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Watercolor Batik

Batik for Beginners

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Batik is a super cool and unique method of painting! We are excited to offer our first Watercolor Batik Class at Songbirds, so I wanted to write a little more about what Batik is like!

 

The Paper:

Most paintings are done on canvas or watercolor paper, but Batik requires special Asian-produced products like Awagami Ginwashi rice paper. These papers take water differently, are often semi-transparent, and have different strengths than what you may be used to. Fortunately, you can use any regular watercolor paints to create a Batik piece.

 

The Special Method:

Batik focuses on the technique of using a Resist, or a material that blocks water and paint from soaking into the rice paper. For Batik, it’s common to use paraffin wax. If you’ve ever died Easter eggs using the wax pencil or experimented with the mysterious white Crayola crayon, you probably know how to do this trick already. Watercolor paints won’t penetrate wax – Batik exploits this by slowly building up colors around areas that have been coated in wax and will therefore remain white or transparent.

Melted wax is carefully painted on the rice paper and allowed to dry before the watercolor paints are brushed over the design.

 

But Wait – How Can I See It?

With wax being white and difficult to see, how can you know where to paint? Remember that rice paper is semi-transparent! It’s common to draw a design on regular paper with a dark marker and place it under the rice paper. Batik is like advanced-level tracing! You can also use a permanent, waterproof pen to sketch outlines and designs directly on the rice paper before applying wax or paint.

 

Sealing:

After your Batik design has been painted, it’s time for one more exciting step! Most pieces are coated with a thin wash of wax and then crumpled up after the coat has dried. This forms thin cracks in the wax. A final wash of color can be painted over this and sealed in again with a coat of wax, creating a distressed and vibrant finish over the design!

 

The Display:

The finished Batik piece remains semi-transparent, so there’s a lot of creative wiggle room with how it’s displayed! You can experiment with different colors and brightnesses of backing and matting to make the work really pop.

 

Conclusion:

We can’t wait to learn Batik with Patte Kayne at Songbirds! Check out our first Batik class HERE, and stay tuned for future updates to the Knowledge Blog! Until then, keep creating!

Review: Acrylic Paint Pens

Acrylic Paint Pens – A Review

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Every so often, an amazing product comes along in my life that I try for the first time and wonder “how in the world have I survived so long without using this?”. A short list of items like that includes a sink-mounted bottle washer, most quality tools, those bottles of Dawn dish soap that spray in a mist, my gigging keyboard, an electric kettle, and socks that all look the same so that you never have to match them. Acrylic Paint Pens now make this list. I tried them for the first time this week and was absolutely blown away.

 

Introduction:

For years, other builders in the guitar pedal community have been using Acrylic Paint Pens for their designs and artwork. One of the most famous boutique circuits ever, the Fuzz Factory, used Paint Pens. In particular, Posca Pens are recommended for pedals. These are a little pricey, so we tried a more generic brand from Amazon. Songbirds got these pens for use at one of our community events. There, attendees were invited to paint rocks for the Oviedo Rock Garden at the Library. The rocks turned out great and I couldn’t believe how clean they looked! I painted a guitar pedal enclosure this week and here are my honest thoughts on Acrylic Paint Pens:

 

1. Incredibly Smooth Application

This is the biggest takeaway for me. I can’t get over how effortlessly the paint is applied to the surface of your work. It’s like using a Sharpie or other quality marker, but the ink is actually paint.

2. Even Saturation

The quality of the paint in the pen is high. I used several weak colors like pastel green, lavender, and white, in addition to bolder options like black and forest green. There was awesome saturation for every color, and nothing required a second coat. I was painting on a dark grey metal box, and the lighter colors had no trouble.

3. Absence of Stroke Marks

There were no lines or streaks where the tip of the pen overlapped with the existing paint. It’s magical.

4. Fast Dry Time

We are all used to Acrylic Paint drying quickly, but the stuff in the Pens dries almost instantly. It must go on extremely thin – which is even more incredible that the pens can achieve such even and consistent saturation.

5. Durability

I haven’t tried to put my guitar pedal or the rocks at the Rock Garden through a tumbler. However, the rocks and the paint survived being jostled about in a bucket, and I didn’t notice any chipping or scuffing. None of the rocks were protected with a clear coat, so we’ll see how they hold up. At first glance, the paint seems to be lasting very well.

