How long can I wait between the seal coat and the flood coat?

Pour the flood coat of UltraClear Bar & Table Top Epoxy 4 to 6 hours after the seal coat. The seal coat will still be tacky at that point. That's normal and safe to pour over. Anywhere within a 4 to 10 hour window needs no surface preparation, and the layers bond together as one.

If more than 10 hours pass, for example you seal coat one day and flood coat the next, you can still proceed, but sand and clean the seal coat first:

1. Lightly scuff the surface with 220 or 320 grit sandpaper. 2. Wipe it down with a clean, lint-free rag and denatured alcohol or acetone. Do not use paint thinner (mineral spirits) and do not use a tack cloth. 3. Keep cleaning until all sanding dust is gone, then pour the flood coat.

Don't worry about the sanding scratches. The next pour fills them in and cures crystal clear again.

The same window applies between seal coats. On very porous surfaces such as corks you can apply 2 to 3 seal coats spaced 4 to 6 hours apart with no sanding; past 10 hours between coats, sand and clean as above. Additional 1/8" flood coats follow the same schedule.

If you're using the seal coat to hold embedded objects in place, the wait is 24 hours instead (see 'How long should I wait to flood coat after embedding objects in the seal coat?').