Mica Powdered Coloring Medium When Woodturning

When I first started filling cracks and voids in my turned bowls and other pieces I would just pack the hole, crack or area with sawdust, maybe shavings or finely ground coffee grounds. Then I would apply some CA, depending on the situation I would use thin CA most of the time and medium CA with bigger holes and thick for really big stuff. But I think CA isn’t the answer for big cracks, deformities or holes.

Looking around I found some of the epoxies work great and in a similar manner as CA. I think the epoxy acts more as an agent of keeping the piece together than the CA, however I have no proof of that.

Which Epoxy Do You Use For Woodturning?

Ultimately it depends on the purpose of the filling, is it just for aesthetics or is it functional. That is, do you need to hold the piece together to keep it from falling apart while it is being turned or is it just part of the finished project and is used to make it look good.

There are a variety of Epoxies you can use for woodturning. You have the 5 minute epoxies that will set up in 5 minutes which is usually what I use. You can also find the same type of epoxy in a 30 minute set up time (this would call for Devcon 30 minute epoxy) if you need the time to mix and apply, sometimes build dams or whatever is needed to keep the epoxy in place. I prefer the 5 minute epoxy for most projects.

One cool effect you can add to your projects is adding some color to your projects problem areas such as cracks, holes and checks. Basically you mix up a little epoxy for the knot hole your are filling in and add a pinch of Mica Powered Color ….its an irridesence type color and can make or break you project.

Colored River Tables or Colored Wood Bowls!

You’ve probably have seen the ‘river tables’ which are two pieces of thick log slabs joined together with areas in the middle and sometimes outside filled with colored epoxy resin. We are doing basically the same but with very small amounts to give accent to a piece or to help it hold together and although bigger holes and problem areas are filled with epoxy and mica powdered color, you can use the color with your CA application and achieve similar results.

Remember there are a variety of dyes you can use with epoxy or CA. I like the irridesence powderred mica type which is Mica but the othe type is a dye that provides a solid color ….which could have its place depending what type of project you are turning.

Epoxy Resin Turning

In this article I am really only talking about patching, filling and repairing. I turn a lot of bowls so my choice is to have a defect become a point of interest in the piece and/or I can fill that area with some epoxy resin and color.

Others have taken the resin and epoxy turning to  the extreme. A mold is formed and a piece of wood is placed in the mold and then covered up by epoxy resin which is sometimes colored or clear. Beautiful pieces are turned from such efforts but this involves a whole new skill set. However, keep in mind the Mica Colored additive is translucent and enhances the look of the wood and the resin.

I haven’t done much casting but I can tell you it takes woodturning to a whole new level!

Source of Mica Powder

I’ve tried a couple different sources of Mica type coloring. Even in our facebook group I found there to a lack of good cheap source of the translucent Mica coloring powder that I could use for turning wood.

I really wanted to write this just to share my new source of Mica Powder for coloring epoxy resins in a translucent color. It’s cheap …..25 colors to help you get started and the perfect way to play around with turning wood with epoxy resin or CA that is colored. I thought this was a great value and it is described as:

Mica Powder, MiddleCoast Pigment Powder, 25 Colours, 250G/8.82OZ, Resin Dye, Slime Colorant, Epoxy Pigment, Bath Bomb & Soap Making, Polymer Clay, Big 10g/.353oz Portions.

Click Here to check out this collection of Mica Colors for wood turning and let me know what you think.