Asked by Tanama on Sat, Oct 9, 04 at 10:51

I really want to play with working with resin to try and work up to a specific project that I can see in my head but have no clue if it's at all realistic.

My big question is this: Can resin be ground down with one of the type of gringers/polishers used to smooth out stone and other hard materials?

Does grinding it down leave a clear surface, or an etched looking survace?

What I'd like to do is make a tabletop (small at first to experiment, then later possible make a countertop) of beach glass covered in clear resin, then ground down so that some of the glass is actually exposed on the top surface, but it's still one continuous surface with the resin.

Any idea if this could work?

Answered by: Toomuchglass on Sun, Oct 10, 04 at 21:18

Copy & pasted from another forum for you ~~~

I can't post on the Crafts and Decorations forum and wanted to answer Tanama's question about using resin for a tabletop.
Tanama-I have a clock made from a slice of tree trunk that is covered with the resin. It was broken so I sanded a small area with fine sandpaper. It left a dull finish. I tried polishing it with the polishing attachment on my Dremell and it wouldn't polish out. So,I assume to do what you have in mind wouldn't work and would leave your project with a dull porous surface. I don't know if there is anything you could use to bring back the shine. The only thing I can think that might possibly work would be several coats of marine varnish. I don't know how that would hold up in the area you plan to use this,or if it would adhere to the resin.
I don't know if you would want to use the resin on a surface that will be used a lot as it will scratch with constant use. I do love the idea though.I think that would look beautiful on a table top.Why not just leave the glass imbedded? I think that would be really pretty. Lillie

Answered by: chinacat_sunflower on Mon, Oct 11, 04 at 9:43

I wouldn't try it... grinding it down is relatively easy- though I would do it in a water bath, since if it gets too hot, it will start to melt. wet/dry sandpaper works, in a bucket of water...but then you still have the 'frosting' left by the sanding. polishing those marks out is annoying as heck... you have to sand with progressively finer grits (remembering that the finer the grit, the faster it clogs and wears out) then finish with two or three levels of polishing compound and a buffing wheel...

you might be better off doing it the old fashioned way- hot-glue the pieces of glass face down onto mylar, or whatever they say is 'safe' to line molds with the resin... and then pour the resin over them. this is the classic 'bits in aspic' so popular in the 60's (think abalone shell table-tops, and big chunky glitter) but if you do it in a thin layer, the effect is much more delicate- and you can then laminate a piece of glass to the front OR the back, and make it quite durable.