How to colour epoxy resin?

[ScouseKev]

I have a walnut board with some surface cracks and knots....

Does anyone know the best way to add colour to the repair epoxy?

Pigment pastes are available in the uk but not in dark brown.

Many thanks

 

[rafezetter]

Acrylic paint - a few drops is all it takes, done it lots but only with the liquid resin, not the car body filler putty, works like a charm everytime. Best place to go would be Hobbycraft or similar with all the range of colours they have - you can blend too.

I would suggest the liquid is better as it'll flow right into the crack and if you warm up the wood around the area, it will also absorb and consoldate everything.

Failing that, instant coffee - dark like nescafe or similar ground up to a fine powder.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

If you get a selection of earth pigments you will be able to colour any epoxy resin, car body filler or scotch glue to match any timber you are working on. Your local art shop will sell small pots and it is not very expensive either. There is an ebay seller that has a good selection.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Powder-Paint- ... -ts33HY1MQ

I would suggest, Brown umber, raw umber, red oxide, lamp black, yellow ocher. You will be able to achieve most wood colours with these.
I even use ochre to colour putty when replacing glass panes in antique bookcases.

 

[Racers]

I used ground instant coffee in epoxy to fill pippy oak pips.

Pete

 

[custard]

Be aware that the bigger the crack the less convincing a pigmented patch will look, because Walnut doesn't have large areas of completely uniform colour. Personally I work on the basis that if the void is greater than about 2 or 3mm pigment is best avoided, and if it's less than 2 or 3mm then IMO pigment isn't necessary!

I might use pigment on something like Cherry where resin pockets are common, so you can pass off a patch as a resin pocket, but on English or American Walnut I'd follow a different tack. For a dead knot I'd drill out the offending knot and find a smaller, acceptable live knot on a matching piece of scrap, then take that out using a matching plug cutter and tap it into the hole. Done correctly that really is an invisible patch. For a crack I'd either plug the void with a Walnut shim, or fill it and over coat with shellac before painting in the grain patterns with acrylic, then seal it with another coat of shellac before applying the final finish.

Good luck!

 

[Noggsy]

As an alternative (and best is larger voids), mix in brass powder to your epoxy. This looks gold/green when sanded and I think the contrast is stunning in areas where you couldn't convincingly match.

 

[ScouseKev]

Thanks for all the advice gents, really helpful.

cheers

 

[RogerS]

You can still go down the adding pigment route by mixing up a few small pots and adding different pigments. Then painting in the cracks from the different pots.