For anyone who is considering building a gun, I say go for it! I would also recommend the use of a penetrating epoxy to seal your gun, especially if you plan to use a wood other than teak.

What is penetrating epoxy? I found this website that explains it very well, and gives the facts and the fiction:
http://www.epoxyproducts.com/penetrating4u.html

It is a standard two part epoxy that is thinned with a significant amount of solvent (up to 70%). These solvents include xylene, naptha, toluene and others. A good commercial example is Smiths CPES (clear penetrating epoxy sealer).

I have been experimenting with making my own penetrating epoxies lately and I am very pleased with the results. By thinning a standard two-part 30 minute epoxy with approximately 70% xylene, I have been able to get an easy to apply, very deep penetrating product that sands well and provides a great base for additional coats of epoxy and/or poly. Also, the drying time is about 8 hours, versus up to two days with CPES.

It also costs waaaay less to mix your own. I have found this to be the best base coat I have used so far.

I will also say that I am a relative newcomer to gun building, but I have done a lot of experimentation and talked with some really great woodworkers about many different subjects, including epoxy - anyway take it for what it's worth.

Hopefully, this will be helpful for someone.

Hopefully, this will be helpful for someone.

I might be the only one, but it has just helped me.

Thanks for putting this information out there. There are not a lot of places you can go to get this type of information. thanks again.

Has anyone used a penetrating epoxy in the track with graphite to make it stronger? Does thinning the epoxy to make it a penetrating epoxy cause problems if mixed with graphite? Thanks

If you have enough to spare, maybe you could do a test - I'd like to see the outcome.

I am about to do the test now with the follow mix:

West Systems Epoxy
- 105 Resin
- 206 Hardener
10% Graphite (as close as I can get!)
20% xylol (xylene)

I'll post the results in a couple of days hopefully.

kjflyfish, very good of you to share this.

Do you think mixing the product known as Envirotex Lite or a generic version of it with xylene will work the same way to penetrate and seal?

If sealing with west systems epoxy and xylene, will this provide a good base for adhesion of the Envirotex Lite?

When sealing how thick of a coating do you put on? Does the stock need to be rotated in order to avoid runs?

Once sealed does light sanding remove the seal or does it really go deep?

Thanks in advance,
Dan

For the first 2-3 coats, I use a mix of 70/30 xylene to epoxy. It penetrates very deep into the wood. I hang the stock vertically when applying finish. Because the finish is so thin, runs aren't a problem. In fact, I have applied a second coat about 20 minutes after the first because the finish had soaked in so much as to allow a second coat. I think it would work very well with Envirotex. Applying Envirotex on top of a different epoxy shouldn't be a problem - you just need to prep the surface with a fine sanding.

i mixed ortho bug killer with chlorine and got one hell of a flame thrower/ smoke bomb. Dont breath the fumes.:FIREdevil:

i mixed ortho bug killer with chlorine and got one hell of a flame thrower/ smoke bomb. Dont breath the fumes.So did you charcoal finish your speargun?

Do you have a picture of the final product on the gun

Without me having to actually try this out of couriosity now.....and gettin areested...what happens when you mix ortho and chlorine????