ZPoxy & polyester sealer

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

I’m going reach out to @bashkin_guitars and see if he’s got any ideas on this one. Ive neve used Zpoxy before.

[Michael Bashkin Bashkin Guitars]

Hi :

You can use the sealer under and/or over epoxy. Just anecdotally, Iv’e heard mixed reviews of using zpoxy and some people have had adhesion problems, others think it is great. It is also a good preactice to scuff between the sealer/epoxy/sealer layers.

[Randy King King Electric Guitars]

Thanks! I’ll probably just do an initial fill with aqua coat first, then a few coats of sealer. Don’t wanna risk it. I’ll do a test with the ZPoxy while I’m sealing just to see.

[Michael Bashkin Bashkin Guitars]

Careful with the aquacoat. I’ve heard it is problematic on end grain. I’ve not used it myself though.

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

It may be somewhat unrealted due to how open the pores are on spanish cedar, but Michael just did a whole demo on pore filling with epoxy. Not Zpoxy either.

This is the link

loothgroup.com

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Log In ‹ The Looth Group — WordPress

[Robert Schmidt]

Can you elaborate on end grain issues with aquacoat? I am currdently using it to fill walnut on an octave mandolin. I did notice some white blotchieness on the end grain, but sanding back and re-filling seemed to fix it. Is there an adhesion issue with it?

[Martin Maudal]

Hey all. I’ve used zpoxy quite a lot as a sealer both on open grain hardwoods, and soft woods to give it a bit of surface hardness. *Very* thin coats. Usually 3.

To combat any adhesion issues I’ve used a washcoat of shellac, before a clearcoat of lacquer or French polish. The disadvantage is how long each coat takes to cure.

Another possible disadvantage, if it’s not a very thin shell, is heat-creep when buffing. I was actually going to ask about west systems to see if it was an improvement on zpoxy for heat-creep.

Ken Parker has a great yootoob video on epoxy application.

[Ian Davlin The Looth Group]

I don’t think you’re going to find West to be any more resistant to heat creep. Last time I looked, heat resistant epoxies were really pricey and fairly exotic.