Question about Epoxy resin and timber outside

[#jonesy]

Picked this Redgum garden bench from the after dad passed away.  He bought it for mum about 15-20 years ago and hadn't had much love.  It was covered in algae.until the BIL gave it a quick once over with the pressure washer.

Pic 1 and 2 are after that pressure wash
Pic 3 after a another scrub and clean
Pic 4 bit of a test sand and came up looking good
Pic 5 close up of some of the issues I have to fix There are a number of grub holes that are quite large and allow water to pool.  It started cleaning out these with a wire brush and screw driver on some of the deep ones.

Does anyone use epoxy resin for " river tables" etc.  Can it be used to fill these?

Ultimately it will be a garden bench exposed to all the weather, sun, rain etc. My thought is resin to fill all the voids, and make up for the missing areas, with a decking oil finish on the exposed timber

[#jonesy]

Also can you use a sandblaster to clean out the holes that I can't reach in to?  I've never used a sand blaster so no idea if this is possible.

[austastar]

Hi,
   A small nozzle air jet should move detritus from holes without wrecking the parent material.
Wood filler will suffice for smaller holes/cracks/fissures.
The bigger missing bits I have no idea on. The repairs on them may have to be a feature perhaps?
Cheers

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[KeithB]

I think you can fill the big holes with epoxy and coat it as well. But epoxies don't like direct sunlight.
I have bought a lot of stuff rom Boatcraft Pacific for my caravan build. Maybe contact them about which materials to use.
https://boatcraft.com.au/
They have agents in Victoria who could advise you.
Keith

[edz]

My .02c worth is, If its going outside and you use Epoxy or resin fillers fot the voids, You will more than likely have troubles with the timber splitting further etc ..As the timber swells / contracts ever so slightly wiith moisture / rain etc and the epoxy dosnt, even when oiled
..
For me I would clean it and soak it regularly with the best outdoor  oil prep mix you can find [ Dont forget about the undersides of the  where the legs touch the ground ] ..
Find an outdoor furniture specialist like Corindi Dave ...
Ring Dave at Billabong outdoor funiture https://www.billabongfurniture.com.au/ ..He's the best one I know that could advise you ..been in the bussiness  about 30 +  od years

[Pottsy]

You have some very big deficits there to fill with epoxy, make sure you get the right epoxy, some epoxy is made for thin pours, some for thick pours. You will need to make some sort of containment frame or mould or you will have epoxy running everywhere. Temperature is also a consideration when pouring and allowing for drying on thick pours which can be several days.
If the split, deficit along the front is stable I would just sand and oil the whole bench, no filling, just pure character.
That’s just me though.

[Troopy_03]

Additional to what Pottsy posted, if you do end up filling the voids with epoxy, then it would be best to treat the rest with epoxy also. You can get two part epoxy sealers like Everdure:
https://www.roadtechmarine.com.au/1-litre-international-everdure-primer-and-sealer/p/TQG348

And with the first coat, you mix up a batch of the sealer, then thin it down with about 30% epoxy thinners, followed up with a couple of normal coats.

This lets the sealer penetrate deep into the timber, and not only seals it, but helps to stabilise it as well. I did this to a marine ply boat I built, back in the 70's. The timber was still perfect after 20 years, except where deep surface damage was done, and water was able to penetrate past the first layer of ply. But the frame held much better because it didn't have anything to restrict penetration, like the glue layers in ply.

[GBC]

If you can deconstruct it successfully and get each piece onto a form bench you'll be able to epoxy fill the voids and remake it - It is going to end up very heavy though.

Have a look on youtube, there are lots of similar projects on there but they are mostly carried out in proper workshops with shop tools. Trimming and polishing that amount of epoxy will be a mission but done properly the project looks like it will come up great.

You will basically be making a river table out of each piece, then reassembling.

[#jonesy]

Thanks for all the comments and ideas.  More to follow up with
Some of the holes/ defects are stable and easy to keep clean.  After a bit more of a clean some of the others are small but they open up inside the timber to large caverns. 

GBC, if I go with the river table idea I was going to pull it apart.

This is going to take a long time which doesn't worry me as it is worth the effort

[kizza1]

Look into epoxy by "West systems". I used their 105 resin and 206 slow hardner on our outdoor table. I have been told it doesn't yellow like others.
It took around 24 to 48hrs to dry. It is super thin though. It pours like syrup but will seep through the smallest cracks. I chose the slow release to eliminate bubbles. Then I coated it in osmo poly x.  Came up a treat.
As some others have said, you have some pretty big voids to fill though.

[glenm64]

I would go with West System 105. It is for boat building so it will hold up.
Get out any loose gunk in the voids but you dont need to worry too much about making it pretty. With the large voids you only need to get a seal then build on it with subsequent pours. I use masking tape then lay it on grease proof paper because you will get some leakage. Buy a sheet of cheap particle board to lay it all out on. Peel off tape just after it has set. You can sand back anything that stuck and recoat it.
Get the bottom sealed then work out what you want to do. You may need to turn wood on different angles each sealing pour. Buy a small butane torch to get the air bubbles out, but be careful you don't cook resin if a bubble wont shift.
With those large voids you could put anything in them, from a red back spider to wild flowers or pebbles. You are only limited by your imagination.
As yours is exterior I would only resin the voids and deck oil(or similar) the wood. Resin is high gloss finish and shows any scratching etc.
Good luck

 
This one is all resin

This one is resin edges on oiled top.

And buy the measuring pumps for the resin containers.

Cheers Glen

[Moggy]

My advice would be to search youtube for river tables, there is a plethora of videos all with varying degree of information & levels of finish.

Just remember most epoxies are not UV stable so will discolour in the sun unless using a uv clear coat.

Also, speaking from experience make sure you have plastic between formwork & Epoxy pour, if you pour directly onto plywood, mdf or similar you'll spend a month of Sundays getting it off

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[#jonesy]

So lots of sanding, wire brush and more sanding.

I decided on clear resin with a antique bronze metallic through it.
I've done about a dozen or more pours, with still more to go.
The formwork has been hard as the timber is not flat so I have to glue bits of plastic and melamine all over the place to seal it up.  Even then I still has the occasional Gao I missed and made expensive puddles on the ground as it oozed out overnight.

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