 

Perceived Cons:

I can’t think of anything that I would improve about the pens that I used. It seems that you’re only limited by your own artistic ability (alas, such is life). I did notice that it’s tricky, if not impossible, to remove errant color from the tips if two pens touch by accident. It looks like someone accidentally hit one of the white pens with some red at our event – oops! I’d imagine that the pens dry out relatively quickly without the caps on, but that hasn’t been tested.

 

Conclusion:

I’m amazed by these generic Acrylic Paint Pens and will be ordering myself a set for personal use. There’s a lot more painting in this style in my future. I hope that you can try these and see if they work for you as well – we’ve had them this week at Spring Break camp and the kids love them!

 

Stay tuned for our next installment of the Knowledge Blog! If you’re looking for more art information, check out our previous post on Acrylic Painting Techniques.

 

Note: Songbirds is not sponsored or endorsed by the manufacturers of Acrylic Paint Pens in any way. I just really like them! The links on this page are affiliate links, meaning that if you buy a product through this link, we get a teeny, tiny, minuscule, objectively unfair kickback from Amazon. This kickback is not added to your cost. Thanks for helping us in any way with your purchases!

Acrylic Paint

Acrylic Painting at Home Tips and Tricks

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Are you in love with making great art at home? Maybe you took some of our virtual paint night classes during the lockdown, or maybe you’ve practiced some of the techniques that you learned at our Songbirds Art Parties. Little tips and tricks can go a long way in making your painting more enjoyable and successful – read on for seven tips on how to better create with Acrylic Paint at home!

 

Why use Acrylic Paint?

I love acrylic because it is the perfect intersection of easy, forgiving, and affordable. Oil paints are expensive and take a long time to dry, while watercolors are messy and can be frustrating if you make a mistake. Acrylic paints dry quickly, blend well, and can be easily painted over in layers. What’s more, you can find really nice paints at relatively cheap prices.

Tempera and kid-safe paints are great for little ones, but those products often have weaker pigmentation and don’t produce as nice a result. Try to move to acrylic when the little artists are ready (just don’t forget that acrylic doesn’t come out of clothing or fabric).

 

On to the tips!

 

Keep Your Brushes Wet

There’s nothing worse than a dried-out and paint-encrusted brush. Once paint has hardened on the hair, it’s almost impossible to resurrect it. While working on your piece, keep any brushes that have been used submerged in your water cup just in case. This also makes it easier to reform the bristle with your fingers later on!

 

Don’t Leave Brushes in Cups Overnight

While we want the brush hairs to be clean and supple for painting, leaving them in water cups overnight or for extended periods can ruin them. This can permanently deform the hairs so that they have a kink and aren’t as easy to use. When you’re done painting, dry out the brushes with a paper towel and reform the hairs with your fingers.

 

Try Using Primers

Even the best acrylics have variations in pigmentation strength. For example, the purple that we use at Songbirds is ridiculously strong compared to the other colors with the same brand. Using primers, or a neutral base coat, goes a long way in leveling the playing field with your colors. The best primers are white, grey, and black. Experiment with using white or grey with lighter colors like yellow and orange. Grey primer goes best with medium-weight colors like blues and greens, and black primer is best for heavy browns, purples, and reds. Any normal acrylic in your collection can be a primer, or you can slightly water down your paints for a primer wash coat.

 

Figure Out a Plan of Attack

When I teach Art Parties at Songbirds, I always start by discussing what colors and shapes should be painted first. Because some colors are way stronger than others, it often doesn’t make sense to start with the traditional method of background first, then foreground second. With acrylic, it makes the most sense to start with the lightest colors and work towards the strongest, darkest shades. This strategy can be modified with the use of primers, but you’ll often end up implementing a lot of layers and waiting for the paint to dry. This is also nifty because you can use the darker layers to correct and neatly outline the lighter layers that have already been applied.

 

Know Your Paints

This takes practice and experimentation, but as I’ve hinted, knowing your paints and how they interact goes a long way in making cleaner and more professional pieces. Try to stick with the paints that you have for a while before introducing a new brand or color. Different brands may blend strangely or have different consistencies. The most important thing to know like the back of your hand is which colors are heaviest and how they should be layered.

 

Take a Step Back

When working for long periods, take frequent breaks to stretch your legs and rest your brain. It’s a good idea to view your work from a distance and in different lighting conditions. I’ll never forget the very first Art Night event that I attended way before Songbirds was created – we were painting a tree scene in a dimly lit bar and everything looked fantastic… until we went outside in the daylight and realized that all of the paints were neon for some reason. Taking a step back can help you plan your next move and appreciate your hard work!

