UltraClear Bar and Table Top Epoxy instructions

1Prepare your workspace

1. Warm the room, and keep it warm. Keep the room above 75°F during application and for 72 hours after the final coat. This is a requirement, not a suggestion. Below 75°F the epoxy will not cure and the surface turns cloudy. Turn the heat up several hours ahead, use space heaters if needed, and set the thermostat a few degrees higher in case it reads low. On a commercial bar, turn off refrigerators and beer taps several hours before pouring.
2. Start clean and dry. Wipe off dust with a dry cloth and keep the surface free of oil, grease and wax. Any existing stain or finish must be completely dry. Test the complete process on a small sample first, every surface is different.
3. Protect the area. Put 2 mil painter's plastic under and around the project. Cardboard is not enough, epoxy soaks through it, and cured epoxy is very hard to remove.
4. Have enough epoxy and supplies ready. Count the seal coat, edges, cracks and runoff in your quantity. Running out mid pour ruins the surface. Use our coverage calculator. Have a new graduated mixing container for every batch.

Gather your tools

Graduated mixing containers, flat edged stir sticks, a timer, a bristle brush that will not shed, a propane plumber's torch or heat gun (not a hair dryer), and 2 mil painter's plastic. For full gallon batches, a drill with the 1 gallon helix mixing paddle (sold on our website, or Home Depot Workforce model HM1HD).

Doing something more than a plain top? Embedding objects, photos or bottle caps, adding pigment, damming edges, deep voids and repairs each have their own steps. Search this help center before starting.

Wear gloves and eye protection, work in a ventilated space, and read the product label and safety data sheet before you begin.

2Mix, then seal

Mixing correctly is the single most important part of the project. Under mixed or mismeasured epoxy stays sticky and never cures.

Measure equal volumes, every time

Pick a batch size below. Pour the hardener first, then an equal volume of resin, using a graduated container. Never eyeball it, dump straight from the jugs, or go by weight. Mix one batch at a time in a new container. All ounce measurements in this guide are US fluid ounces (fl oz).

Full gallon mixing sequence

Drill at medium speed with the paddle fully submerged, moving it around the container and up and down. Never lift the paddle out while spinning, it whips in bubbles. Hand stir for 1 minute: scrape the sides and bottom and fold the liquid sitting on top down into the mix. Drill 3 more minutes and stop, longer over mixes it. Time yourself with a clock.

Mixing by hand works too for any batch size: use a flat edged stir stick, scrape the sides and bottom constantly, and fold the top layer in until the mix is completely uniform, without whipping in air. The drill paddle is simply easier and takes the guesswork out of blending a full gallon.

Brush on the seal coat

Wood, concrete, cork, granite, tile and anything with embedded objects need a seal coat, even over several coats of polyurethane. Skipping it causes bubbles that rise into the flood coat and cure in place. Laminate, Formica and stainless steel can skip it.

Oil based stain or paint: epoxy will not stick to it, so apply 2 to 3 coats of oil based polyurethane first, let it dry, then seal coat. Copper: no seal coat, but apply a regular (not water based) lacquer first and test it on a small area.

1. Mix a seal coat batch from the table above and brush it on like paint in a thin coat over every porous area and edge. When you run out, mix another batch in a new container and keep going until everything is sealed. No torch or heat gun on the seal coat.
2. It will not look perfect, and that is fine. Brush marks and some bubbles are normal. The flood coat blends into the seal coat and fills all of it in, crystal clear.
3. Wait 4 to 6 hours, then pour the flood coat. The seal coat does not need to be dry. It should still be slightly tacky so the flood coat bonds to it. Do not go past 10 hours. After that, scuff and clean as described under "Adding another coat" below.

Rough, old or very porous wood (barn wood, knots, planks, holes) needs two thin seal coats 4 to 6 hours apart. Pour a little epoxy on and spread it thin with a plastic squeegee or putty knife instead of a brush. Fill large cracks first with small batches (4 fl oz + 4 fl oz) every few hours until level.

