Applying Epoxy Over Stained Wood

Alcohol based stains or water based are best and fast drying. The epoxy can go over them in about 24 hours. There are so many other stains on the market that it is hard to offer a 100% answer that covers all of them. OIL BASED stains such as Minwax take a LONG time to fully dry. If an oil-based stain is used, you must apply a clear oil-based polyurethane to seal the surface before applying a seal coat of our PrimaLoc epoxy. If you go directly over the oil-based stain and it is not completely dry, you run the risk of the epoxy not sticking to the surface and peeling off months later.

You will still need to apply a seal coat of epoxy even though you apply 2-3 coats of oil based polyurethane. The poly does not seal the wood enough to prevent air bubbles from surfacing into the flood coat. 

The seal coat is a small batch of epoxy that is brushed on in a thin layer to seal any pores in the surface and prevent air bubbles from forming in the following flood coat. Our epoxy is used for both your seal coat and your flood coat. You do not need a different product. Both seal and flood coats are always a 50/50 mixture. For the seal coat, mix up a small batch (16 oz. of Resin + 16 oz. of Hardener) and use a very good paint brush (around $10 at the home improvement store) to apply to surface. You will paint it on just as you paint on a wall. This stage is followed by the flood coat , which will flow and self level to 1/8".