 

Learn Some New Techniques

If you’re feeling in a rut, try attending a Paint Class at Songbirds or watching some videos on new paint techniques that you might have missed like drybrushing, blending, stippling, and more! It’s also refreshing to get way out of your comfort zone and experiment with a different art style – if you always paint realism, why not try some cubism or surrealism? The sky’s the limit, and each experiment will only make you a better artist.

 

Thanks so much for tuning in to this week’s Art Blog! Check out our Art Classes and Art Parties at Songbirds, and stay tuned for more helpful information on our Knowledge Blog!

Leslie Rotating Speaker

DIY Leslie Rotating Speaker

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The Leslie Rotating Speaker – a holy grail of weird and wacky vintage music gear. This is one of those things that seems to have fallen into a lost ravine of history. I find that most musicians today have never heard of it, let alone seen one. Let’s dive in and explore exactly what this is and hear what it sounds like because… I built one! 

Note: Vintage or analog gear IS NOT better than modern, and it doesn’t make you play better. However, it’s imperfect and a little cooky. There are a sea of options with digital plugins, emulators, effects, and programs available that sometimes it’s overwhelming just to start. Having a piece of tangible gear in front of you really narrows down your field of possibility and forces you to get creative with what you have. For me personally, I like playing analog (or vintage) gear because it helps me write and get in the zone.

 

History:

The rotating speaker (or Leslie) was first innovated by Donald Leslie in the late 1930s. It was originally designed to help an electric organ sound more like an authentic pipe organ. The Leslie was soon adopted by guitarists and swelled to popularity in the 1960s and 1970s with artists like Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd using it on their records. Since then, the Leslie has seen a dramatic fall from popularity mostly due to its clunky size and the availability of guitar pedals that can kind of replicate what it sounds like. Vintage Leslie speakers are nearly impossible to find nowadays as they weren’t made with very robust materials. The ones that exist really belong in a museum. If someone sells an original Leslie, it goes for multiple thousands of dollars. Yeah – I can’t afford that.

 

So What Is It?

The Leslie is a speaker cabinet, usually larger than a medium-sized guitar or bass amplifier. Internally, a molded cardboard baffle (or drum) is suspended over a speaker. This baffle has a chunk missing and is connected to a small motor that allows it to spin. The majority of the baffle blocks sound traveling upwards from the speaker and encourages it to exit the cabinet through the bit that is missing. When the baffle spins, the cavity throws sound around the cabinet and the room. This creates the Doppler Effect – that thing that happens when you hear sirens on the road, and as they get farther from you, it sounds like the pitch goes down and gets distorted. The result is a watery, warbly tremolo-like effect that sounds absolutely psychedelic.

 

The Build:

I stumbled upon this amazing DIY article from Premier Guitar when I was searching for a way to build my own Leslie. It is pretty thorough and served as the template for what I did. If you would like to replicate this build, start with this article. I’d say that this project rates as follows:

  • Time Commitment: Medium. This would take a full weekend if you don’t take breaks like I did.
  • Difficulty: 7/10 with no experience, 4/10 if you understand basic carpentry and electronic wiring.
  • Frustration: 5/10 with experience, but my notes should help lower that number.
  • Satisfaction with End Product: 9/10. My only grumbles are with cosmetic issues and things out of my control.

Note: The article is a great starting point, but don’t get too bogged down with the details. I used it as a loose template and everything worked out great!

 

Issues that I Had:

Check this part out if you’d like to build your own! Here’s a list of the steps that were problematic and how I would recommend doing this better next time. I’m comparing my experience to the article listed above:

