About to do my first epoxy glassing. I’ve read the archives and the resin research epoxy guide over at foam-ez. Both excellent information, but still a bit vague for me to I was hoping to get some step by step clarification. My biggest questions are around the timing and recoat windows for lams and hotcoats so if you only read one thing, skip to the red highlight at the bottom.
I’m glassing a 5’10" x 20 1/2" x 2 1/2" fish from an Ice 9 blank and using Resin Research Fast 2000. Deck will be double 4 oz and bottom will be single 6 oz.
How much? I’ll be mixing by volume because I haven’t found a scale I’m happy with yet (recommendations greatly appreciated). So about 15 oz of RESIN (hardener not included) per side. So that means 7.5 oz of hardener for 22.5 oz total. Correct? So if I’m using 7.5 oz of hardener I’m also using 7.5 cc of Additive F?
Room temp. I’ve read that glassing when the temp is dropping or stable is best and higher temps are better than lower temps. My basement is about 70 degrees this time of year. I can leave it at that. I can bring it up a few degrees with a space heater or I can arrange for the A/C to come up as I glass for the temp to drop. What’s the best senario?
Heat the resin? 10 seconds in the microwave, but I have read that both heating just the resin or the mixed resin and hardener work. Is that correct? Preferences?
Mixing - do you use two buckets or one? Do you fill two buckets to the correct amount then combine into one. Or do you use the same bucket, fill to volume with the first then fill to total volume with the second? Do you pour resin into hardener or hardener into resin? Mix for at least one minute preferably 2, correct?
Pour it ALL out on the pour to avoid exotherm, but if you have a wide bucket can you keep a thin layer for touch up? Do you use a brush or a plastic (not rubber) squeegee? I’ve read and seen videos of both. From what I have seen here is my assumption - use the squeegee to move the resin (slowly without pushing the resin into the cloth) and cover the deck and allow it to soak in while wetting the laps with a brush and let them soak while pulling the leftover resin off the deck with the plastic squeegee then pull off the laps. Sound good?
Flip time - 2 to 3 hours with fast. This means I can flip and cut the lap, but as with poly I still have to wait until the next day to sand the lap?
Sand the lap - before laming the other side I sand the overlaps to even it out, but then I have to wipe with denatured alcohol before the second lam?
Recoat window - I’ve read that it’s best to hot coat within the recoat window, but how long is that? I’ve also read that a thin cheater hot coat works well for epoxy. Is this true. So what is the process and timeline for all this.
Wearing gloves - obviously once I start glassing I have to wear gloves every time I touch the board, but how about the shaped blank before glassing. My hands have been all over that. Do I sand lightly with 150 or 220 to remove oils before glassing? Also, I’ve read that you have to get more dust off the blank before glassing with epoxy. What’s the best way to get all the dust off if I don’t have compressed air. I’ve been using a clean old rag to gently wipe it off.
This process is probably my biggest question and the one I most want answered.Is this process correct because I’ve based my assumptions off my experience with poly?
Does this make sense?:
Bottom lam
2 - 3 hours flip and cut lap
next day sand lap wipe with DNA and lam deck
2 - 3 hours flip and cut lap
next day sand lap wipe with DNA and hotcoat bottom
next day hotcoat deck
next day sand
bake in the car or the attic for 10 hours around 100 degrees and cure for 3 weeks?
So, where does the cheater hotcoat fit in? Can the bottom hot coat be done in the morning and deck be done at night? Is all of this staying within the recoat windows?
Mucho thanks to anyone patient enough to read all this and offer advice/clarification.
About to do my first epoxy glassing. I’ve read the archives and the resin research epoxy guide over at foam-ez. Both excellent information, but still a bit vague for me to I was hoping to get some step by step clarification. My biggest questions are around the timing and recoat windows for lams and hotcoats so if you only read one thing, skip to the red highlight at the bottom.
I’m glassing a 5’10" x 20 1/2" x 2 1/2" fish from an Ice 9 blank and using Resin Research Fast 2000. Deck will be double 4 oz and bottom will be single 6 oz.
How much? I’ll be mixing by volume because I haven’t found a scale I’m happy with yet (recommendations greatly appreciated). So about 15 oz of RESIN (hardener not included) per side. So that means 7.5 oz of hardener for 22.5 oz total. Correct? So if I’m using 7.5 oz of hardener I’m also using 7.5 cc of Additive F?
