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Jason,
I tried Rainex but it didn’t work as well as the other stuff.Check out the photos of concrete on my profile. I have one that really surprised me. I took white and gray GFRC and mixed them by hand several time on several slabs to try and get a Carrera Marble look. No way a pro at it but it is fun to do.
One slab had a cat, an alien and a ghost. all unintentional.Yes, the slab gets flipped over. You can also use a 1/8th inch of plexiglass as a base to pour on also. Make sure you use heat blankets for a couple days for curing. I also use to use a product called NPS.. (No Polishing Necessary) on the plexiglass. The film is cheaper, but if you get one small wrinkle in the surface the whole surface will need to be ground and polished. It works well when it works, but the plexi works better but it is a bit pricier. I would hesitate using a sheet more than once.
I was like the last post. I was into it for a while but dropped out since it was expensive to make, heavy as hell to move, and there wasn’t enough of a market to make a go of it in this area. (DC Metro).It depends on the lenght of the fibers in your mix. The longer the hair, the thinner you can make it but I would hesistate to go under 1″. Any thinner and it may have a tendency to expand more. I found that the thicker the slab, the more stable. I also found a trick for getting a glasslike smooth surface. Once you make your mold, line the center with window tinting plastic film. Actually, make the mold over the plastic. The poured surface will match the film and you won’t need to polish anything.
As far as GFRC, there are many mixes on the market, but SureKrete had a blend that worked very well for me. They also have a lightweight backer mix that cuts the overall weight.
I’m sure things have changed since I gave up concrete a couple years ago but SureKrete always provided me with excellent customer service.The 379 is an excellent product, but would use the accelerator with it to speed the set up time. 359 was my favorite with quick set up time and almost as high of a gloss as the 379. However, it had a higher VOC level so they stopped making it.
Ok.. now your getting into my realm of expertise. If you are going to paint the panels, buff with nothing higher than 220. Anythng heavier will leave swirl marks.
Prime with Bulldog from an automotive paint supplier. It’s designed for being a primer to plastics and glass.
PPG has a coating called Pitthane. It’s an aliphatic urethane. Stay away from polyurethanes. Any sort of light will make it yellow. If you need to spray it, reduce it down to sprayable consistency with acetone. Acetone will let it set up faster and prevent runs. Krylon Fusion for plastics is also an aliphatic urethane. There are many AU’s out there, just check with your local paint store to see what they have in stock. I use AE’s for tub refinishing and the PPG holds up well. It can also be tinted to any shade. However, it’s a 5-1 two part mix so you will need to thin it down to make it sprayable and to get a smooth finish. Use an HLVP system and a respirator. This stuff packs a kick. Go thin and several coats.I’ve also developed a wipe on plastic and vinyl restoration coating, however it’s more for vinyl shutters and patio furniture. It’s a two part component system. I do have a single component that is still in the testing stage that lays out a bit smoother. The two part is a water base, but the single component is solvent based. (http://www.easy-restore.com) if you want to check out the product we developed and patented.
Sorry to contradict Canuck, but I have years of coating, testing, spraying and developement on plastics, porcelain, and acrylic resin based substrates.
Direct email me if you need more info on coatings. rhugill@nationaltubandtile.com or @countertopartisans.com">rhugill@countertopartisans.com. Would be glad to help.
The lights are about an inch away from the vanity. I built a 1″ plywood box and the LED’s were self sticking. I stuck them at the bottom of the side of the box and sat the vanity on top of the framework of the box. I checked the lights for heat and there wasn’t any heat coming off of them after 15 minutes of being on without the top being set in place.
I had to try my hand at the underlit LED’s. Here is my first attempt. A few things I learned….I should have boxed in the sink. You can see the mounting brackets. ( they look like bumps and worse in the pic then they really are). I build a 1″ plywood box to hold the LED’s. There is actually a little too much light coming through. I think a better version would have to just had lights across the back and not the sides. Better next time. (It was made from Dovae Peach Jade)
David,
The landlocked stripers I fish for at this lake bite like crazy at night. I go out about 11pm, find a large cove right off of open water, and use the trolling motor to sneak in. I cut everything off and listen. The lake is full of shad and in the late spring/early summer the shad come to the surface to mate. You can hear the shad “pop” all over the place. Then all of a sudden you may hear anything from a large sucking sound to something like a concrete block being dropped in the water. I toss a large (usually the largest floating Redfin or Rapala in that direction, normally as close to the edge of the water as possible, and crank slowly, just enough to make a wake in the water and then hold on. It’s like the lure is being hit by a VW. A large striper can peel off 40-50 yards of 25lb spiderwire before slowing down a bit. I think the lake record is somewhere around 58 lbs. 20lbers are common. I think I need to take a run down and see how they are running..!!Tom, it water cures in 24 hours and full cure in 7 days. I would not hesitate to put it out in the weather in a day or two. It’s tough stuff. I repair hotel tubs with the stuff and have not had one call back in 4 years since it came out. From my calculations, I’d done approximately 700 tub repairs with it. It has my vote.
