How do I remove a failed Epoxy pour from a table top?

Question

I tried to refinish my table using 'Parks' Super Glaze Ultra Gloss Epoxy. This is a two part epoxy and t had a problem with the pour. A good third of the table did not 'set' and remained tackey. The Parks company was very good with replacing the product, But I am stuck removing the failed pour. Sanding just loads up the paper in seconds. Please help.
Thank you.

Dan's of Central Florida, Inc. · Answer

Hug, you will need to blast the heck out of it with a heat gun. After what seems like forever, it will start to soften up a bit, and that should allow you to scrape it away. Note though that this will still be tough to do and may damage the table itself. You will need to fix the gouges before doing the epoxy again.

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

The heating action of the sanding process as well as any grinding will soften the material and clog the equipment your using.  You may want to consider renting a small sand blasting machine to remove this sticky product. Regardless of what idea seems to work for you, its not going to a pretty project ahead.

3po3 · Answer

How long has it been tacky? And what temperatures has it been exposed to? It may harden as it gets warmer. Otherwise, I defer to Dan and Woodbridge. They always know their stuff.

KMS Woodworks · Answer

I have used a chisel to remove stubborn debris...It aint the fastest process...but the control is pretty good.  Once you get the bulk of it off sanding can pick up the rest.  I'm guessing the 'failure' was due to improper mixing or being a bit off in your ratios of resin to hardener.

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

That's a toughie and I'm speculating but I would try a grinder.  Go to The Depot and pick up 3 or 4 different kinds of wheels, anything from sanding wheels to cutting wheels.  My guess is you could score it first with the cutting wheel and then use the chisel followed by a 40 or 60 grit sanding wheel.  You may need to spend $200 for all this unless you can rent or borrow a grinder if you don't have one.  
Let us know how it goes.
Best, Charles

Hug E · Answer

Thank you all for your help. My wife had a much easier solution. I glued a piece of masonite to the top and gave the table to my neighbor to use as a 'scrapbooking' table. Now  I dont have to fight/wrestle with the epoxy, my neighbor gets a new table, and my wife gets to shop for a new table. Every one is happy. :-)  Thanks again.

KMS Woodworks · Answer

Hug...so are you going to try again?  Was this failure a mixing problem, or due to some old stale product...you said they replaced the product.

Dave · Answer

I've been searching for a way to fix this for days.  Just found this site.  I have been using this epoxy for a couple of months with perfect results.  I'm putting it on 1' thick birch wood that has had a photograph or other artwork printed directly on the wood. I've always just poured the full bottle of  'A' and 'B' into a contained together and mixed it for way longer than the 3 minutes, mix, another 3 minutes they recommend.  This time I got lazy and was not really into what I was doing. I only mixed it for a few minutes.  Lazy.  But now I'm F...ed.  Its been about 10 days and its not set at all.  I'm in an open garage.  Its been in the upper 70's, just like all the times it was perfect.  
I was out of town for five days and when I came home and that stuF still was all soft and sticky. Pissed.  So I take a small picture and about 5 layers of aluminum foil under. In the oven. Broiler. 200 degrees.   About 1 minute later some serious smoke and I'm sure deadly fumes filled the kitchen.   
Ok. I'm really not that stupid.  I was just out of options and it might work.  
Now I have to try to remove this without destroying the print on the wood.  Under the goo.  If I touch it I can easily leave a mark.  
Please help remove this stuff.  I've been thinking for days and I got nothing.  Can't really scrape, because you will ruin the prints.  I hate to lose expensive wood prints, but I'm going to throw them away.  Any info/guesses appreciated.  thanks Dave

Yair Spolter · Answer

@Dave, you are more likely to find help by posting this as a new question. Just click on the 'Post/Ask' button on the top of the page and type in your question with as much detail as possible (you can just copy from your comment here) and the Hometalk community will no doubt come to your rescue. :-) Good luck!

Liz Smith · Answer

I have the same problem.  The glaze was put the table in the spring and it is still tacky in some spots.  What is the solution?

KMS Woodworks · Answer

adding a bit of just the 'hardener' my cure the surface a bit...it may not penetrate much if at all but it may remove some of the tackiness.

Walt · Answer

Just wondering....would another coat on top of the initial one help at all.....

KMS Woodworks · Answer

I recently refinished a large table where the owner tested the epoxy on a corner area.  The finish was cured properly so it was fairly easy to remove using a heavy belt sander and some 24 grit paper.

Ann Ellis · Answer

after it dried, I have a few areas with dimples. how do I get rid of them? do I just pour a little more glaze on that spot? or what?

Ann Ellis · Answer

no, no one has helped me on this yet.

Mike Bartoli · Answer

?

Ann Ellis · Answer

I used Parks Super Glaze and ended up with a few dimples in my finished product. How do I get rid of these dimples now?

