Epoxy Tips

Epoxy will not stick to baking paper. Use it for everything. Make moulds by folding it.

Dimples = too much epoxy. Warping = too much hardener. 

Honey pots are a clean way to store and measure.

Work by weight and perfect your ratio. Hardener 1:1.1 resin is a good starting point (resin is heavier).

Gloves only work if you put them on _before_ touching the resin (still struggle with this).

Warm before mixing. It makes a huge difference to the number of bubbles.

Let it sit for 10 min before a pour. Reason: reaction gives off heat and bubbles escape easily. Having the batch 'together' means the heat stays more local.

Large batches mix cleaner than small ones.

You can bend and shape epoxy sheets while they are half-cured.

Disposable chopsticks for everything.

Heat guns don’t work. Use a blow torch / burner.

The heating element of a kotatsu, in a cupboard, will give you a perfectly functional epoxy room.

Epoxy is the best glue.

Apply a sealing layer to both sides of the veneer to prevent all bubbles. 

For large blocks, warm the substrate then apply 1-3 very thin layers to the whole surface. So easy to miss a spot and there - a bubble for eternity.

2025 addition: build moulds out of epoxy! Make sheets by compressing between two baking sheets. Either roll and fold while soft or cut and build when hard. A mould you don't need to remove! Later discovery: this is how dentists stop fillings from sticking to the neighbouring tooth!