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Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
By:paul killen
Date: 5/1/2012, 5:38 am
In Response To: Re: Epoxy: whats the difference (Etienne Muller)

: Even mor important than glass type is to get you shop temps well up
: to seventy degrees or above for the next effort. You don't
: really have a hope of a perfect job otherwise.

: I have a bubble wrap tent which I lower over the boat when I am
: glassing. I get the heat up inside this tent to seventy or
: above, then I glass the boat.

: Using slow hardener I wet out the first quarter of the hull and let
: it saturate the glass while I am then applying epoxy to the
: second quarter of the hull, then, while that is sinking in I go
: over the first area with the heat gun to ensure a complete
: wetout.

: Then I lay on the third quarter, and while that is sinking in I go
: over the previous bit with the heat gun, etc.

: Don't apply the heat gun too soon, let the resin sink in on its own
: first, and don't overdo the heat gun, just move it around to get
: the resin flowing nicely and when you can no longer see the
: glass flecks quit. You may see the occasional bubble appear, but
: if you start seeing loads of bubbles you are overdoing the heat
: gun.

: For the above stages I don't squeeze out the resin too much as I
: want it to have the opportunity to penetrate the timber as much
: as possible while it is still fluid.

: Once the boat is nicely covered I then go back to the beginning and
: squeegee the excess epoxy out. If you got it right in the
: application there won't be that much.

: Some prefer to, but I don't do a seal coat prior to glassing. You
: though, will have residue from your previous effort, which you
: will want to sand smooth after lifting it off, so a seal coat
: may be a good idea in your case. Watch out for blush if you use
: a seal coat. You want to get the glass on after the seal coat
: has hardened enough that it won't be too tacky and grab the
: glass, but before it has had time to blush. If you keep your
: temps up you will run less risk of getting blush.

: Finally, once you have got the glass and your first coat on and are
: ready to walk away, allow the heat in your shop to very slowly
: drop. Ideally five or six degrees over the period your glass
: takes to set up. This will ensure you don't get bubbles from
: outgassing.

: Second and third fill coats can be applied at slightly lower temps
: as you don't need the wetout anymore, but too cold or damp and
: you will get blush.

: That's enough from me. I'm sure others will have their own methods
: and input.

: Et

Thanks for that info, very much appreciated. As I live in sunny Belfast getting anywhere near 70 degrees is a virtual impossibility :-) The tent idea is a good one.

What type and weight of glass cloth do you use?

Paul

Messages In This Thread

Epoxy: whats the difference
paul killen -- 5/1/2012, 4:55 am
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
Etienne Muller -- 5/1/2012, 5:32 am
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
paul killen -- 5/1/2012, 5:38 am
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
Etienne Muller -- 5/1/2012, 5:50 am
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 5/1/2012, 6:02 am
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
Etienne Muller -- 5/1/2012, 6:11 am
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference *PIC*
Etienne Muller -- 5/1/2012, 5:41 am
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
paul killen -- 5/1/2012, 6:41 am
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
MattD -- 5/1/2012, 12:53 pm
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
Malcolm Schweizer -- 5/1/2012, 3:32 pm
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
Kirk Fredericks -- 5/2/2012, 4:17 pm
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
paul killen -- 5/3/2012, 7:38 am
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
Mark Vander Horck -- 5/4/2012, 6:31 pm
Re: Epoxy: whats the difference
Kirk Fredericks -- 5/4/2012, 7:44 pm