3Pour the flood coat

Start 4 to 6 hours after your last seal coat, mixing a full flood coat batch as shown above. If more than 10 hours have passed, use the recoat preparation below.

1. Pour immediately after mixing. Start at one end and pour slowly back and forth, working down the length of the top. Control over the container is the key to a good pour. Fill missed spots with more epoxy and let it self level to 1/8 inch. You cannot spread it thinner than that.
2. Join the next batch within 20 minutes. Mix and pour one batch at a time. Pour each new batch against the previous one within 20 minutes so they flow together. This does not restart the heat-removal window on an earlier poured area. On a large top, have one person mix while another pours. Use a new container for every batch.
3. Let the epoxy coat the edges. Pour so epoxy flows over and coats the sides. Runoff is normal. Drips form about ½ inch under the edge and sand off once cured. Deep sides of 4 to 6 inches are easier done after curing: sand smooth with 200 to 300 grit, wipe with acetone, brush on epoxy and smooth it with the torch.
4. Pop the bubbles. Use a propane plumber's torch or heat gun, not a hair dryer. Hold it a few inches above the epoxy and sweep continuously, never pause over one spot or you will burn it. A pass over the whole top takes only a minute or two. Get your eyes down at surface level to spot small bubbles.

Bubble removal timing

Time the 20 minutes from when each area was poured. Adding a new batch does not restart the clock on an earlier area. Keep flames and heat away from acetone, alcohol and other solvent vapors.

Bar rails

Attach the rail before you pour so the epoxy seals against it and spills cannot drip through the gap. Run a bead of Elmer's glue or acrylic latex caulk along the rail and corners to stop bubbles. Never use silicone, epoxy will not stick to it. Most people finish the curved rail itself with polyurethane, which is easier to get smooth than epoxy.

4Cure and care

Allow 72 hours before use

Keep the room above 75°F the whole time. It keeps hardening for a couple of months, so treat it gently at first.

Protect and clean: use coasters and placemats, especially while new. Fully cured, it handles about 135°F. Never set a hot pan directly on it. Clean with warm soapy water and a soft cloth. No abrasive cleaners or pads, and never buff or polish it, that only scratches and clouds it. Red and other colored dyes can stain.

Cleanup: The mixing paddle and stir sticks can be reused between batches. Acetone can remove uncured spills but may damage the surface underneath, so test first. For skin contact, wash with plenty of soap and water and follow the manufacturer’s safety data sheet.

Adding another coat, or refinishing years later

4 to 6 hoursRecommended recoat window

Pour the next coat with no sanding. The layers bond as one. Keep each flood coat 1/8 inch.

More than 10 hoursOr an old epoxy finish

Once the epoxy is hard enough to sand, lightly scuff the entire surface with 220 to 320 grit. Wipe off all dust with denatured alcohol or acetone (never mineral spirits) and let it dry. The new coat fills the scratches and comes out crystal clear. If you expose bare wood, seal it again first.

Troubleshooting

Whole top soft or sticky after 48 hours

Under mixed, or not measured 1:1. Hard but slightly tacky: pour a new flood coat over it, no sanding. Soft like jello: scrape off as much as you can (acetone helps), then remix carefully and pour a new coat.

Small sticky spots

Scraping the bucket while pouring, or spots that did not get blended. Slightly tacky: paint over them with a small fresh batch or repour the whole top. Soft and wet: cut out the soft material, fill the low spots with a small pour, wait 4 hours, then do a full coat.

Bubbles

Everywhere: no torch used, a missing or thin seal coat on porous wood, or a whipped mix. One spot: a knot, crack or missed area in the seal coat. Small bubbles usually are not worth fixing. If you want them gone, sand and recoat the whole top. Spot fixes leave a raised bump that looks worse.

Ripples or waves

Heat held in one place, a coat poured too thin, or a warped surface. Another full flood coat hides nearly all of it.

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