Bottle Caps for a bartop?

SWMBO got me a year subscription of the beer of the month club for my bday and looking at all the interesting caps that have come in I thought about keeping them and using them to "tile" a bartop.

What I'm wanting to do is lay them out then cover them with a clear sealant of some kind to seal them in and act as the actual surface instead of the caps.

Any suggestions on what to look for or how to do something like this?

Envirotex

It's pricey but works and looks amazing when done.

It's a great idea, and while I can't offer much, I hope you keep us updated. I'm thinking that if you glued them to a base board and then covered the whole thing with plexiglass it would look alright. I know they make laquer that would work, but not sure what type you would need.

Cellardoor had the answer. Cool.

I'll definitely keep you updated. Unfortunately right now we're trying to sell our house so we can move into a larger house with room for a bar. Plus I have a feeling it will take me a while to collect enough worthy caps to cover a bar. I WILL have pics though when the project gets going!

clear liquid epoxy.

I did a coffee table with bottle caps. Pretty much made the top a 2' x 4' shadowbox with the caps underneath a pane of glass. Looks pretty nice except for one corner where I butchered the angle when I was cutting it... My woodworking skills are a bit sub-par but I think it is fun to do anyway

EDIT: If you want to do this, take your time and do it right, collect all your bottle caps and arrange them before you start to glue, and don't let SWMBO pressure you into finishing it because she wants the table you have been promising for a year.... 3/4 of the table looks nice with a variety of caps, and the last corner has a lot of bud select caps in it....

Ive seen a picture of it done and it looked amazing.

I've seen tables done with the bar coasters that looked sweet.

I've been planning out a pub table or two--and one of them will be bottle caps under the epoxy. I say do it and post pics--I'd love to see a step by step!

I'm also going to do one with a collage of old ticket stubs.

I lived with a bunch of hockey players in college who were all from Canada. They were avid Labatt and Molson consumers. One of them built this really cool bar in our party area and another made a Canadian maple leaf with the red Molson caps and outlined it with the blue Labatt ones. Then he covered it in a clear layer of resin you would use with fiberglass. It was smooth and clear and cleaned up well.

I would go about it this way. Your only real cost is epoxy and one of those disposable foam brushes.

Funny this thread comes up now, a friend of mine is doing this very thing to his newly constructed basement bar. The epoxy was fairly expensive FWICR, it was about $120 for a 24" x 72" top, but he has plenty of cool caps and laid them out prior to coating . I will try to get him to post some pictures or comment.

I've been saving caps for just htis purpose....from what I can tell, the only real difficulty in the whole thing is preventing air bubbles. I've read about problems with the air trapped under the cap causing them to float up, too. Maybe if you secured them down somehow, or laid them in a coat of already tacky epoxy, let it dry, then poured another coat over the top? There's something called "decoupage" that is similar to this. Maybe googling that will give you more ideas.

I was wondering about the airspace under the caps as well. I thought about putting a layer of the epoxy down and before putting the caps down but then I'd be rushed to get them down. I also thought about filling the caps with hot glue, letting it cool, then glue them to the bartop before the epoxy. That option just always seems like it would be a lot of wasted effort.....

DrugCoder said:

I was wondering about the airspace under the caps as well. I thought about putting a layer of the epoxy down and before putting the caps down but then I'd be rushed to get them down. I also thought about filling the caps with hot glue, letting it cool, then glue them to the bartop before the epoxy. That option just always seems like it would be a lot of wasted effort.....

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Contact cement?

Silicone adhesive in caulking gun? Dab and place cap in order.

Dot of super glue on the edge of the cap?

Just some ideas.

Another idea for this: How about everyone on HBT send you all the caps we get?? I can see the news report "Homebrew in _________ inundated with 12 tons of beer caps. Can't get to the fridge for own beer for the bags of caps in the way!"

mrbowenz said:

Funny this thread comes up now, a friend of mine is doing this very thing to his newly constructed basement bar. The epoxy was fairly expensive FWICR, it was about $120 for a 24" x 72" top, but he has plenty of cool caps and laid them out prior to coating . I will try to get him to post some pictures or comment.

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I was at Home Depot last night looking for the same stuff for a Christmas present I am building for my brother in law. They have a product by Parks in their paint/stain section, and I couldn't believe how expensive it was. $20 to cover 3 sq ft. I'm going to check AC Moore or Michaels first.

See super glaze product: Parks Applications, Products, Finishes, Removers and Solvents, Tools

I plan on doing the same thing as a bartop only instead of just randomly laying out the caps I want to make a mural with them. Ever see the posters that are made up of scenes from a movie? Thats what I'm looking to do but I dont know how well it'll work since you'll never see the bar top from a distance far enough to be able to make out the mural.

red999 said:

I plan on doing the same thing as a bartop only instead of just randomly laying out the caps I want to make a mural with them. Ever see the posters that are made up of scenes from a movie? Thats what I'm looking to do but I dont know how well it'll work since you'll never see the bar top from a distance far enough to be able to make out the mural.

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Go retro and mount a mirror on the ceiling! Of course then you would have to make the mural reversed to make it look "right" in the mirror. Drive you crazy remembering to reverse words the entire time you are making it.

Dude said:

I've been planning out a pub table or two--and one of them will be bottle caps under the epoxy. I say do it and post pics--I'd love to see a step by step!

