Preventing Epoxy Bubbles

Have you ever coated bare wood with epoxy or varnish in the morning, then returned in the afternoon to find thousands of little bubbles on the surface? As the temperature increased during the day, the air in the wood expanded and was forced out though your flawless coating.

This is called outgassing -- and it causes a lot of extra sanding and more than a few strong words. So try to coat bare wood when the temperature is constant or falling, not rising.