How to Use Resin to Cover a Bar Top
- 1). Apply glue to each strip of wood and nail them to the four sides of the bar. Purchase or cut strips that match the dimensions of your bar. The strips should be around half an inch to an inch wider than the depth of your bar. This creates a frame for your resin as it cures.
- 2). Measure your bar top to determine the volume of resin needed. For this example, the bar top is 36 inches long and 24 inches wide and a half-inch deep. Multiply the length by the width to get the total area of 864 inches. Since the frame is a half-inch deep, your volume is 432 cubic inches. To find how many gallons of resin this project takes, divide 432 by 231, the number of cubic inches in a gallon. The result is 1.87, which rounds up to two gallons of resin.
- 3). Combine the hardener with the first batch of polyester resin for pouring. The hardener comes in a separate bottle and creates a chemical reaction within the resin that hardens the material. Resin generates heat while curing and pouring a large batch of resin all at once creates too much heat and will crack the finish. For this example, create four separate half-gallon pours. The resin comes with a chart telling you how many drops of hardener you need per ounce of resin. You will need around five drops of hardener for the first pour.
- 4). Pour the first layer of resin. After you have mixed the hardener with the resin to create a yellowish mixture, pour it over your bar top. Allow it to cure until it has a gel-like consistency before adding the next layer.
- 5). Pour the remaining layers of resin. Since each layer of polyester creates heat as it cures, you need progressively smaller amounts of hardener for each pour. For the second batch, you will use three or four drops per ounce. Consult the chart for proper amounts of hardener for each successive layer. Allow the final layer to harden fully.
- 6). Spray the top with a resin finishing spray. Spray the top layer with a finishing spray gives it a smooth tack free finish.
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