How to Lay an Epoxy Resin Penny Floor

First of all ensure your floor is as level as you can practically achieve as well as clean and free from dust and debris. You then want to glue down your penny's. Any good quality DIY adhesive will be suitable. Only a thin bead is needed to hold the penny's in place as the resin itself will bond the penny's to the floor. We chose a glue that cures clear to help see when it is dry and ready for the next stage. Allow the glue to cure fully before moving onto the next stage

Grouting the floor helps produce a smoother overall finish in the resin and also fills the gaps between the pennies to create a nicer looking floor. Any good quality black grout is suitable. Apply the grout according to the manufacturers instructions using a squeegee to help spread the grout and fill any gaps. Once the grout has been applied and cleaned up, allow it to fully dry before moving onto the next stage. The grout MUST be dry before resin is poured onto it as the GlassCast 3 is sensitive to moisture which could seriously damage the cosmetic effect and cure of the resin.

Once the grout is fully dry, give the floor a quick sweep and vacuum clean to ensure there is no dust or loose debris that could ruin the resin pour.

This step describes how to resin a penny floor, for large floors, the biggest batch size we recommend doing in one go is 5kg of combined resin and hardener. Label up two buckets 1 and 2. Using bucket 1, weigh out the GlassCast® 3. Remember to follow the mixing ratio of 2 parts resin to 1 part hardener by weight. Using a clean mixing stick, thoroughly mix the resin and hardener for 3 minutes taking care to ensure all the resin from the top to the bottom and right around the sides is fully mixed. Once 3 minutes have elapsed, transfer the resin in bucket 1 into bucket 2. Mix thoroughly for a further 3 minutes.

Once the Resin is mixed in bucket 2, immediately begin to pour the resin onto the penny floor. You must work quickly at this stage to prevent the resin exotherming in the bucket. Once the bucket is empty, repeat the mixing processes in bucket 1 and 2, again immediately pouring onto the penny floor, until all the necessary resin has been poured.

Each subsequent pour of resin will blend seamlessly with the previous pours as the resin begins to self level and spread out on the floor. You can help the process on large areas by using a notched spreader to move the resin around ensuring it reaches the edges of the floor.

At this stage the resin may appear to have a lot of little bubbles within it. However, do not worry, GlassCast® 3's unique formulation includes agents that help expel air during the curing process. Wait around 10 minutes after pouring and spreading the resin and you will see most of the bubbles come to the surface and dissipate.

Now the pouring is complete, we must allow the resin to fully cure to give us the hard finish we desire. The resin will achieve an initial cure in approximately 24 hours - temperature dependent. You must not touch or attempt to use the floor during this period and avoid opening doors and windows in that room to reduce the chance of dust and debris falling on the floor.

Once the initial cure has been achieved, the floor will be safe to walk on. The resin can take up to 7 days to achieve full strength so we recommend you minimise traffic for that time where possible.

You will now have a stunning floor that with care will last many years, amazing family and guests alike. Over time you may pick up minor scuffs and scratches but these can be polished out to restore the high gloss finish.

If you are interested in learning more about the product and alternative ideas go the GlassCast® 3 product page.