Hi Kyle here from GlassCast.
In this very short tutorial I'm going to show you how simple it is to install a hi-gloss,
hardwearing finish to any table or surface using our coating resin GlassCast 3.
Throughout this demonstration I'll be coating the forged carbon river table that we made in the previous tutorial.
During that tutorial I finished the table with that traditional river table look by exposing the wood
But what if you did want to get that glasslike finish?
Well in just over four minutes you'll know exactly how to do it.
Picking up from the point that we stripped the barriers down in the forged carbon river table tutorial,
we'll simply remove the high spots and flat the surface,
apply a sealing coat,
then pour and leave to cure.
It really is that simple, so let's get started.
To flat the high spots we'll just use a 120 grit abrasive.
Now it might be tempting to leave these hi spots and just coat over them,
but that could leave raised areas in your final finish
so it's best not to skip the flatting stage.
Thoroughly clean and wipe away any dust, and we're ready for that sealing coat.
As wood is a porous material it is best to apply a sealing coat before we do the main pour.
If we move ahead without one we'd run the risk of air being drawn out of the wood and into the resin forming air bubbles.
I'll mix up a small batch of the GlassCast 3 following the 2:1 ratio.
Then with a brush I will paint a thin coat all over the entire surface of the table.
A few long brush strokes to even out the seal coat, then we'll just leave this to reach full cure.
The sealing coat is now rock solid.
We'll give it a quick key with the same 120 grit paper we used earlier,
wipe it down of any dust and then we can set up that retaining tape.
Run the tape in a perimeter around the edge of the table, pressing firmly to ensure a good seal.
The tape is positioned above the table edge by a few mm
and this is to prevent the resin from flowing over the edges.
I'll just check that the table is perfectly level and then let's mix up some resin.
For GlassCast 3 to self-level we need a coating of at least 2mm, which is 2kg per sqm.
The easiest way to mix GlassCast 3 is by weight with at a ratio of 2:1
so I'll weigh what I need out of some digital scales.
Mix part A and part B thoroughly for a couple of minutes,
then pour the resin into a clean pot and mix again for a few more minutes.
Doing this just ensures that your resin is fully mixed.
Now you just need to pour your resin all over the table,
spreading it around evenly with a notched spreader.
When it comes to the edges, just kiss the resin flow up to the edge of the tape.
So there we go, that's all the hard work done,
We just need to leave this to cure over the next couple of days.
While it is curing I'm also just going to cover it up just to make sure that no dust lands there and ruins our perfect surface finish.
The resin has now cured and I can't make an impression with my fingernail.
I've removed the tape but you can see that we've been left with a meniscus all around the edge,
so we need to neaten up these edges, attach some legs and we're done.
Although I'm using a table saw to trim a few mm off the edge
you could also use a power plane here.
We'll follow this up by sanding through the grits, starting at 240 right the way up to 1200.
Then give it a gentle wipe down of any dust,
attach the legs of your choice and we have a complete table.
I think this looks absolutely stunning.
The way the GlassCast 3 just turns up the definition on the grain of wood
and amplfies the light reflections from the carbon fibre is awesome.
It's levelled out perfectly and just gives this table a completely different,
but equally amazing look to the exposed wood we had in the forged carbon river table tutorial.
Don't forget that GlassCast 3 is available to buy online from glasscastresin.com
I really hope that you've enjoyed following me along with this tutorial
and I'd love to see how you've been getting on with your GlassCast projects,
so don't forget to upload pictures of your project to the customer gallery on the GlassCast Resin website.
Likes and comments are very much appreciated
and if you'd like to see more great resin tutorials as we release them hit subscribe
and I'll see you next time.