Joe, I moved from Erie to Cleveland, to Seattle, back to Maryland, and then to VA. Love VA the best of all the moves. Great job climate, people here spend money and the skilled labor pool is very low so getting a job here in a skilled labor arena is pretty easy. Hell, I’d hire you in a heartbeat if I was further along in building my business. But since I just started, it may take me a while. If I get to that point before the Erie winter sets in again, I will give you a jingle to see where you are at. Good luck.
David,
To answer your question about the lake house striper…. I fished most of the night for them landing many schoolies on the smaller side. Went home and took the dog out for her morning walk down to the water. When I got to the dock, the water was churning with a school of decent size stripers feeding. The first cast landed this one. It spooked the rest and they vanished. The lake is Smith Mountain Lake in SW Virginia.. The same lake where they filmed the movie “What About Bob” with Bill Murray and Richard Dryfus. We own a home down there.I see my mild comment started a firestorm of comments. I wanted to add a few things from what I have seen in my many years at different careers.
My last position was the VP of HR for SpaceAdventures.. a company that puts private citizens to the International Space Station for 30 million bucks a flight. I dealt with aerospace engineers that were the most spoiled bunch of brats that sat behind a desk. Part of my budget was to provide food for the cafeteria and to feed these punks. Well, the budget was cut and they no longer had breakfast, lunch and dinner on the company.. OH… and the benefit package was COMPLETELY paid by the company. no deductible, no cost at all. Each week they always threatened to quit and find a better job. They were making well into the 6 figures!. They whined and complained like babies until they found there were no jobs out there that were close to competing to theirs. The company had additional budget cuts and I found myself out on the street looking for a job. 50+ interviews and nobody would hire an old expensive man. So, I bit the bullet, and started a company refinishing bathtubs. Been doing that for the last 7 years. Interviewed dozens of potential employees. The best I found, was a kid 28 who knew his way around a spray gun. However, he couldn’t show up on time, Wouldn’t do more than 1 tub a day and was in awe of they way I could work rings around him. He is gone and I still can’t find a good gun slinger. I chose to get into countertops to get away from the toxic chemicals that are killing my lungs. In the past, I started a cabinet shop, bouquet cookie deliver company, franchised it, a stained glass studio among others that were all successful and ran their course. For those in the younger brackets, the hard work and dedication to what you do will pay of. Unfortunately, the majority of those out there expect a high pay, instant gratification, and instant respect for what they want to do without putting the effort behind it. The generations that are coming up behind us, don’t quite understand what it takes to keep the food on the table and the roof over your head. (Not all, but most). The skilled labor force is at an all time low and not getting any better. OH.. and I made it to the VP of HR level without a college degree. Will things change, probably not, so my hats are off to those that don’t mind breaking a sweat, and cashing a check for a good days work. Take pride my brothers, we are a dying breed!The Krylon paint is called Fusion. It’s an aliphatic urethane.. the same basic coating I use for tub refinishing. I actually use the Fusion for tub chip repairs. It specially designed for superior adhesion to glass/plastics. It’ll dry to the touch in an hour or so but full cure in about 5-7 days for full hard use. WalMart carries it in a variety of colors as well as some paint stores such as Sherwin Williams/Benny Moore. You won’t need a primer with Fusion. However, if you use any other acrylic paint, prime with a product called Bulldog. It’s from the auto industry and used to get paint to adhere to plastic bumpers and such. However, Bulldog is a bit pricey but it never fails.
Karl,
What material under the drop in range??? The homeowners only had the place for a couple of years and knew of no extra material being left. I didn’t see anything under the drop in range that could make the repair. There wasn’t even the proper corner supports. The bumpout in front of the range is 4inches and the distance from the seam to the edge of the island is about 14 inches.If I peel off the seam plate under the island, is it possible to break the seam and reglue it again?
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