finish along the entire wrap section about an 1/8" thick. Any ideas on what I could use that's both hard, won't crack or distort and will polish to a glass like finish? I was thinking maybe liquid resin, like they use to encase coins, 4-leaf clovers, pictures, etc... Just not sure if it would develop problems later.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!
 
bruppert said:
I have an idea I want to try but I will need to build up a crystal clear finish along the entire wrap section about an 1/8" thick. Any ideas on what I could use that's both hard, won't crack or distort and will polish to a glass like finish? I was thinking maybe liquid resin, like they use to encase coins, 4-leaf clovers, pictures, etc... Just not sure if it would develop problems later.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

I have no idea why in the world you'd even want to do that...it sounds like lots of problems waiting to happen without doubt. I'd hate to have a customer bring me a cue in the future to refinish...and find it as such. Anyway...if you must...the first thought that popped into my mind would be for you to try one of the thick self leveling table top finishes that they often use on bars. http://www.uscomposites.com/kk121.html
 
I think that stuff would be really hard. Many a fore head has taken a bow against one of those bar top finishes.
Well, at least in Steven Segal movies they have.
 
Same finishes came to my mind when I read the post.

The problem with those self leveling finishes is that, as far as I know, they remain amorphous. That means they will slowly continue to level even after fully cured. So on a cylinder, like a cue, it will tend to distort over time in storage.

I have worked with those finishes on table tops and some crafts in collaboration with my wife (never on a cue). I just don't know if they would be appropriate in such an application.

Next time you are in a bar or some place where you see a finish like that (common on bar tops), press a fingernail into the finish. Come back the next week and you will see the dent you made has leveled out an may in fact be gone.

But those finishes can be very thick.
 
I have totally sealed a lot of snake skins and bead work as well as stones and never went that thick. Bob Meucci told me he used Castelite if the spelling is right to do the deep inset things he did in cues. You have to get a vacuum mixer and so on the do the bubble free seal you want.
 
bruppert said:
I have an idea I want to try but I will need to build up a crystal clear finish along the entire wrap section about an 1/8" thick. Any ideas on what I could use that's both hard, won't crack or distort and will polish to a glass like finish? I was thinking maybe liquid resin, like they use to encase coins, 4-leaf clovers, pictures, etc... Just not sure if it would develop problems later.

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated!
Click to expand...

I believe the stuff you are thinking about used to encase coins and other items is lucite. It's also used for sales tombstones. No idea if it is appropriate for this application, but you can do some searches on lucite to learn more.
 
Interesting and thanks. I know glass is considered amorphous. Just wondering how long it would take that KK to actually distort? If its like glass and takes close to a century no biggie, but if I will move as Chopdoc suggested than that would do me no good. I need it to be solid and for a long time. Hmmmm. maybe I can make up a test. Make up a bar out of the KK with a hanging weight, measure it and see if it buldges or stretches after a month or so.

Chris, if you happen to remember the name of the stuff Mr. Meucci used please let me know. I'll call you later this week.

Thanks, if anyone thinks of anything else please send it along.
 
Mr Hoppe said:
I believe the stuff you are thinking about used to encase coins and other items is lucite. It's also used for sales tombstones. No idea if it is appropriate for this application, but you can do some searches on lucite to learn more.
Click to expand...

Lucite, thanks I'll look into that as well.

I have a machinist friend who was telling me a couple weeks ago all about urethane and how they can make it vast densities and forms, from thin bags to industrial apps. He told me a story about a company that brought in a huge heavy machine and when the riggers rolled it into the shop the metal bars they were rolling it on sunk down into the concrete. He said they ended up using urethane bars which supported the weight but also gave enough so they didn't sink in. I think I'll look into that as well.

Thanks again
 
A good epoxy should be fine. The table top epoxy is indeed very hard and makes a good finish, but slow curing. You'll likely need to apply several coats, which with that stuff, will take a week to reach 1/8". It can be done pretty easily. You just have to layer it until it's thick enough.
 
If you're going the epoxy route, the West 105 / 207 is specially formulated to cure clear and not turn yellow. Might be worth a try.
 
My spelling was wrong, but here is the company.
You will have to get the vacuum mixer for this to give you the bubble free result you desire.
http://www.castolite.com/

Others have told me about using this stuff and putting the sleeve in a paper tube and filling it up and then turning it down on their lathe.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top