I'm also going to do one with a collage of old ticket stubs.

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Round out the collection with one made with cigar bands.

I thought about spelling something out like my last name or just "BAR" by separating the caps into generally lighter colored caps vs. darker caps.

If you have caps (not just plain ones) from local breweries in your area, I'd love to get some from everyone. Especially ones from outside the U.S. Having a new daughter in the house makes it hard to travel anywhere, especially outside of the country!

PM me for an address if you want to donate to the bartop!

Instead of doing a word, try a simple pattern, like a few large diamonds or circles....a simple design will fit in any house, but you might get tired of the word.....

I am in the process of building a beer cap mosaic bar top right now. I am using a two part epoxy (Bio-clear 810) that you can get (and learn a lot about) here...

Pourable Clear Epoxy Bar and Table Top Coatings

The bar edging is raised 3/8" from the bar top. I am not 100% sure how I was going to hold the caps in place for the pour. I too was thinking of making a small batch of the epoxy (say 1/8" thick) and "embedding" the caps into the epoxy, then pouring the rest on top a day later. If anyone has a better idea, please share! FYI, the epoxy was $112 for what you see.

I have posted a picture of the bar top with the epoxy cans and a picture of how many caps it takes to fill a 20" x 65" bar top (notice the vintage Blast Blew Ribbon Wacky Pack that will be place near the middle somewhere. Collecting the caps was the best part !!! I will post more pictures over the next week. Hopefully it will be done by then!

beautiful mrbowenz! Exactly what I'm going for! How many caps does it take to fill a 20x65 top?

Is that epoxy self leveling?

noremorse1 said:

Is that epoxy self leveling?

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if it is you need to make sure the top is level when you do this.
As for how to hold the caps in place, I would use a hot glue gun.

I JUST did a project like this for a friend beer pong table, here is how we did it.

Using a brush apply a thin coat of standard polyurethane and lay out your design, let this dry completely, this basically glues down the caps, quicker than a hot glue gun by far. Once laid down pour in a clear bar top epoxy such as this: http://www.raka.com/index.html

Be prepared to deal with a lot of leveling, some bubbles, and some way to spread it evenly to get full coverage as it likes ot get stuck in between caps. But the result is realllly nice!

mrbowenz said:

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I'll be really impressed if you don't have any duplicate bottle caps :cross:

OK, this is mrbowenz pal who is actually building the bar top. We used mrbowenz account last nite because he is a premium member and can upload pictures. I needed close to 1000 caps for my bar! yes there are plenty of repeats. We have been drinking LOTS of different beers from the 6-pack shop lately to diversify. It seems we really like Troegs (in Harrisburg, PA) and had a TON of their caps. I even have a few Bud, Miller and Coors caps just for kicks, but mostly local microbrews and British ales. The 810 epoxy is definitely self leveling, and is actually so thin it will leak through cracks in the bar, so it is important to caulk/paint/seal the corners, edges, etc. We will post more pictures latter in the weekend. I like the idea about the poly, and think I will use that to hold by caps down.

Too bad you don't have a piece of glass/plexi that big... That way you wouldn't have to worry about leaks, and could be movable. I'm anxious to see how it turns out! I've seen it done with vinyl records before, but this is def. a cool idea. Just poor slowly to avoid bubbles!

It's a little late, but for what it's worth, System 3 makes a great clear coat epoxy that is crystal clear. I used it as the surface on a foosball table I built.

System Three: Products: Clear Coat

It's nice because it mixes very thin so it flows out to a nice flat surface (as long as your form is level!) with no bubbles. It's also got a one hour working time, so no hurry to get your stuff down.

They also make a product called Mirror Coat (System Three: Products: Mirror Coat) which they say is specifically for table tops-- scratch & stain resistant, won't get discolored by alcohol. It doesn't pour as thin, but I haven't used it so I can't say how wonderful it is. System 3 in general is top-of-the-line stuff, though.

Does anyone know if there are pourable exterior grade epoxy's?

That System 3 Clear Coat page I linked to has a PDF called "Clear Finishing of Outdoor Wood." Their SB-112 has a bunch of UV inhibitors, it was designed for sailboats & surfboards which is about as exterior-grade as it gets.

(Short answer is "yes.")

The stuff I bought, the Bio Clear 810 is clear and can be covered with a UV inhibitor. I can say whether it is better or worse thatn any of the other recommended products. We will ALL know in a week when its done. The web site Mr Bowenz recommended has LOTS of info about epoxy use and specifically the Bio Clear 810. I need to tighten up the bartop a little more and drink a few more beers and we will be ready to pour. I'll keep you all posted. Gotta go get some more "beer caps"!

Here are some updated photos of last night's pour:

A couple of key points:

Keep a toothpick available to pop bubbles, because the caps Will have air under them and they WILL come up.

make sure the top/bar is completely level

make sure the surface is water tight ,or the epoxy will leak out

have a friend to help

plenty of rags are needed

listen to some music, it's a time consuming job.......

Enjoy:

That looks fantastic!

All the pictures are gone.

EvilTOJ said:

All the pictures are gone.

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They are there for me. It looks great.. :rockin:

That looks great.....nice work

Awesome job! That's exactly what I had in mind to do! What are the dimensions of it and how many caps did you end up using?