  1. The parts listed in the article were fairly difficult to find. I had absolutely no luck finding a cake dummy out of styrofoam that is as big as the article suggested. Instead, I hot glued several layers of thin styrofoam together to make the complete baffle. For some reason, styrofoam is expensive.
  2. The motor was also more costly (and larger) than I expected. I had to hollow out the center of the baffle to accommodate the motor. On the plus side, the motor that I used is very quiet and is capable of going very fast.
  3. Speaking of fast, the PWM controller that I used allowed the motor to spin way faster than what is usable. I ended up soldering a 200k resistor between the output pin (pin 3) of the potentiometer and the lead going to it in order to slow down the motor control. Before I did this, less than 10% of the pot sweep was usable before it got to be too fast. Now, the entire sweep works and sounds musical. *see footnote*
  4. I decided to wrap the cabinet in vinyl tolex-like material. This was my first time wrapping a cabinet from start to finish. I can’t state enough how miserable the glue was that I used. I chose a thin glue that is intended for vinyl flooring, mostly because it was cheap and in a small container that wouldn’t create a ton of waste. It adhered to the cabinet and the wrap well, but EVERYTHING in my house got sticky. It also has a ridiculous cure time. I finished applying glue over a week ago, and there are parts of the wrap that can still be pushed around. When I build another cabinet, I’ll likely just use a natural wood finish. If there is glue involved, it will be of better quality.
  5. I didn’t plan ahead with the electronics and controls for the outside of the cabinet. This is mostly because I didn’t decide what I wanted to do until it was finished (should I build a spring reverb in the base? Should there be LEDs? Does it need a second input jack?). After testing the speaker and hearing how awesome it sounds with the basic setup, I had to attempt to cut and drill through ¾” plywood on the finished product with paddle bits. Ick. I got lucky, but that could have gone badly.
  6. The article hints at the importance of centering the baffle on the motor’s spindle, but it gravely understates the frustration of that process. I originally made a thick cardboard sheet that held up the styrofoam and spun on the motor’s shaft, but it wasn’t strong enough to prevent the baffle from wobbling at high speeds. This wobble caused a TON of vibration in the cabinet and frankly made it unusable. (It also led me down an annoying rabbit hole learning about how to balance spinning objects and how static balance is different than dynamic balance and… I don’t know, I didn’t pay attention in high school physics.) I ended up using a wooden disc with perforations that allow the sound to pass through. This was cut on a laser machine, so I know that the center is true. Even with this, the baffle still wobbles and the cabinet shakes at high speeds. I don’t know how to attempt this most accurately with hand tools, and I would plan on making several baffles before settling on the one that works best.

*footnote*: There is a sweet spot with the speed of rotation. There is very little musical difference in the last 15% of the potentiometer sweep (after adding the 200k resistor). It's worth experimenting with 100k or a smaller value. There is also a faint electronic whine that can be heard with the use of the resistors. It is less pronounced with smaller resistance values.

 

The Final Product:

Overall, I’m very pleased with my DIY Leslie Cabinet! Unlike the original vintage models, this does not have any onboard amplification and is only a speaker. My signal chain starts with my guitar, then goes to any effect pedals that I want to use. It then goes to my Fender tube amp, but I bypass the amp’s speakers and send the signal to the Leslie. This means that I get to enjoy the EQ and gain controls of the amp! The Leslie is plugged in, but I can turn it on and off with an onboard switch which is mounted next to the speed control and the input jack. It’s a lot larger than I anticipated, but I’m very glad that I made it because it does sound quite unique.

 

So How Does It Sound?

I’m surprised by how unique the sound actually is. Many pedals attempt to replicate the sound of the Leslie, but I haven’t heard anything that is absolutely accurate yet. I’m convinced that is because of the way that the cabinet reacts with the room. The natural reverb, echo, and Doppler Effect decay that happens with the air is the secret sauce that can’t be easily replicated in a pedal yet. Granted, I’m not sure that the sound is so unique that it warrants making a big Leslie cabinet. I definitely plan on keeping it and making some cool recordings with it, though!

 

If you’re looking for a Leslie subsitute, I’d recommend one of my favorite pedals – the Walrus Audio Julia. This one packs a big punch because it includes the “Lag” control which detunes the delayed sound of the guitar. It’s not quite like the Doppler Effect, but it adds that watery shimmer that makes the Leslie so unique.

 

Sound Sample: (see bottom of page)

 

Here’s a sound recording of my DIY Leslie in action! This is a clean tone with the aforementioned signal chain, no pedals are used. There is also no EQ or mixing applied.

The recording was taken with an SM57 microphone mounted in the room before going straight into my audio interface. My guitar is a double humbucker setup with DiMarzio pickups.

For a cleaner and more usable sound in a mix, I am excited to try recording this in stereo or with several different mics placed throughout the room at different heights. The Leslie causes sound to swirl around you, and this wacky trait is a bit lost in mono.

 

Conclusion:

I hope that you learned something cool about the Leslie Rotating Speaker, and maybe you’ll try to build one someday! Stay tuned (pun intended) for the next Knowledge Blog, and keep on making art!

