G’day everyone!
I’ve been scouring the pages of this forum over the past few months, and its been so helpful I’ve finally got around to making an account myself!
Anyway, just wondering for those guys that live in cooler parts of the world (our winter temps are generally between 0 and 15C here,) what tricks you use when glassing.
Eg I’m using solar cure resin and heating it up before glassing, but I’m only a beginner!
Thought others might have develop more techniques?
Hey mate. Whilst by no means an expert or all that experienced, I’ve just been glassing recently out of my shed in NZ.
I had my resin inside to keep warm a few days before I glassed. I put my drum of UV resin in a sink of hot water before I set up to glass on the day. This didn’t really bring it up to a tempt that was optimum but helped. The ambient temp of my shed was quite problematic. Even on a sunny day it doesn’t exactly get warm at the moment. Still turned out sweet in the end but was a bit of a mission saturating the laps, as the viscosity being a bit thick wouldn’t waterfall how I would have liked.
My advise try and really warm up your resin and glassing area.
Some others with more experience may be of a bit more help.
Hey Tas,
If you’re using UV cure then that’s a good start. If you just want to thin out the resin a bit more to get a lighter lam job then you’re going to need to heat the room or the resin. You can use space heaters or pop the resin in the microwave for a quick heat up…a very quick heat. Also, think about adding some more styrene into the resin. Either way, heat, stiring and styrene will help you out a ton.
Yes, cold resin does suck.
During the winter months, I set my 5 gal. resin pails on an electric heating pad.
It’s actually a reptile pad meant to be left on. 8"x8" 85 degrees.
They are cheap and last a long time.
The great thing is the resin is always the same temp.
No guessing what the temp of the resin is.
Works good.
I don’t care to add styrene because it just dilutes the resin making it weaker.
It does help to also warm the room and the boards too.
Now if only that acetone wasn’t so cold.
Ah, the joys of cold weather surfboard building.
Good luck.
I like this. Nice solution. Perfect piece of equipment for the shed-dweller.
My son had one for his Iguana.
That’s funny, that is where I got the idea from.
If you go to a reptile store, you can get them custom made to size and Temp.
Keep it warm.
I did not know you could get them in custom sizes and temps. I will have to check that out.
I assume you are using them for both epoxy resin and PE?
if you get into using an epoxy system: heat the blank, the room, the resin ($20 arthritis heat pad inside an XL foil bag to retain heat on low setting–I use 3 gallon epoxy kits). After it kicks, electric blankets. …er…plastic, then blankets. I have heat lamps, but use some caution with the lamps: they nuke isolated spots and can damage your foam. Gotta test the throw distance of lamps if you do this, and I don’t leave lamps running when not in the room. Blankets are better; you’ll be heating the part instead of the entire space. Same deal for poly/water cure glues.
Glossing in the winter w/temps like you have: damn, you’re my hero if you can pull it off.
I just started using UV cure (furniture). Gonna try a few boards w/it this winter on sunny days.
I plan on resorting to bagging in the winter. Your temps make bagging appealing too. The cost to heat the room vs/bagging supply costs might be splitiitng hairs. That way, you can pull your vaccum, lay an electric blanket over it and leave the room. done deal.
Thanks guys!
Will be trying some of those things for sure!
Luckily we’re only a month away from spring. Things should become a lot more user friendly!
Electric blanket awsome why didn’t I think of that.
I have some boards to glass soon they will be getting blankets, its usualy between 5-10 deg in the shed at night now not ideal.
Man, in the winter here it gets maybe 30 degrees.
But warms up to 60-70 degrees.
I’ll stop complaining.
That’s friggin cold.
How’s that acetone feeling on your hands?
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Degrees F or C?
Haha sorry I forget that many of you are thinking in deg F , if it was that cold I would move somewhere warmer.
The electric blanket thing shoud save me some cure time and the inevitible dings from me bringing half cured boards inside and the dog knocking the over or me whacking them on doorways. Its epoxy only here so no acetone.
hehe. Artic surfing. Get your viking on!
Yeah, + an overhead heat lamp array and just forget trying XPS builds. EPS & poly boards are more resiliant to hot spots if you’re on a time table that requires a glass job in the deep of winter.
I have 2 settings for the lamps, 20" off board in winter, 36" during spring/fall. After it kicks, sheet of plastic and the electric blankets (winter). Blankets on the foam blank pre-glass help warm it up too no-brainer there.
