How To Get a Matte Finish on Epoxy

Video Tutorial

There are several things which are difficult to fully explain with words and images, so be sure to check out the video tutorial below!

Sand Epoxy

First, I sand the surface with 120, 150, 180, 220, and 320 grit sandpaper.

As I outlined in my epoxy sanding article, I use a specific sander and technique to sand epoxy resin.

More importantly, I use a dust extractor attached to my sander to remove as much resin build up as possible.

In order to get a matte finish on epoxy, I use my Festool RO125 in rotex mode and a soft sanding pad.

Next, I sand across the surface with 1 or 2 passes and remove the resin build up on the sandpaper with an air compressor.

Also, I overlap each pass with the previous pass by a few inches to prevent sanding lines.

Then, I sand the epoxy surface in the opposite direction (with the grain or the longer direction).

I repeat this step for each sandpaper grit.

Control Sheen Level with Final Sanding Grit

The most important aspect of this project is sheen level.

After all, the point of writing this tutorial is to teach you how to get a matte finish on epoxy.

First, I use Odie’s Oil finish on epoxy surfaces when I want more control over sheen levels.

Essentially, the final sanding grit determines the sheen level of Odie’s Oil.

Since I want to achieve a matte finish on this epoxy table, my final sanding grit was 320 grit.

I find any grit under 400 leaves a low sheen (flat or matte).

Clean Surface

To clean the surface after sanding, I use a damp cloth.

Once I clean the surface, I verify no sanding swirls or pigtails exist on the epoxy.

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Apply Odie’s Oil Finish

After I cleaned the surface, I applied Odie’s Oil to the epoxy resin and wood surface.

First, I stirred Odie’s Oil until the consistency resembled honey.

Next, I saturated a non-woven applicator pad with Odie’s Oil.

Then, I worked the oil into the surface.

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I allowed the Odie’s Oil to sit for about an hour and performed the fingerprint test.

Essentially, the oil is ready when I leave a mark across the surface after wiping my finger across it.

Remove and Buff Odie’s Oil

To remove the excess Odie’s Oil, I wiped the epoxy surface with a terry towel.

Next, I used my festool felt pad to remove the remaining oil.

The felt pad really helps bring the surface to life.

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Matte Finish on Epoxy

As you can see, this epoxy ocean art has a beautiful matte finish.

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