Cleaning up epoxy,,,

Yes I get the scraping off later thing, but there are times when I don't want to risk scratching details or marring finished work. I'm somewhat of a bull in a china shop it seems. Thanks for all your help.
 
Currently I take a 3/6" copper tube and squish one end then file it to have an edge.

This will remove epoxy with no chance of scratching I found brass can actually change the satin finish on the ricasso
 
I put mineral oil on the areas where I don't want epoxy.

I then use a rag with a bit of mineral oil on it to remove the wet epoxy.

Acetone to remove dried epoxy.
 
I usually cut one side off of a q-tip at an angle to make a chisel for the front of the scales then wipe with alcohol on another q-tip.
 
weo said:
What I use for any cured epoxy I missed during wipe off is a new x-acto blade. Perhaps a brass rod does just as well
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I've tried that before I learned the brass rod trick and scratched a blade up.. brass you can get right into it and have yet to scratch one. Just my findings though.
 
Ive found the brass is helpful but it does marr if you are scraping perpendicular to the finish. Ill have to try that copper tube trick!
 
Funny you should mention copper. A friend of mine told me to use an older Copper Penny to scrape off tar and stains on my Chrome Mufflers on my motorcycle without scratching it. It works great. Thanks for the help guys.
 
Personally I really only worry about the squeeze out near the handle to blade transition at first. There I will use a clean rag and acetone and make sure that is clean. the squeeze out in other areas i will let it set up to its full hardness and then cut it off or just grind it away.
 
Grouser1741 said:
Funny you should mention copper. A friend of mine told me to use an older Copper Penny to scrape off tar and stains on my Chrome Mufflers on my motorcycle without scratching it. It works great. Thanks for the help guys.
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Try WD-40 for tar and stains on chrome!
 
havent used it on knives yet, but in other projects requiring epoxy - denatured alcohol to clean up uncured epoxy is what I have used.
an old tshirt soaked to get the big stuff up, then I break out the coffee filters. I use the kind that are folded flat. they give you a nice working edge to clean out corners and such - and can be folded more to give a little extra stiffness if needed.
 
l1ranger said:
havent used it on knives yet, but in other projects requiring epoxy - denatured alcohol to clean up uncured epoxy is what I have used.
an old tshirt soaked to get the big stuff up, then I break out the coffee filters. I use the kind that are folded flat. they give you a nice working edge to clean out corners and such - and can be folded more to give a little extra stiffness if needed.
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I got the denatured alcohol, but the coffee filter trick that's a keeper thank you
 
I take s shop rag and dab it into a little Vaseline, apply a thin layer to all surfaces that I do not want the epoxy to stick to. I'll glue everything up, lightly wiping off any major drips etc. wait for the epoxy to began to cure and it peels right off.
 
If you want something a little thicker than Vaseline for a "release" medium then use Chapstick. I put some on the front edge of the scale and right before it mates up to the blade, I smear a little from the scale onto the blade. let it dry and pick it right off
 
olymon said:
If you want something a little thicker than Vaseline for a "release" medium then use Chapstick. I put some on the front edge of the scale and right before it mates up to the blade, I smear a little from the scale onto the blade. let it dry and pick it right off
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Good idea, and don’t get the odd looks at the tub of Vaseline when people visit the shop....
 
I tape the front end of the scales and the ricasso area before epoxying my handle scales. Just pull it of before the epoxy is completely cured.
 
Acetone with Q-tips, and small patches of shop towel saturated then use something thin to clean the scales to blade joints. Never had any problem with the Acetone I use leaving any kind of residue.
 
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