Wood is a great resource to use for making epoxy. It burns slowly, and can be easily collected from fallen trees. This article will provide you with the steps needed to make your own epoxy by burning wood.
Can You Epoxy Over Burnt Wood
Of course. Let’s look at how to burn wood for epoxy and then go over some of the most common uses cases that people have when it comes to burnt wood in their projects.
Burning Wood is Commonplace with DIY Projects.
Burning wood might not be a very good idea if you are building something long-term like furniture or cabinets, but burning it can make for amazing results on items such as spoons, bowls, masks, and more!
Table of Contents
What Is Lichtenberg Wood Burning
Lichtenberg wood burning is the act of using electricity to burn patterns into wooden boards.
Lichtenberg figures are created when a high voltage, low amperage electric discharges pass through an insulating material.
What Materials Will I Need
You’ll only need a few simple supplies for this project: acrylic paint (optional), painting brush, clear epoxy resin, two-part metal halide lamp kit with reflector hood and stand adapters if needed, gloves/safety glasses/masking tape, or painter’s plastic sheeting depending on your surface preparation preferences, wood board(s) cut to desired size + baseboard heat insulation foam.
Where Can I Buy These Items
Depending on what you already have at home, you may need to purchase some of these items.
You can find most of them on Amazon: acrylic paint, painter’s plastic sheeting, wood board(s) cut to desired size + baseboard heat insulation foam.
How Do I Create Lichtenberg Figures
The good news is that it’s simple and safe as long as you follow basic precautions such as wearing gloves/safety glasses/masking tape or painter’s plastic sheeting depending on your surface preparation preferences.
Do You Have To Seal Wood Before Epoxy
No, you don’t. But it is recommended to do so because epoxy has a strong bonding/curing nature and can make wood look dull if not sealed properly.
How Much Epoxy Will I Need For My Boat
It all depends on the size of your vessel as well as how many coats or layers you plan on applying.
A good rule of thumb would be three gallons per coat with multiple coats being necessary for small vessels such as kayaks and some canoes where one gallon may suffice for larger boats like fishing skiffs and workboats.
You should also consider that more than just paint thickness benefits from additional material since each layer acts as a protective barrier against wear, abrasion, etc.
For example, two gallons of epoxy will cover about 450 square feet at a thickness of six millimeters.
What Do You Seal Burnt Wood With
The answer might seem obvious, but it actually depends on the type of wood. If you are using oak or pine for your project, then a water-based clear varnish is recommended!
This will give your epoxy resin that beautiful shiny finish and protect any small pieces of burnt wood from getting dirty.
However, if you are working with woods like ash or mahogany, which can turn out very dark when they burn, then I would recommend sealing them first before applying the epoxy resins.
The best thing to use in this case is an oil-based product such as tung oil or even walnut oil.
Just remember to put down some plastic sheets under where you’re burning so no oil seeps onto your baseboard!
Can I Seal Wood With Epoxy
You can seal wood with epoxy if the varnish has been sanded smooth, but it will significantly increase your application time. It’s a little bit trickier to get an even coat on rough surfaces as well.
In addition, you need to use at least two coats of epoxy and wait for each layer to dry before applying another.
The first layer needs about 24 hours to cure properly while the second should be allowed between three and five days before being exposed to moisture or heat.
What’S The Best Epoxy For Wood
- NexoBond Epoxy Resin – The NexoBond Epoxy Resin is made up of 5-ounce bottles that cure within 36 hours.
- Gorilla Wood Glue – The Gorilla Wood Glue by Titebond comes in two container sizes, one quart or 7-ounces and one gallon or 28-ounces. The quart size cures within 24 hours while the gallon size cures within 8 hours. The saturation level is about 2x more than average meaning it’s great for building touch strength and resistance to shear.
FAQ
Is It Safe To Burn Wood For Epoxy
Yes, as long as the fire is contained and you have a proper ventilation system set up. Never leave an open flame burning without supervision!
You should also be careful about cutting or sawing hazardous materials around your campfire, just in case a spark does fly off into some dry leaves.
What Kind Of Wood Do I Need
You’ll want to collect branches from trees that are no more than 20 years old so they aren’t too dried out or brittle.
The best species will come from hardwoods such as oak, maple, birch, ash, and walnut but fruit-bearing shares like apple can work well too if there’s nothing else available this type of wood can be extra brittle though.
What Tricks Should I Know About Burning Wood For Epoxy
Be sure to keep a shovel or bucket of water nearby in case your fire escapes and you need to extinguish it quickly, as well as an ax if splitting logs.
Also, try mixing smaller branches with twigs and leaves into the fire so they burn longer before fully combusting this will give you more time to collect resin from them!
Cut back any weeds around camp first too because those leaves don’t contain much sap but could still catch on fire easily.
If there’s snow on the ground, do not use fallen trees that have been covered by solid ice layers instead of snow–the melting snow might push up chunks of ice that could hurt you.
