Using Iso Alcohol to remove Air Bubbles from Epoxy Hotcoat?

With  being home much more due to COVID, I’ve been watching alot more vids on YouTube. The other day ago, I was watching one on this proprietary Epoxy “Faux Stone” countertop system. After he mixed up & poured out the top, He came back & “misted” over it with a spray bottle of Isopropyl alcohol to remove all of the mixing bubbles.

I’ve never heard of removing bubbles this way. I’ve  always used a hair dryer or heat gun on my hot coats (epoxy). Maybe this is a stupid question, but I’ll put it out there anyway - Has anyone out here tried this method on their hotcoats or is this just asking for trouble with “zits, fisheyes, etc.” ?

I see it with acetone spray on carbon parts. Need a good ventilation and Mask. A light add of solvent, alcool or better xylen, in finish coat resin batch help well against bubbles.

The Xylene in a finish coat is a good idea .  Just go easy with the amount.   Misting it with Alcohol sounds like it would work.

Back when I was making custom fishing rods I would use this technique using denatured.  It very temorarily breaks the surface tension and the bubbles get out.  Too much and it can cause cloudiness.

Thanks Mako. I’ll keep that in mind on my next build (probably next month).

 

Misting a flammable product.  Hmmm what could go wrong.

Thats a good point Herb, however, my garage has no open flame or spark sources (water heaters, motors etc.) and I always hot coat wit the garaqge door open anyway.

I use DNA all the time and have used it in a spray bottle.  Lots of years, lots of use and never a problem.

DNA???

Pisstake? Or am I missing something?

DeNatured Alcohol.  Yes aka “Camp Stove Fuel”.

Almost all those bubbles come from holes in the laminate. The heat of the hot coat expands the air in the blank causing them to bubble. Use previously mentioned methods here on the forum to prevent them. Heat the blank in a box or the sun and apply about 3 oz. resin with a squeege wipe it around as long as possible before wiping it off. It will take off contaminants and seal the holes as it hardens without heating the blank. The blank will be cooling if done immedeately after heating so it will suck the resin in any holes in the laminate. Before it hardens but when it is thick and sticky (timing is everything) do the hot coat over it and you won’t have bubbles and the hot coat will bond nicely.

DeNatured Alcohol is ethanol with ‘denaturants’ added, so it becomes undrinkable.

 

If they sold pure ethanol, then drunks everywhere would not buy any branded alcohol, and the government would not be collecting their liquor taxes, which of course is intolerable.

I believe in Australia and New Zealand they call DNA, methalyated spirits.  Methanol if injested can make you blind. Its showing up in hundreds of hand sanitizer products these days, and is toxic. Not sure methanol is the denaturant added  to methalyated spoirits, or just one of many.

 

Not sure all what type of denaturants they add to make it undrinkable. It likely varies among brands and countries.  

I’ve never tried spraying it on a hotcoat.  the ethanol might evaporate and be inconsequential to the cure, but those denaturants?  I know not.

 

I thought white gas/ camp fuel, is pure Naptha.

 

I recently tried to use DNA as a fuel in my multifuel camp stove, which I always desired to use ‘white gas, or coleman fuel’ and it did not work properly. I think I would have to change the jets.

 

I have used kerosene and both leaded and unleaded gasoline in this stove before, but coleman fuel/white gas was the cleanest and most desirable fuel to use.

Yes I have just noticed in the last year or two here in the U S they are labeling DNA as camp stove fuel.  Here in the Northwest a lot of boats have Alcohol stores in the galley.  Also most of those little back pack stoves(at least the more expensive ones) are Alcohol stoves.  The old Colemans were white gas.  Newer ones are Propane.  I think white gas has been more or less phased out due to it’s stinky smell and the fact that it is pretty pollutant.  Alcohol burns pretty clean.  You are correct in your definition and yes you would have to change the jets for Alcohol to burn properly in a stove that normally would use white gas or Coleman fuel.