How to sand epoxy resin table: a complete guide
Sanding the epoxy table is a very critical step to getting a beautiful wood epoxy table. A perfect finishing epoxy table starts with sanding. Unfortunately, Sanding is the worst part of woodworking. It is loud, dusty, and tedious, and you really don’t see a lot for your work.
We have a pretty big workshop so we had purchased some tools that most DIYers wouldn’t consider getting. One of those tools is wide belt sander. We typically sand the finished tops on our wide belt sander up to 180 grit, then sand it to 320 grit using an orbital sander.
You don’t have to get a professional high-end sander like what we use, but you should get a decent one and good sandpapers. You could use a sander and sand from 80 grit to 320 grit hitting 80, 100, 120, 150, 180, 240, 320. Don’t skip any grits. You can go higher than this if you are looking for more smooth glass-looking feel.
TOOLS AND MATERIALS REQUIRED
Sander
Klingspor sandpaper
A clean wet towel
A clean dry towel
Dust Mask (to protect yourself from the dust)
Festool vacuum (optional)
Step 1
So we will start with a nice flat wood epoxy table that the resin is fully cured. It is optional to use a pencil to lightly draw a grid on the table, to easily track where you have sanded and where you haven’t.
Step 2
Start with the lowest grit and work your way up. Usually 80 grit is a good start if your table piece were flattened by an electric planner or router. Be mindful of that wood will sand faster than epoxy, so you can move a litter faster on the wood or apply a little less pressure on the wood.
Important: Keep a dry microfiber towel handy. As you sand the resin, it likes to clog the sandpaper pretty fast. Once its clogged, it will leave little “pig tail” swirls in your resin. Use your dry microfiber towel to wipe away the resin dust every two seconds or so. And to clean the dust from the sandpaper at very high frequency to make sure it is clean.
Step 3
After finishing the 80 grit sanding, use a clean wet towel to wipe the table. Wait about 45 minutes for the water to dry out, then do the next grit level sanding.
Repeat this until you finish all the grits.
Important: Don’t skip any grits.
These grits are specifically designed to remove the scratches from the grit that comes before. So if you go from 100 to 150, you will be left with tiny scratches that might not become visible until you finish. By then its too late, and you’d have to start all over.
When sanding the bottom side of the table, up to 150 grit is pretty good to go, especially for wood tables.
And your table is ready for finishing. In just a few minutes, you get to see all your hard work come to life. Follow the instructions of the finish coat manufacturer gives. The important thing is to get the entire piece covered, let it soak in, then wipe it all off.
Feel free to contact AURTEM if you have any questions regarding epoxy tables. Aurtem is an American-made company that has been making epoxy tables and other home furnishings for more than 10 years.