DIY Epoxy Resin L-Shaped River Bar Top l Full Build Tutorial

In this tutorial, Rob with Upstart Epoxy walks you through the process of creating a GIANT L-shaped epoxy resin bar top from the comfort of your home! He'll show you how to conduct a large flood coat, how to clean up the underside of your project, and how swirl effects are made using epoxy resin. You don’t want to miss this!

Skill Level: Intermediate/Expert

Estimated Working Time: 3-5 Days

What You’ll Need:

Upstart Epoxy Deep Pour Resin
Upstart Epoxy Table Top Resin
Upstart Epoxy Powdered Pigments Set
L-Shaped Bar (10x5)
Bar Form
Tyvek Tape
Practice Base
Sander
Tarp
Extra Gloves
Blowtorch/Heat Gun

Prepare your form.

To start things off, we made a form of the bar and covered it with Tyvek tape, which prevents the epoxy from sticking to the mold and allows for easy removal of your project. Once it was all taped up, we added our slabs in and got ready to pour!

Mix up your epoxy resin.

This is a project that requires a very deep pour, so it only made sense to use deep pour resin for this project! We mixed up two separate batches thoroughly- one for a clear pour, and the other for a colored pour.

DIY Tip: if you’re working with epoxy during the cold months and are having difficulty getting it to flow out of the containers, slightly warm them up! Just be sure not to overheat them, and use a mixer to blend the epoxy together.

Add in your powdered pigment colors.

We took the batch intended for colored pours and mixed them into two separate buckets. Next, we added Vivid Blue (Y427) and Bluish Green (GR5) from our powdered pigments set into each new batch.

Pour your first two layers of epoxy resin.

We poured both buckets of colored deep pour epoxy resin at the same time, conducting a ¾ inch pour. We then added the clear epoxy bucket of deep pour on top of it, and let the project cure for 12-15 hours.

Pour your final layer of epoxy resin.

After the project cured slightly, we mixed up yet another batch of deep pour epoxy resin, and mixed in our Sparkle White (AW4) color from the powdered pigments set.

Add swirls to your project for a unique effect.

Using the provided mixing sticks from Upstart, we started to swirl the white-colored epoxy, creating a few really cool lines to add personality to the piece. Be sure to work slowly to avoid creating bubbles. DIY Tip: practice your swirl technique first. This is a large project, so get comfortable and practice!

Add a seal coat to the project.

We mixed up one more batch of deep pour resin so that we could conduct a pour that was just a quarter of an inch deep. This step was necessary because it leveled out the form and filled it to the top. Allow the project to cure overnight.

Sand the project to make it leveled.

Once the project cured, we were ready to sand down our project. We did this carefully, ensuring that the project was leveled and even. Be sure not to skip this step! This gives your bar top the sophisticated look you want.

Add another seal coat to the project.

Now, it’s time for a seal coat! It seals the epoxy into the wood, preventing oxygen from escaping, makes the colors POP, and prevents bubbles. We switched over to a gallon of table top epoxy and mixed both parts evenly- a little more than we needed, but we wanted to make sure the epoxy reached all parts of the bar top.

Pour that epoxy all over the project, letting it drip over the edges completely for full coverage, while scraping the bottom and sides of the bucket. Be sure to use the provided brush to get those edges! Alternatively, using your hands (with gloves) works well too.

Remove the drips at the bottom of the bar top.

After letting the seal coat cure for about 20 minutes, take the provided spatula, or a gloved hand, and glide it underneath the table to slide the leftover epoxy off. Let it cure for about 5-10 hours, waiting for the project to get tacky before moving on to the next step.

Pour a flood coat for a glossy finish.

Mix up a batch of table top epoxy resin for this step- to estimate, you’ll need a pour that’s about ⅛ of an inch thick. Just like the seal coat we did, you’re going to make sure the epoxy touches every part of the project.

After allowing it to cure for another 20 minutes, be sure to switch gloves and do the same spatula/gloved hand method we mentioned above on the sides and bottom of the table to remove any drips.

Use a heat gun to remove any bubbles.

About 10-20 minutes after the flood and/or seal coats, you might see bubbles forming on the top. This is an easy fix- use a blowtorch or heat gun to take care of it! This will pop any bubbles that appear, allowing the epoxy to release them at the surface.