Internal Leslie
Epoxy Art Crafting Guide

Epoxy Art Crafting Guide

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Epoxy Art Crafting Guide

Epoxy art is one of my favorite projects of all time. I’m sure that you’ve seen amazing tables, countertops, wall art, and even instruments that have striking floods of glossy color in them. With this guide, you can learn how to create quality epoxy art on your own – plus you get to skip all of the mistake steps that I made along the way! This overview contains information that applies to all epoxy projects. If you have a specific out-of-the-box idea and get stuck, don’t hesitate to reach out to Songbirds for some tips!

Not So Fast:

There are some precautions to discuss before we learn how to make epoxy art. Failing to heed these warnings could result in damage to yourself, your work area, and the new piece that you are creating!

  1. Wear a respirator. A full-face one is best. Epoxy releases toxic fumes as it cures, and the curing process can take several days. It is best to work with epoxy outdoors and to leave it in a garage or closet to cure. When you are near the piece, keep your respirator on to avoid headaches and bodily harm. An N95 mask will not protect you from the fumes. Small batches may not be as harmful, but it’s best to be safe anyway.
  2. Protect your work area with disposable plastic sheets or newspaper. Epoxy is permanent and is very difficult to remove once it is cured. It’s best to skip the frustration and prevent messes instead of hurrying to clean them up.
  3. Epoxy sticks to (almost) everything. The project needs to be lifted or suspended in a way so that no other items will touch the epoxy and be bonded to it.
  4. Wear clothes that can get ruined. Epoxy art crafting is incredibly sloppy and you will ruin some shirts.
  5. Take your time. This is a project that shouldn’t be rushed. Each step has a direct effect on the finished piece, so save this one for later if you are in a hurry.

What You’ll Need:

You don’t need much to make an amazing piece of epoxy art! The bare minimum should be:

  1. The art piece or item that you are using for the epoxy pour, if applicable.
  2. At least three plastic Solo (disposable) cups.
  3. Large popsicle sticks or dowel rods for mixing.
  4. Disposable rubber gloves.
  5. Heat gun or hair drier.
  6. Hot glue glun and clear packing tape (only needed for filling voids).
  7. Epoxy. This should come in a set with two bottles or containers and is available at big-box home improvement stores, craft stores, and online.
  8. Patience.

Future Upgrades:

If you like working with epoxy, it definitely helps to get a silicone measuring cup. The bigger the better! Epoxy doesn’t stick to silicone, so anything made from it is fair game. There are some awesome molds available for making epoxy paperweights and knickknacks, plus some people have used the silicone trick to form their own molds and make amazing creations!

Let’s Get Started:

Carefully read the manual or the back of the epoxy box for mixing and curing instructions. Yes, I know that no one does that, but for epoxy, it ACTUALLY matters. The single most important step is the mixing process. Once you know what to do, pour half of what you think you need for your project into a disposable cup. You can use either epoxy bottle for this, just be extra careful to measure accurately. Most bottles have measuring marks on the side.

Note: If you spill something at this stage, quickly wipe it up. Mineral spirits or alcohol may be necessary to remove the tackiness.

Get your stirring stick ready, and pour the exact same volume into the mixing cup from the OTHER epoxy bottle. Set a timer for the manufacturer’s mixing time, and start stirring with your stick immediately. When stirring:

  • Scrape the sides of the cup frequently.
  • Change direction of stir every minute or so.
  • Scrape the bottom of the cup as best as possible.
  • Fold the epoxy in on itself, bringing the bottom of the cup to the top.
  • Do not stop until after the timer runs out.

Note: If you are using colors, add them to the complete mixture before the stirring process starts. Adjust color to taste as you stir. I like using mica powder for this, and a little goes a very long way. Start small! Grainy mixture means that it is not fully mixed, or that you’ve added way too much powder.

Note on a Note: Alcohol inks or other liquid dyes should be added after the pour, if you’re going for surface colorations.

The Pour:

Now that you’ve stirred the mixture completely and your arm wants to fall off, ready the piece of art or object that will receive the epoxy. If this is a flat object that will be flooded, or an item with risk of overflow, make sure that your work space is properly protected from messes. Pouring into a sealed container or a silicon mold is the easiest option for beginners.

Slowly pour the contents of the cup into or onto your piece. Take your time and don’t worry if the finish isn’t level at first – it will ooze and level itself shortly.

DO NOT scrape the sides or bottom of the cup when pouring. This is the easiest mistake to make. Unmixed epoxy hangs out on the sides, and its inclusion can ruin your piece. Unmixed epoxy will never cure and will always remain sticky!

