Tables River Epoxy Casting Systems

Epoxy to Cast River Tables.

We have many types of resins and hardeners. All formulated in South Africa. 

The thickness and total mass of the casting plus the ambient temperarure are very critical in the selection of the system. The thicker the casting and the higher the ambient temperatures, the slower the system required. All our resins are protected with the best combination of UV additives - however, epoxies are inherently poor against UV damage. It is therefore, important to keep these tables away from direct or indirect UV rays. 

Wood must be suitably sealed a faster epoxy system (say EH48 hardener), before casting the epoxy.

CRYSTAL CLEAR RESINS:

LR322 Resin with LH322 hardener.  Suitable for about 20 to 40 mm thickness.

LR401 -LH491 is suitable for about 50 to 80 mm thick.

LR325.7 with EH329.6 is also suitbale for castings upto 80 mm thick.

NON CRYSTAL CLEAR RESINS

The cheapest type of resin is LR217, which is suitable  to cast thi sections, and with pigments. 

LR217 may be blended with say LR322 or LR401 to create a medium type of clear  system,which can be used with pigments as well. 

LR217/3 is a blend of LR217 (3 parts) with LR322 (1 part). Hardeners can be adjusted for different thickesses

.EH3949,3 is normally used with LR217/3.

The castings should take about 3 to 4 days to achieve maximum shore D hardness of 80 to 85. A thick casting that reaches 80 D overnight, is probably too fast,and will generate heat, which will create shrinkages and lose its crystal clarity.

For sealing the wood,you can use LR322 or LR401,with a faster hardener,such as EH16 or EH48. A very slow hardener,such as LH322, will take toolong to set, as a thin film. 

Every time a table is cast, the customer should always cast a disk about 10 to 20 mm thick as a control. The batch numbers, date and ambient temperature should be written on the sample.

All resins and hardeners should be weighed accurately into one clean container,mixed for 2 minutes, then the entire contents transferred toa second clean container. The sides and bottom of the first bucket, must be scrapped well. Then mixed again in the second container.