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

With any application of glazing or epoxies of any type you need to be really careful both with application and mixing. 
If you stir the mix to aggressively air bubbles will become trapped in the product that will show up after the material is applied and dried. These bubbles can result in indents in the finished surface which is what I believe your having experienced. Also using the wrong application tool, such as a brush when it calls for a foam brush can cause havoc in the final finish. 
In your case, you will need to carefully sand the top finish. Ideally wet sanding using a spray bottle with clear water and sand paper designed to be used with water and using at least a grit of 400 carefully remove the shiny surface an imperfections. You can check your progress by using a rubber squeegee to wipe the surface moisture off as you sand. When doing this the low spots that have not been sanded out will show up as wet showing you your progress on the sanding process. Once smooth with no orange peel look when wiped, Rinse the surface off and dry well. Then reapply carefully the glaze. This should solve your issue.

AmishIamnot · Answer

I hate this product, I made a farmhouse table and stained and then used Parks superglaze days later. Read directions then left my table tacky and ruined. Debating sanding it off, adding more activator, adding entire second coat? Not sure what do I do?

Woodbridge Environmental Tiptophouse.com · Answer

Do not try to use any additional activator it it will be a mess to fix after. 
You need to sand the table and start again. When using this type of product it is critical that you mix it really well and use exactly the correct amount of mix material or you will have issues. Also the weather needs to be dry and warm not damp and cool for this to work correctly. There are many variables that if not followed to a T the project will fail. Its not the product itself its the application. Even if you thought you did every thing correctly, something simply was not done correctly. My guess it was the weather.

Steve Reaume · Answer

I had the same problem because I failed to mix well. If the epoxy is just sticky to the touch, but not soft (meaning you cannot stick your finger nail into the epoxy), then you should be able to just pour another flood coat over top of the first. This worked for me. However, I did have small areas of 'soft' epoxy, and I had to remove this by scraping out the soft epoxy. It was a very messy and tedious process, but do it in small increments. Otherwise you may get frustrated and just scrap the whole project (I came close to this a couple times). After you scrape out the soft areas, you will want to refill them with a small mix of epoxy, prior to reflooding the whole surface. This all worked for me, but it as a long process and I really didn't want to start all over with my whole bar top. Mix the epoxy well, and as recommended!!!!

Scott ehredt · Answer

In my first applications, i was just trying to fill cracks and holes and it set up great, just the way I was expecting.   These were small batches and I was stirring for a full 3 minutes.   Then for the final coat I created almost 64 ounces of mixed product to get the right thickness over my tabletop.   I think possibly I should have stirred it 6 minutes as instructed or poured it into a new container as that might have helped it mix more, too.  Anyway, the result of the final pour has been tacky for a week now but it finally seems to have cured in some spots.    Other spots are still tacky so I just plan to wait another week.   Then I need to sand a bit to get rid of the waves and I plan to add a bit more epoxy to a couple spots where I somehow failed to get it to cover.   And ultimately I plan to add a coat of polyurethane.   I'm still hoping it will work out.   My main point is that at 67 degrees F it took over a week for the sticky areas to become non-sticky...although some areas are still sticky but I'm guessing they will cure in the next few days.  Good Luck.

Hemlock · Answer

The answer is your screwed, chisel it down as close to the wood as you can and sand away until you have clean wood, re pour.

Caleb Norton · Answer

Just did this...AND fixed it! Hemlock is right BUT DO NOT SAND THE EPOXY, it turns into a huge mess. Instead, wait 72 hours for it to cure. Thenuse a chisel and aim for as close as you can to 1/16' from the clear coat top. The epoxy should have hardened enough that you can 'pry' it up. Then just keep your gloves on and pull like crazy. Mine pulled off completely, then sanded and refinished.

Alice lyons · Answer

I had a table with photos that I put this on, some old some new. After curing some parts were sticky. I called the company and they told me to use a heat gun and slowly go over the table scraping with a putty knife.  Once I got a little hole I was able to get the knife under the surface and the cured stuff rolled up.  Of course this took quite a while. 
A couple things I learned... Don't use Polaroid photos and make copies of the photos first so you don't lose memories and all photos are the same age.
The company sent me a me order of the glaze and reimbursed me for the heat gun.

Michael · Answer

Does anyone know how to fix a hand print on an uncured table top that made an impression. The whole table has cured perfectly and there is a large hand print on the side.

Robbin Cramer · Answer

What did I do wrong when the next day of pouring the countertop, It was dried but not cured and there are air bubbles and dimples in it? It is not responding to heat. Any ideas of what to do and how to prevent it from happening again?

Jerico · Answer

just wondering if paint remover and a scraper ? put paint remover on let it sit 15 -20 mins to let it soften then use a plastic scraper get to the wood then sand ? I did a table that has flaws in it and I know what I did wrong but need to fix ; glade to hear sanding wont work;

Gerri Davis · Answer

I don't know if you've corrected your problem yet, but I was just reading about this in an information post for bar top epoxies.  The directions indicated that you will need to add a coat of epoxy on top of the existing tacky coat and that will take care of your problem.

Ashley Parmer · Answer

Use nail polish remover

How do I remove a failed Epoxy pour from a table top?

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How do I remove a failed Epoxy pour from a table top?

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