No bubbles in epoxy?

Jewelry Discussion
1

IS there any way to mix epoxy so that you get NO bubbles after it has
set? I’ve tried vacuuming the glue before using it and it just foams
up and gets even more bubbles. I epoxy some clear stones in inlay and
always get afew bubbles which are apparent after its cured…Dave

Crystalguy Jewelry, Art Jewelry for the Mystic Soul

http://www.kickassdesign.com/paddle/
Paddle Jewelry for River Addicts

2

Brush above the epoxy (not on it) with a large, bushy flame, this
sometimes releases bubbles from setting plastics. Charles

Charles Lewton-Brain
Box 1624, Ste M, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 2L7, Canada

3

acuuming epoxys in potting is the normal proceeduire. but??? I have
been told that high pressure 80-100 # also works for potting but
have not seen it used this way myself. This is the way that advanced
composite materials are cured often at about the same pressures with
temperatures appropriate to the epoxy or aramid. This I have seen on
a large scale Airplane parts, space shuttle doors etc. At normal
temperatures Air pressure is OK but the drier the better. Regulated
Cylinder N2 best if you have it. A painter pressure pot is a
reasonable pressure vessel. Don’t make you own. Flying broken vessel
parts are often fatal. Talk to your Epoxy supplier or their factory
rep. Probably on the web. Jesse

4

Hi Dave, I don’t know that this will get rid of all bubbles but … I
do a lot of crushed stone inlay using epoxy as the binder. Here’s
how I reduce the air pockets. I usually mix the epoxy ( pretty small
amount on a piece of heavy weight paper or something smooth like a
bit of plastic packaging, a discarded photo (past photo shoots gone
bad - have a good supply).

After I mix the epoxy well using a little spatula I hold it under a
regular (hot) lightbuld for 5-10 seconds so that it warms up - thins
out and releases many of the bubbles that had been incorporated in
the mixing. You could also use a hot plate, I’ve even laid it on my
baseboard heater for a moment. Michelle

Sumiche Handwrought Jewelry
Creating what you want in gold, platinum and silver
http://www.efn.org/~sumiche

5

dave - have you tried breathing on the glue right after it ‘settles’

  • sometimes in small amounts that’s enough warmth to work, otherwise
    a hairdryer might help. on a few lucky occasions when i have
    sacrificed the right kind of goat & the moon is full, a very thin
    beading needle will pull the bubbles to the top & then smoothe the
    surface. good luck - ive (the epoxy gods prefer the very old brown
    spotted goats)
6

Don’t use standard epoxy. If you use long set time thinner resins,
then bubbles rise out. Rio grande carries several such. Colores is
an epoxy based resin, but thinner than our common glues. You can
color it with the colored resins they sell, or mix it clear. Ends up
as a fine solid adhesive, but takes much longer, and preferably a low
heat cycle, to cure. Because it’s thin as mixed and has a long pot
life, you can easily let it sit a half hour to let bubbles rise out.
The same is true of the polysest based Ceramit and ceramitation
produces, normally marketed as immitation enamels. But they work
fine as adhesives of inlay too.

Peter Rowe