I beleive System Three says you can dilute their epoxy by 5% by volume
for better penetration of the BASE coat of epoxy to seal the wood grain.
The amount you can dilute may vary by brand.

You then proceed with other coats of epoxy for lamination undiluted. I
tried this once before with using the resin as a cheap rot-fix for a
rotting window frame. It worked pretty good but took longer to cure.

What worked the best was a combination of diluting the resin, heating
the wood to be treated, and warming the epoxy. Heating the wood works
the best but is not always easy.

--
Matt
JEM Watercraft
http://www.jemwatercraft.com/


Martin Schöön wrote:
On Sun, 12 Dec 2004 00:47:37 +0000, Paul Oman wrote:


Solvent thin the first coat or two of epoxy for better penetration and bonding -
especially along edges, etc. Just about any solvent will work. Thin 15 - 25 % or so.
A little bit of solvent will greatly lower the viscosity.


Hmmm, to me the idea of adding solvent to epoxy doesn't sound too
good. The basic idea behind encapsulating wood in solvent free
epoxy rather than just varnish is to get a vapour-tight seal
around the wood. (Yes I know it won't be strictly vapour-tight but
it is orders of magnitude better than any varnish). Adding a solvent
may make the epoxy porous.

If you really want lower viscosity you could either buy an epoxy
that has low viscosity all by itself or you can heat it up to say
30C or so. If you for heating the epoxy you should choose a
type that has a long pot life or work with small batches.

A somewhat risky but simple alternative is to 'heat-gun' the surfaces
right after applying epoxy. Don't overdo it. There should be no smell
or fumes!