How to Seal Coat and Clear Coat Raw Wood With Epoxy (Glass-Like Walnut Finish)
One Coat In, and the Wood Comes Alive
There’s a moment in every raw wood project that never gets old. You pour the first thin coat of resin, spread it across bare walnut, and the grain lights up like it’s wet. Colors you couldn’t see a second ago jump right out.
That first coat is just the beginning. In this video, the Remodel Resin family takes a set of raw walnut window sills and a hinged flip-up piece from bare wood to a crystal-clear, glassed-out finish, then installs them in the customer’s home.
Here’s the exact process, coat by coat, so you can get that high-end look on your own wood
without the high-end cost.
The #1 Mistake With Raw Wood (and How to Avoid It)
Raw wood is porous. It’s full of tiny pockets of air. If you pour one thick coat of resin straight onto bare wood, that air keeps pushing up through the resin while it cures. The result is bubbles, and lots of them.
The fix is simple: seal it first. Thin seal coats soak into the wood and close it up. Once it’s sealed, your final clear coat has nothing pushing air up through it, and it can level out like a sheet of glass.
The Formula: 3 Thin Coats + 1 Flood Coat
Coat | Resin | Amount | When |
Seal coat 1 | Clear Resin (2:1) | 1 oz per sq ft | Day 1 |
Seal coat 2 | Clear Resin (2:1) | 1 oz per sq ft | Day 2 |
Seal coat 3 | Clear Resin (2:1) | 1 oz per sq ft | Day 3 |
Flood coat | Rezinite (1:1) | 3 oz per sq ft | Day 4 |
That adds up to 6 oz per square foot, the same total we use on countertops. It’s just split into multiple pours so the wood can breathe out its air first.
Example: This project had 16 square feet of raw wood. So each seal coat was 16 oz of resin, and the flood coat was 48 oz.
Why Not Use More Resin on the Seal Coats?
It’s tempting to pour heavier to save a step, but don’t. On a seal coat, going over 1 oz per square foot gives the air in the wood more room to push bubbles up through your piece. Keep the seal coats thin and spread evenly.
When you’re doing a single coat over an already sealed surface, like a countertop, 6 oz per square foot is the standard. On raw wood, you break that same amount into steps.
[VIDEO: start at 4:11 for 1 oz vs 6 oz explained]
Day 1: The First Seal Coat
Click on picture to watch full video
1. Have a plan before you mix. Know your square footage, know how many ounces you need, and have your gloves and spreader ready. Don’t guess once the resin is mixed.
2. Mix the Clear Resin at 2:1 for 2 minutes with a drill and a mixing paddle.
Hold the bucket. If you don’t, the drill will spin it right out of your hand.
Keep the paddle submerged when you’re mixing at full speed, so you don’t whip in extra air.
Slow down when you scrape the sides and bottom.
Keep your paddle clean. Old dried drips on the paddle can thump against the bucket at full speed.
3. Get the resin out of the bucket fast. Resin left sitting in a mass heats up and cuts your working time. Spread it across your pieces right away and it stays workable longer.
4. Spread it evenly. Don’t flood one piece and starve another. Rub it in with the grain every time. If you go against the grain to reach a spot, go back over it with the grain.
5. Torch. A quick pass pops the air bubbles from mixing and helps the resin self-level.
6. Check the edges. Rub out any drips or buildup so the edges stay flat. Even the hidden edges matter: high spots keep pieces from fitting back together like a puzzle.
7. Hands off. Once it’s torched, leave it alone until tomorrow.
Lots of small pieces? Grab a buddy, or mix smaller batches and coat a few pieces at a time. That way you’re not racing the clock.
Don’t worry about perfection on the first coat. A small dry spot or some texture is no big deal. You have two more seal coats and a flood coat still to come.
[VIDEO: start at 2:47 to watch the wood come alive]
Day 2: Scuff Sand and Seal Again
1. Scuff sand with 220 grit, always with the grain. You’re not trying to make dust. You’re just knocking down the heavy nibs so the next coat goes on smooth.
2. Wipe off the dust, with the grain.
3. Mix another 1 oz per square foot and pour it evenly across your pieces.
4. Use a flex spreader. On the first coat, the boys used their hands. On day two they switched to a flex spreader, and it was the right tool for the job. It moves the resin across the wood quickly and evenly.
