Showing posts with label Murano glass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Murano glass. Show all posts

Friday, November 20, 2009

Sealing the Concrete Buffet Top

I have been falling behind on blog posts with our house being on a homes tour, traveling, and school. Meanwhile the concrete buffet top has been sitting and waiting in the garage. Pretty much all of the finish work has been completed so it getting old didn't impact grinding. Although at this point there isn't anything you could do other than burn up pads.
Here is a shot of the crushed Murano glass in the surface. The big pieces are all back-lit with fiber optics.
My cat Portland supervising.
I haven't found a sealing method that I really like. I have tried the Cheng sealer with wax, just wax, and acyclic. None do a good job of penetrating and bringing out the color. I like the idea and durability of traditional epoxies, but they make the concrete look like plastic. I am experimenting with a soy-based eco-friendly epoxy. It is supposed to bring on the color and not make the concrete look like plastic and be UV stable. It mixes in two parts like epoxy but is really thin. There is no odor at all, which is good for inside work.
Here is the applied product. I tried a roller and a brush. It went on a little streaky and became more uniform during drying. I am going to give it a day or so before making a verdict, although so far so good.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Fiber Optic Illuminated Concrete Bar Top Project

The next concrete project is underway. This is a top for a bar/buffet. The concrete will be regular grey with crushed Murano glass and fiber optics.
The mold is pretty standard construction, 3/4" melamine with caulked edges. I only had white caulk so it blends in. The dimensions are 62"x13"x2".

The shape of this piece is pretty straightforward, however I am trying a few new techniques on this one. An abstract shape was drawn on painters tape and removed. Spray glue will be used to seed the red crushed glass in this pattern. The fiber optics will be glued to the back of the crushed glass in this section so the shape will glow through the glass.
I picked up some highly recommended low VOC semi-penetrating epoxy for this top. I haven't been real happy with the sealer/wax setup and don't like the thickness of traditional epoxy. Hopefully this new type will be the answer, stay tuned.