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Re: southern climate and epoxy curing
By:Pete Rudie
Date: 2/2/2001, 5:32 pm
In Response To: southern climate and epoxy curing (Malcolm Schweizer)

: Okay, I'm moving right along with my 19' Atlantic and I will probably be
: 'glassing by March. I live in West Tennessee and I am building this
: outside. I have read and understand the effects of heat and cold on epoxy
: curing times, but what about the effects of humidity? The air gets very
: hot and "sticky" here in the south and paint takes forever to
: dry. Has anyone had any experience with epoxy cure times/strength after
: curing in hot humid climates? I am planning to 'glass in March so that the
: temperature will be around the 68-72 degree mark and the humidity
: hopefully won't be too bad, but weather can also be very unpredictable.
: Thanks for any help you may give. I would hate to get this far and screw
: the whole thing up.

The cure mechanism of epoxy is different from paint. High humidity inhibits paint curing because evaporation of the primary and coalescing solvents is slowed when the air is saturated with moisture. Epoxy on the other hand (at least as to the 100% solids materials commonly used in boatbuilding) has no evaporation component, just a chemical reaction between the resin and hardener. In fact, epoxy will actually cure underwater. Under high humidity conditions some epoxies turn cloudy however, so do a test panel under the existing conditions before you gamble on the whole boat. BTW, it was 78% RH yesterday when I did some glassing outside at 48 deg., and it cured clear.

Messages In This Thread

southern climate and epoxy curing
Malcolm Schweizer -- 2/2/2001, 4:57 pm
Re: southern climate and epoxy curing
Pete Rudie -- 2/2/2001, 5:32 pm
Re: southern climate and epoxy curing
Malcolm Schweizer -- 2/2/2001, 7:27 pm
Re: southern climate and epoxy curing
BruceK -- 2/4/2001, 11:19 pm