5. Go back with your hands to finish the edges and push resin into any low spots.
6. Torch to pop bubbles and help it level.
[VIDEO: start at 9:04 for scuff sanding, and 10:08 for the flex spreader]
Fill the Knots and Low Spots
Walnut has character: knots, divots and low spots. Those are exactly the places where your final coat won’t glass out unless you fill them first.
As the second coat starts to get tacky, go back over each knot and low spot and push resin into it. On the third coat, pour a little extra right over any divot. By the time you get to the flood coat, you want the surface as flat as possible.
[VIDEO: start at 15:17 for filling knots and low spots]
Day 3: The Final Seal Coat
Same routine: scuff sand with 220 grit, wipe, mix 1 oz per square foot, spread, torch.
On narrow pieces, pour in ribbons down the middle so the resin doesn’t run off the sides before you spread it.
You’ll see far fewer nibs today than yesterday. Tiny micro-bubbles inside the wood at this stage are normal. The flood coat takes care of them.
[VIDEO: start at 15:56 for the final seal coat]
Day 4: The Flood Coat (Where the Magic Happens)
Now the wood is sealed, sanded and flat, and it’s time for the coat that turns it to glass.
Why Rezinite for the flood coat? It has extended working time, so it takes its time to level out. That’s what gives you clarity and a true glassed-out finish. When you want to see the grain of the wood, Rezinite is Mike’s pick.
1. Sand first. A good sand after the seal coats is what lets the flood coat glass out.
2. Mix Rezinite at 1:1 for 2 minutes. Mix enough for 3 oz per square foot.
3. Start with your biggest piece. It takes the most material and the most leveling.
4. Pour in the middle, not on the edges. If you pour a puddle right at the edge, it runs off and you lose material. Pour in the center and push it out to the edges.
5. Spread it fast with gloved hands, then rub over the edges so the resin flows down evenly.
6. Brush the decorative edges. On detailed or lightweight edges, use a brush. Prime the brush in your mixed resin first, so it spreads resin instead of pulling it off.
7. Torch, then torch again. One pass pops the bubbles. A second pass after brushing the edges cleans up any that are left.
8. Then trust the process. Let it level.
[VIDEO: start at 20:03 for the flood coat, and 24:06 for brushing decorative edges]
The Reveal
Install day is where all four coats pay off. The walnut sills went in, the flip-up piece went on its hinges, and the customer’s reaction said it all: it was exactly what they pictured.
[VIDEO: start at 26:33 for install day]
How Durable Is It?
It’s very durable. It’s not as tough as natural granite, but it holds up well in everyday use. And if it ever gets scratched over the years (by a dog who likes to sit in the window, for example), you can put another clear coat over it and it looks brand new again.
[VIDEO: start at 28:31 for the durability question]
Pro Tips From This Build
Seal before you flood. Three thin coats first, or the wood will push bubbles up through your pour.
Stay at 1 oz per square foot on seal coats. More is not better here.
Get the resin out of the bucket fast. Resin heats up in the bucket and loses working time.
Hold your bucket and keep the paddle submerged at full speed.
Always work with the grain: spreading, sanding and wiping.
Pour in the middle, then push to the edges.
Fill knots and low spots before the flood coat.
Torch every coat.
Use a flex spreader for seal coats and a primed brush for decorative edges.
What You’ll Need
Clear Resin for the seal coats
Rezinite for the flood coat
Mixing paddle and a drill
220-grit sandpaper
A brush for detailed edges
Gloves and rags
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do I need to seal coat raw wood?Raw wood is porous and full of air. Without seal coats, that air pushes up through your resin as it cures and leaves bubbles.
How much resin do I use per seal coat?1 oz per square foot, for three seal coats.
How much for the final clear coat?3 oz per square foot. Together with the seal coats, that’s 6 oz per square foot total.
Which resin should I use?Clear Resin (2:1) for the seal coats, because it cures quickly and you don’t need much working time just to seal. Rezinite (1:1) for the flood coat, because its extended working time levels out to a glass-like finish.
Do I need to sand between coats?Yes. Scuff sand with 220 grit, always with the grain, to knock down nibs before each new coat.
How long does the whole process take?In this video it took four days: one coat per day, with the flood coat on day four.
What do I do about knots in the wood?Push resin into knots and low spots during the seal coats so the surface is flat before the flood coat.
Can I fix it later if it gets scratched?Yes. Sand it and add another clear coat, and it looks brand new again.
Where do I learn more?Start with the free Resin 101 training, and find everything used in this project at remodelresin.com.
What raw wood project are you sealing next? Tell us in the comments.
You Got This.
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