Leave any unused epoxy in the cup and dispose of it safely.

Note: If you want to use alcohol dyes or inks, now is the time to drop them on the epoxy. Experiment with dragging these colors through the mixture with a stick!

Heating and Curing:

Shortly after the pour, tiny bubbles will start to form and rise to the surface of your project. Grab your heat gun or hair drier and put it on the lowest setting. Quickly wave the heat across the surface of the epoxy to instantly pop all of the bubbles! You may need to do this several times after the pour. I’ve found that bubbles stop forming after about fifteen minutes.

For curing, leave the project alone for as long as the manufacturer recommends, plus at least one full day. The fully-cured project should not be tacky or gooey. It also needs to be cured on the inside at its deepest point. To test, lightly press a fingernail into the surface. If it leaves a mark or the project begins to deform slightly, it’s not ready.

Note: Dust and fiber particles in the air will land on the epoxy and can mar the finish. It’s a great idea to drape a plastic sheet over the project or cover it with a box to prevent contamination as it cures.

You’ve Done It!

Congratulations! Once the epoxy art project has cured, slowly pry it from its mold or remove it from the workspace. If there are drips or bumps from overflow, you can carefully trim them with a razor blade or a sharp chisel. Epoxy can also be sanded (a power sander is best!), but epoxy dust is carcinogenic. Sand it outside and definitely wear that respirator!

Epoxy Notes:

Epoxy is just a chemical reaction with a one-to-one ratio of base and activator. You’ll notice that the reaction gives off heat when mixed – cool! Epoxy is a pretty simple compound, so don’t worry about all the different brands that are available. They are almost all the same thing. Find one that is affordable for your price range, and check the color of the liquid before purchase. Some epoxies are more yellow than others – this just means that they have been sitting on the shelf for a while. I have used “stale” epoxy with great results, but go for the more clear ones if you’re worried.

Don’t buy the “deep pour” variants. These products seem attractive, but they actually have a lot of cons:

  • Far longer cure times.
  • Inability to accurately add color and texture within the piece. Pouring in thin layers offers much more control.
  • Potential waste of product. If something goes wrong (like a leak), you will have wasted a lot more epoxy than if you had done a regular pour.
  • Often these are more expensive than regular epoxies.

Epoxy is super hard and durable, but it’s not great for load-bearing applications. If you’re trying to make something like a guitar, a table, a bookshelf, or anything that is going to withstand a lot of force, be sure that the epoxy has proper support and bonds well to a more sturdy material like wood or metal. Epoxy can be drilled and cut when cured, but it doesn’t hold screws well and can crack easily. Always pilot drill holes first and sink any fasteners into a backing substrate like hardwood.

Special Notes for Flood and Void Projects:

Using epoxy for voids is my personal favorite and most rewarding type of epoxy project. However, it’s also the most finicky and can be frustrating. For this example, let’s imagine that we are making a tabletop with an epoxy “river” in the middle. This is one of the most complicated project ideas, so these tips will transfer to other ventures.

We will first need to support the side pieces of the table with a larger piece of plywood or firm, flat material. This will also give the epoxy as base on which to cure. Absolutely cover the support piece in strips of clear packing tape as epoxy doesn't stick to it. Try to keep the strips neatly organized, and they must overlap to prevent leaks. Arrange the table pieces exactly as you'd like them for the final product.

We’ll also need to figure out a way to box the epoxy in on the sides so that it doesn’t flow out. For this, you can use additional wood pieces for a frame that will be a permanent part of the table. You can also use the packing tape trick if you’d like to see the exposed epoxy. For this, wrap some scrap pieces of wood in tape and affix them to the sides of the project using clamps or another semi-permanent method.

At this stage, there should be a clear, boxed-in void for the epoxy to fill. It may look like it, but this is NOT ready for the epoxy and will leak. You must now use a hot glue gun to run a bead of glue across all edges of the void. Seal the tabletop completely to the bottom and side support pieces.

Don’t worry about the hot glue being visible after the pour – it won’t be. It also won’t affect the structural integrity of the piece. Pour away, and after the work has cured, carefully crack the support pieces off. If you’ve avoided leaks, this should be doable with regular hand force. If you have a leak, you might need to find a friend who can help apply more pressure.

Conclusion:

I hope that you’ve learned some great tips on how to use epoxy for your next epoxy art project! Send us pictures of whatever you create, and in the meantime, check out our other blog posts or sign up for an art class at Songbirds!