: I've just finished stripping Great Auk with hardwoods---pecan, with purple
: heart and mesquite accents. I've sanded with 60 grit paper and have a
: smooth surface. Since this wood is hard and will probably not soak up any
: epoxy, should I leave it as it is or sand with finer grit? I'm thinking
: that the only bonding will be mechanical bonding. Any advice will be
: appreciated. Glen

Since you've gone to the trouble of using these nice woods is would be a shame
to not let out their beauty.

The finer the grit you sand with the more luster and depth will be revealed in the wood.

Having made furniture for years I know I would always sand to at least 220 grit
to reveal the beauty of the wood. When I started building strippers the epoxy makers
said to sand to 80 grit. I did this for years but was not happy with how I knew the wood could
look if sanded further.

After a lot of years of working with epoxy I know the stuff bonds very strongly even on surfaces
I don't want it to, like formica bench tops.

I called Kern Hendricks the boss at System Three and asked if they had any tests to suggest that
sanding to 220 would cause a weak bond. They said they had not conducted tests on coated wood
sanded to that grit. I know these epoxy makers are not furniture builders so I thought they might
not realize the added beauty the wood would exhibit by the extra sanding. I suggested this to Kern
and he said he didn't think the bond would be any weaker as long as the 220 grit was not dull and
burnishing the wood instead of sanding it. He said he had a nice piece of walnut he wanted to sand
with 220 and coat with epoxy to see what I meant about the added luster of the wood sanded to this grit.

I now sand all my strippers to 220 grit. I notice a great improvment in the depth and luster of the wood.

Epoxy will absorb and bond very well with most woods when freshly sanded.

Take advantage of some of the control you can exert over the epoxy and wood to ensure the best bond.

Warm your shop and therefore your wood and epoxy to 85 - 90°. This will thin the epoxy for better
penetration. Use slow hardener in the epoxy to give it more time to absorb. Make certain your shop
temperature is dropping. This will cause air and resin to be sucked INTO the wood cells.

Your wood will look great!

All the best,
Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.laughingloon.com