epoxy and finishes

[Donna Reece]

I used some epoxy to glue on wooden hinges on a box I built. There was a small amount of squeeze out which I scraped off after letting the glue dry. Now even though I've sanded these areas there seems to be some residue which still shows when I wipe the box down with MS. Have any of you experienced this problem and if so how did you go about correcting it?
thanks
Donna

[Walter McGuire]

It sounds like capillary suction is probably the culprit. I had a similar problem when using epoxy on Mahogany. I used an Exacto knife to replicate the pores and trick my eye into not seeing it when wiping with MS. This may not help, but i thought i would share it with you anyway. Good luck.

[Walter McGuire]

I guess i should make myself more clear on what I'm talking about...in the off chance that you don't understand what I'm talking about. When you glue or epoxy two pieces of wood together, it creates a strong joint because the dry wood uses capillary suction to draw the moist glue into its grain. If the wood is extra porous and glue oozes onto a showing surface of the piece, it will be soaked up as well...making it next to impossible to sand out. They use epoxy with heavily decayed and unstable woods such as Spalted Maple and various burls for turning...the wood pulls the epoxy into its pores and creates a very stable product. With hinges, I find that using masking tape around the perimeter to be helpful at containing squeeze out.

[Donna Reece]

I think you have summed up the problem exactly! This is my first time to use epoxy and I was not aware of this problem. I will do as you suggested and see if I can reduce the "glare" created by the epoxy.
Thanks again!

[Walter McGuire]

Glad I could help.