How to finish and resin fill a live edge slab
One of the most commonly asked questions we receive from customers looking to purchase timber slab, is how they can DIY prepare and resin fill a live edge slab. What could be better than us telling you how to do it? To show you!
We’ve prepared a video to take you through each of the steps, or you can follow our guide below.
Materials and products required
A timber slab. Make sure that it’s dry! Check out our slab shop for dry timber slabs that we can freight Australia-wide.
Orbital sander. We recommend Festool
60grit, 120grit and 240grit sanding discs
A heat gun
Resin. We recommend Dalchem Crystal Clear Epoxy Resin Kit
Measuring jugs and a stirrer
Tape. To seal the cracks. in the slab. We recommend Wrestling Matt Tape from Amazon.
Compressor
Scraper
Matte Wax Oil. We recommend Evolution Matte Wax Oil (available to purchase through us)
Microfibre roller kit with a 4mm nap. We recommend Uni-Pro (available to purchase through us)
Cloth to wipe sanding residue before coating. We recommend Uni-Pro tack cloth (available through us).
Cutting the slab to size
Start by cutting down your slab to the required measurements. Sand both sides, front and back, down to 60grit.
Preparing your slab
Taking your scraper, start digging out all of the imperfections. You’ll want to carefully go over your whole slab and dig out all of the fine cracks. Any part of the timber that feels soft or unstable, make sure you dig it out with the scraper.
Tip: If you hold your scraper on a slight angle, to get better purchase on the timber to ensure that you are opening the crack up enough to actually pour resin into the void.
Take your time here, this step could take up to 45 minutes (depending on slab size) to get it ready for resin filling.
If you were to leave some of the cracks, they will naturally open up more over time, as the timber moves (no matter how dry your slab is it will always hold some moisture and move slightly over time) if you are using your slab top as a table or bar top the cracks could leave your top unhygienic, for example; food can escape into the cracks. By opening them up completely and resin filling them you are ensuring you have a smooth hygienic surface (once coated of course) that can be completely wiped clean time and time again. So, remember open up your cracks to a decent level that you are able to pour resin in to stabilise that area.
Next, use a compressor to blow all of the fine wood shavings and dust particles out of and away from the slab. It should now be clean and ready for pouring resin in the cracks and voids.
Then, flip your slab over. Some of the cracks will be open all of the way through the slab. In order to fill your slab you need to make sure that the resin stays in place (and doesn’t end up seeping through the slab to your floor!). We have found wrestling matt tape to be the best solution for this - it sticks well, holds well, and then peels off easily once the resin is dry. Place the tape over any cracks that go right through and it will act as a shield.
Prepare and pour your resin
Prepare your resin – according to the resin directions – the one we use is a 50:50 ratio, this is not always the case, make sure that you read the instructions on whatever resin kit you are using and follow them exactly.
Commence your first pour.
For the cracks or voids that go all the way through the timber we pour approx. 15-20mm only to make sure that the bottom is sealed well enough and that we don’t loose all the resin onto the floor. Get a good seal and then come back the next day and pour the rest. Again, dependant on the resin you are using is how much you can actually pour, some resin can only be poured 10-15mm at one time, the resin we use, can pour up to 40mm at one time. Please check the label on the resin you are using to be certain.
If you try and pour the whole lot at once the tape can bulge underneath– that is another reason to take it slow and only pour a small amount to seal the void/cracks.
Tip: When filling larger voids, pour your resin over something metal like a ruler before it hits the timber, this will help reduce the bubbles in the resin.
The resin we use takes approx. 40 minutes to start setting, each resin has different drying times – be sure to check the directions on the resin you are using as to how long it takes to start curing. This resin also allows you to fill small voids as well as large voids which is another benefit to using Dalchem resin.
Using a heat gun, keeping approx. 15cm away from the resin, heat the resin to eliminate any bubbles that may have come up. Leave it for about 15mins and come back in-case more bubbles have popped up.
The next day
24 hours later, we top up the resin so. that all of the voids are filled. Leave the slab again for at least two days before you sand it.
Sanding your resined slab
Flip the slab over and remove the tape. Starting with the bottom, sand the resin off and give the whole surface a sand with 60grit.
Turn your slab over and sand the top and sides (live edges) also at 60 grit. Next you want to follow these steps again and sand at 120grit, followed by 240grit.
Finally, wipe the slab down with a cloth to remove all of the sanding residue. We recommend the Uni-Pro “Tack Cloth” which removes all surface contaminants, leaving your timber spotless and ready to coat with wax oil.
Finishing your timber slab
To finish your slab, we’ll coat it with Evolution Wax Oil. For this you’ll need a microfiber roller with a 4mm nap. We like to use the Uni-Pro micro-fiber kit which includes 2x4mm nap 100mm slide on covers, a tray and a slide on roller frame.
Coat the bottom of your timber twice. Wait until it’s dry and sand with 240grit sand paper (by hand) between coats. Repeat the process by coating the top of your timber 3 times.
Wait until completely dry (usually 24 hours or 48 hours in colder weather) and lightly sand with 240 grit sand paper (by hand) between coats. Make sure you wipe off all of the sanding residue.
After your final coat, wait at least 48 hours then fine sand by hand with 1200 grit or similar.
And you’re finished.
Time to stand back and admire your terrific work!