River tables are beautifully crafted tables that, when finished, have tops that appear like a river flowing between two shores.
The main components of river tables are two planks of live edge wood and epoxy with blue dye.
But, do you need deep pour epoxy for a river table or can you use table top epoxy?
Read on below and discover the answer to this question!
Do You Need Deep Pour Epoxy for a River Table?
The best type of epoxy for making a river table is deep pour epoxy, hands down with no competition.
Deep pour epoxy allows you to pour up to 2 inches of resin in one whack. Other epoxies, such as table top epoxy, must be poured at much shallower depths (between ⅛ inch and ¼ inch per pour).
In other words, deep pour epoxy is the best option for a river table because you can complete the project with a single pour most times.
But, even if your river table design features a deeper than average channel for epoxy for your “river”, deep pour epoxy requires fewer pours than table top epoxy and other resins.
How Thick Should You Pour for River Tables?
Depending on the type of epoxy you decide to use, as well as the specific brand and product, the best thickness for pouring river tables varies.
Deep epoxy is highly recommended for river tables because it can technically be poured up to an inch or two thick per pour.
Table top epoxy, and other resins, can’t be poured nearly as thick (typically just ⅛ inch per pour).
Another factor that must be considered when deciding how thick to pour your epoxy is how deep and wide the gap between wood planks is.
If your river table’s river gap is between half an inch and two inches, a single pour is possible with deep pour epoxy.
Otherwise, you’d need to pour table top or other epoxies at a maximum thickness of ⅛ inch to ¼ inch per pour (and pour several layers on top of each other to reach your desired overall thickness/depth).
Should You Use Table Top Epoxy on Top of River Tables?
Table top epoxy is far from the best option for creating river tables that have river gaps of an inch or deeper.
Otherwise, table top epoxy is great for river tables with shallow gaps of less than ½ inch depths.
That said, even on river tables with deeper rivers you’ve used deep pour epoxy on, adding a thin ⅛ inch thick layer of table top epoxy on top makes a wonderful sealer/finish.