An Epoxy Cutting Board is a fun project that is beautiful and very useful. Epoxy is a very durable material that allows it to hold up against a kitchen knife – but this also can make some beautiful wall art.
Total Project Time: 24 hours
Living next to the Great Lakes has allowed water to enchant me from a young age. The waves split against the shore making a ripple of bubbles and color under the clear sky. The image is just too perfect. So, what better way to honor it than with an artistic interpretation? I have seen pictures of epoxy cutting boards floating around the internet and I thought it would be a good idea to try my hand at one.
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Supplies
I will admit, I needed more supplies for this project than I anticipated. Mainly, because I messed up the process. And more supplies are needed if you want to use the finished products are a cutting board and not as an art installation. For this project, the following will be needed:
- Wooden Cutting Board
- Epoxy Mix (this should be for surface pours, not for deep pours)
- Resin dye (Dark Blue, Blue, Teal, White)
- Hairdryer
- Wood Conditioning Oil
- Sandpaper
- Epoxy cutting knife (this isn’t necessary – see Lessons section)
Process
The process for this project was simple as most of the time involved was for the curing of the epoxy. The first step would be to prepare the cutting board. I did this with light sanding, but some wood may need a bit more or less. Then comes the main part, doing the pour! I did a larger mix of the epoxy part a and part b before dividing them into smaller cups and adding in the resin dye. I decided to use a very dark blue, a navy blue, a teal, and a white.
The different colors are then added in rows and layers. I started with the very dark blue, then layer the blue, the teal, and a layer of clear. The clear layer is essential to making the wave-like effects. Then I added two white lines to mimic the foam that waves make against the sand. Then comes the part with the hair dryer. The hair dryer is essential for making that wave pattern as the hot air pushes the white streaks across the surface.
Once the epoxy dried, I realized my dire mistake of doing the pour on the table (see more in Lessons). With the hardened epoxy around the board, I had to see it off. For this, I had to use a jigsaw to get everything off of the wood due to the Epoxy being so hard. I then sanded down everything to make the edges smooth on the cutting board.
Then the last step was conditioning the wood. Again, this step is mainly if the cutting board is going to be used as a cutting board. And voila! It turned out different than I had imagined but in the end, I really did love the look of it.
Lessons
Keep it Off the Table
One of the biggest things I learned about this project is to pour off the table. As you can see from the pictures, the epoxy pooled up around the base of the cutting board. This led to cutting all of this excess away from the board and sanding it down. However, this could have easily been avoided if I had just lifted the cutting board off the table when doing the pour. So yea, not my finest hour for decision-making.
Quick Recipe
Instructions
- Prep wooden surface (if necessary)
- Mix Epoxy part A and part B as given by instructions.
- Divide epoxy into multiple batches, color as desired.
- Pour epoxy in lines with color gradation, leading the to lightest color where the exposed wood would be. End the gradation with a line of clear epoxy.
- Add white highlight to the edge of the epoxy pour. Add another line in the project as desired.
- Using a hairdryer, push the epoxy to create the wave effect.
- Allow Epoxy to harden as given by the instructions.
- Sand any undesired bumps from the project.
- Condition the exposed wood.