affixing photo to wood plaque with epoxy: We had a specially made maple wood plaque made for a photo , the wood maker suggests an epoxy to adhere the photo to the plaque, I am not...

dotfinley

We had a specially made maple wood plaque made for a photo , the wood maker suggests an epoxy to adhere the photo to the plaque, I am not familiar with any expoxy, these 2 were suggested, any recommendations? I was going to have Staples print the 8x11 photo on glossy paper, is there any special paper I should use instead.

The plank/photo will then be coated with a clear epoxy resin.

He is suggesting an epoxy product called Promise TableTop Epoxy Resin.
ArtResin is another brand that the web suggests for glossy printed photos.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

dotfinley wrote:

We had a specially made maple wood plaque made for... (show quote)

No matter what epoxy you use it will eventually yellow and then turn amber !!
I have a plaque my youngest made when she was in grade school the board is a stump cut Cedar glued to it is some natural moss and a mushroom made from unfired clay.
Too preserve it I used three coats of epoxy poured over it, that was close to 35 years ago, and is at least three shades darker which is not bad in this case, but would be bad over a photograph.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

dotfinley wrote:

We had a specially made maple wood plaque made for... (show quote)

Can you make use of any of the information from these sites?

https://craftandquery.com/why-does-decoupage-turn-yellow/#:~:text=To%20stop%20your%20Decoupage%20from%20turning%20yellow.%20You,protection%20from%20sunlight%2C%20UV%20light%2C%20heat%2C%20and%20water.

https://woodworkingclarity.com/best-non-yellowing-polyurethane/

https://www.artchive.com/buying-guides/best-decoupage-glue/

User ID

Manglesphoto wrote:

No matter what epoxy you use it will eventually yellow and then turn amber !!
I have a plaque my youngest made when she was in grade school the board is a stump cut Cedar glued to it is some natural moss and a mushroom made from unfired clay.
Too preserve it I used three coats of epoxy poured over it, that was close to 35 years ago, and is at least three shades darker which is not bad in this case, but would be bad over a photograph.

Good point. I have slabs of hardwood coated with clear polyurethane and the coatings have remained clear or just very barely warm toned at 20 to 30 yeas old.

MJPerini

The most helpful supplier of Epoxies is Jamestown Distributors in RI. I would call them as ask.
Generally it is UV that causes yellowing. Some may have UV inhibitors. Jamestown services the boat building and craft industries. There is no more UV exposure than a boat gets, so they would know.
Epoxies work by saturating substrates then building up. Get two copies of the photo and store one just in case.
There are also polyester resins. But Jamestown would know which is best.
Good luck

rwww80a Loc: Hampton, NH

There is a spray adhesive to secure photo paper to just about anything. Check the can for "non-yellowing" Check Amazon or local craft stores.

rwww80a Loc: Hampton, NH

Scotch or Gorilla brands of spray phot adhesive. Why go through the bother of mixing a 2 part adhesive.

Manglesphoto Loc: 70 miles south of St.Louis

rwww80a wrote:

Scotch or Gorilla brands of spray phot adhesive. Why go through the bother of mixing a 2 part adhesive.

Because they are not Archival!! Been there done that!!
The 2-part is to cover the photograph for protection.

Chuck B

Don't do it. The picture will be destroyed. My sister did this and destroyed a very valuable photograph of a pair of my ancestors. Make sure you have a backup copy or better have it laser burnt from a B&W.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

dotfinley wrote:

We had a specially made maple wood plaque made for... (show quote)

When I did plaques for my department, I got a plaque that let me put the photo under a sheet of plexiglass using four buttons that went into the wood. Under the image was a affixed printed metal tag identifying the individual in the image. Works very well and you need nothing but the plaque and image. Most trophy places carry these, they are quite inexpensive.
I have attached an example of this process.
https://mtsawards.com/products/picture-plaque-with-plexi-glass?variant=44591729869094&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&srsltid=AfmBOorpFhSOb2bStnceCG7FrVGiPCzrhkQ-oKlb-j1MAxz0GBx0GU-ts2M&com_cvv=8fb3d522dc163aeadb66e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d56d2c

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

dotfinley wrote:

We had a specially made maple wood plaque made for... (show quote)

I think Epoxy resin is way overkill for a photo. As a long time woodworker, I'd think any quality non-yellowing polyurethane would be just fine and much easier to apply than a two part resin finish. Polyurethane durability is way overkill for a photo, it's used on steps, table tops and all that so a photo hanging on a wall doesn't need all that durability. Non-yellowing may be important, so get non-yellowing poly. UV exposure will yellow most any finish (or photo) over time, so keep the photo and it's finish out of the sun as much as possible.

Drip Dry McFleye

Coming from a good bit of experience with epoxy (boat building and R/C model planes) I would recommend against using epoxy. Just way too much trouble & expense when there are things, as suggested by others above, that will actually be better for your purpose. There are epoxies that specially formulated for coating but eventually they too will begin to yellow. Also even the thinner epoxies are on the thick side and will take enough time to cure that dust settling into your project becomes a significant issue. The thinner the coating of epoxy the longer it will take to cure. AS others above have suggested, make sure you have more than one copy of the print. Murphy's Law, right?

scsdesphotography Loc: Southeastern Michigan

dotfinley wrote:

We had a specially made maple wood plaque made for... (show quote)

How about doing a metal print, no glue bleed through.