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Re: Epoxy not curing?
By:Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks
Date: 4/11/1999, 11:05 am
In Response To: Epoxy not curing? (Gerard Dolmans)

> O.K bear with me because this problem has me freaked.

> Last fall I finished installing the deck, coaming, etc on my CLC Mill
> Creek. I worked in the living room at 70 degrees (roughly old house, badly
> insulated, but never really below 65)and the Matrix Adhesive System Epoxy
> was well mixed, 3+ minutes, per batch. The kayak sat in the living room
> for almost a month after I stopped working (time and my unwillingness to
> take it outside to sand, so I could start painting and varnishing; the two
> most loathsome chores on the planet)and the epoxy had every opportunity to
> set up, cure, and solidify which it had seemed to do. Right before Xmas
> (at my wife's prompting) I moved the unpainted, unvarnished kayak
> downstairs into a damp unheated basement. Everything seemed fine. I would
> go and look wistfully every time I did laundry (no sexist remarks please
> that is at least once a week). The basement temp is a constant 48. Today
> as I was hauling the kayak out to sand it I noticed that one sheer seemed
> wet and mildly sticky. Suffice it to say the fluid which had run from the
> deck hull sheer joint down the sides and collected on the joint with the
> bottom smelt and felt like uncured epoxy.

This is very strange. I see no way that bringing old epoxy into a colder space would loosen the epoxy, so any problems you have with the epoxy had be there before you moved it. If the epoxy seemed cured before you moved it, either you did not notice the problem, or your problem is something else entirely.

If it is just a problem you overlooked before (most likely), clean out the uncured epoxy with vinegar. Remove any fiberglass that is loose enough to be pulled off, and re-glass and epoxy. Make sure you mix the epoxy throughly. Make sure the temperature of the room is at least 65 degrees.

Some epoxy will blush even after it seems to be cured. This can cause a sticky film. If you use MAS Slow Cure form CLC, it is probably not blush. If you used Fast or Cool-Cure/Winter-Cure it could well be blush. Wash it with soap and water. Blush will not make drips, just a film.

If you know for sure the epoxy was fine before you moved it, the stickyness must be something else: mouse pee, spilled laundry detergent, ... something. Stick your nose near it and smell. After you regain conscienceness, figure out what made you faint and clean it up accordingly.

Messages In This Thread

Epoxy not curing?
Gerard Dolmans -- 4/11/1999, 12:07 am
Re: Epoxy not curing?
Gerard Dolmans -- 4/12/1999, 12:07 pm
Re: Epoxy not curing?
Stan Heeres -- 4/12/1999, 12:58 pm
Re: Epoxy not curing?
Nick Schade - Guillemot Kayaks -- 4/11/1999, 11:05 am
Re: Epoxy not curing?
Pete Rudie -- 4/11/1999, 3:38 am
Start sanding
Paul Jacobson -- 4/11/1999, 2:10 am