I am thinking of using West System Epoxy to fill gaps and add a little
height to the wood beam that also serves as the top step to my
basement bulkhead.

I was thinking of using some fine sawdust (I have several bags of fine
Ipe sawdust leftover from sanding my porch) as a fairing material both
to make it easier to sand and to give it more of a look/texture of
wood (I will be painting over the sides and either staining the top
to match the decking or leaving it unfinished).

Couple of questions:
- Will (fine) sawdust perform well as a fairing material?
- If so what is the "right" amount to add?
My understand is that the more you add, the more it will
look and machine like wood but at the expense of less strength
than pure epoxy.

Thanks

On May 25, 8:24 pm, blueman wrote:
I am thinking of using West System Epoxy to fill gaps and add a little
height to the wood beam that also serves as the top step to my
basement bulkhead.

I was thinking of using some fine sawdust (I have several bags of fine
Ipe sawdust leftover from sanding my porch) as a fairing material both
to make it easier to sand and to give it more of a look/texture of
wood (I will be painting over the sides and either staining the top
to match the decking or leaving it unfinished).

Couple of questions:
- Will (fine) sawdust perform well as a fairing material?
- If so what is the "right" amount to add?
My understand is that the more you add, the more it will
look and machine like wood but at the expense of less strength
than pure epoxy.

You can use almost anything as a filler in epoxy. Sawdust will work
fine and will probably be the easiest all things considerd. Silica
(basically sand) is a common filler and might be a good idea for
adding traction and durability to a wear surface such as your step,
but it's not going to be workable after the fact.

R

For boat building, we normally use 'peanut butter' consistency for
filler

Rich



On May 25, 8:24 pm, blueman wrote:
I am thinking of using West System Epoxy to fill gaps and add a little
height to the wood beam that also serves as the top step to my
basement bulkhead.

I was thinking of using some fine sawdust (I have several bags of fine
Ipe sawdust leftover from sanding my porch) as a fairing material both
to make it easier to sand and to give it more of a look/texture of
wood (I will be painting over the sides and either staining the top
to match the decking or leaving it unfinished).

Couple of questions:
- Will (fine) sawdust perform well as a fairing material?
- If so what is the "right" amount to add?
My understand is that the more you add, the more it will
look and machine like wood but at the expense of less strength
than pure epoxy.

Thanks

"blueman" wrote:

I am thinking of using West System Epoxy to fill gaps and add a
little
height to the wood beam that also serves as the top step to my
basement bulkhead.

I was thinking of using some fine sawdust (I have several bags of
fine
Ipe sawdust leftover from sanding my porch) as a fairing material
both
to make it easier to sand and to give it more of a look/texture of
wood (I will be painting over the sides and either staining the top
to match the decking or leaving it unfinished).


Using sawdust as a filler for epoxy represents a total waste of good
epoxy.

Micro-balloons are dirt cheap.

Talk to the tech folks at West.

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
news:%80%j.5730$u7.4738@trnddc07...


Using sawdust as a filler for epoxy represents a total waste of good
epoxy.

Micro-balloons are dirt cheap.


How do you guys blow up those little balloons?

--

-Mike-

On Tue, 27 May 2008 22:44:11 GMT, "Lew Hodgett"
wrote:

Using sawdust as a filler for epoxy represents a total waste of good
epoxy.

Would you still say that if it were for purely aesthetic reasons, such
as crack-filling in semi-naturalistic work?


....and how _do_ they blow up those tiny balloons, so cheaply?

Mike Marlow wrote:

: "Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
: news:%80%j.5730$u7.4738@trnddc07...

:
: Using sawdust as a filler for epoxy represents a total waste of good
: epoxy.
:
: Micro-balloons are dirt cheap.
:

: How do you guys blow up those little balloons?

micro-compressors yuk, yuk, yuk

"Andy Dingley" wrote:

Would you still say that if it were for purely aesthetic reasons,
such
as crack-filling in semi-naturalistic work?

Probably.

...and how _do_ they blow up those tiny balloons, so cheaply?

Last time I bought a 30 lb(4 cubic ft) bag of micro-balloons, it was
less than $25 which was just after a 20% price increase the month
previous.

I just don't worry about it.


Lew

Lew,
That is your source for those microballoons? That's a very good price
that i have been unable to find.

Thanks,
Pat Smith
PS: My first post, here!
On Jun 3, 12:08*pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:
"Andy Dingley" wrote:
Would you still say that if it were for purely aesthetic reasons,
such
as crack-filling in semi-naturalistic work?

Probably.

...and how _do_ they blow up those tiny balloons, so cheaply?

Last time I bought a 30 lb(4 cubic ft) bag of micro-balloons, it was
less than $25 which was just after a 20% price increase the month
previous.

I just don't worry about it.

Lew

"spincircles" wrote:

Lew,
That is your source for those microballoons? That's a very good
price
that i have been unable to find.

Do a Google for "Dicaperl" and "HP500".

Dicaperl is the mineral brand, HP500 is the grade.

Strictly an industrial item, but should be able to buy a bag on a cash
basis.


Lew

On May 27, 6:44 pm, "Lew Hodgett" wrote:

...

Using sawdust as a filler for epoxy represents a total waste of good
epoxy.

Micro-balloons are dirt cheap.

Talk to the tech folks at West.


No one has said as much yet but I think the relevant
point here is that 'micro' sands much more easily
than any other filler material.

Because the spheres are hollow, much of the material
being removed is air.

--

FF