Room temp. I’ve read that glassing when the temp is dropping or stable is best and higher temps are better than lower temps. My basement is about 70 degrees this time of year. I can leave it at that. I can bring it up a few degrees with a space heater or I can arrange for the A/C to come up as I glass for the temp to drop. What’s the best senario?
Heat the resin? 10 seconds in the microwave, but I have read that both heating just the resin or the mixed resin and hardener work. Is that correct? Preferences?
Mixing - do you use two buckets or one? Do you fill two buckets to the correct amount then combine into one. Or do you use the same bucket, fill to volume with the first then fill to total volume with the second? Do you pour resin into hardener or hardener into resin? Mix for at least one minute preferably 2, correct?
Pour it ALL out on the pour to avoid exotherm, but if you have a wide bucket can you keep a thin layer for touch up? Do you use a brush or a plastic (not rubber) squeegee? I’ve read and seen videos of both. From what I have seen here is my assumption - use the squeegee to move the resin (slowly without pushing the resin into the cloth) and cover the deck and allow it to soak in while wetting the laps with a brush and let them soak while pulling the leftover resin off the deck with the plastic squeegee then pull off the laps. Sound good?
Flip time - 2 to 3 hours with fast. This means I can flip and cut the lap, but as with poly I still have to wait until the next day to sand the lap?
Sand the lap - before laming the other side I sand the overlaps to even it out, but then I have to wipe with denatured alcohol before the second lam?
Recoat window - I’ve read that it’s best to hot coat within the recoat window, but how long is that? I’ve also read that a thin cheater hot coat works well for epoxy. Is this true. So what is the process and timeline for all this.
Wearing gloves - obviously once I start glassing I have to wear gloves every time I touch the board, but how about the shaped blank before glassing. My hands have been all over that. Do I sand lightly with 150 or 220 to remove oils before glassing? Also, I’ve read that you have to get more dust off the blank before glassing with epoxy. What’s the best way to get all the dust off if I don’t have compressed air. I’ve been using a clean old rag to gently wipe it off.
This process is probably my biggest question and the one I most want answered.Is this process correct because I’ve based my assumptions off my experience with poly?
Does this make sense?:
Bottom lam
2 - 3 hours flip and cut lap
next day sand lap wipe with DNA and lam deck
2 - 3 hours flip and cut lap
next day sand lap wipe with DNA and hotcoat bottom
next day hotcoat deck
next day sand
bake in the car or the attic for 10 hours around 100 degrees and cure for 3 weeks?
So, where does the cheater hotcoat fit in? Can the bottom hot coat be done in the morning and deck be done at night? Is all of this staying within the recoat windows?
Mucho thanks to anyone patient enough to read all this and offer advice/clarification.
For a 5’10" clear I would use maybe 12 oz TOTAL mixed material per side. As a beginner it’s best to err on the side of caution, so that’s 10 oz resin, 5 oz hardender.
Ice 9 sucks so little resin you don’t need to worry about the temp. Just don’t let it rise a lot while you’re working, keeping it at 70 is fine.
HEAT RESIN ONLY. Never heat mixed resin and hardener. If you do you can expect a fireball and some emergency medical personnel. 10 seconds for 10 oz of resin is enough, don’t need it to be super watery, just less viscous.
I personally just use one bucket, pour in resin to desired amount, fill with hardener to total volume. Works for me, saves wasting buckets and trying to scrape every last bit out. Mix for at least several minutes. I work with the radio or ipod on and I tend to mix for the duration of one song. On the radio that’s about 1 minute. You want the mix to be perfectly clear with no swirly lines.
Your method is good, brush isn’t always necessary, just flip the laps onto the deck after you wet it out and let them soak. You can keep some resin left in the bucket, I usually go for an oz or two just for touch ups, it won’t exotherm that fast, just be careful. Make sure you wipe your squeegee back into the bucket after each pass. It will save you resin, make things less messy, and you never know when you might need that last drop.
I wait about 2 hours to trim the lap, 3 hours flip and surform the lap down, saves sanding and is much easier, then another hour and I lam the other side.
If you were to use a cheater coat, after two ours trim the lap, then brush a small amount (6oz roughly) on to the cloth keeping it away from the edges because you want a good cloth-cloth bond when you do the next layer. Recoat window is generally within 48 hours.
Wipe the finished blank down with denatured alcohol after you get the dust off. I don’t have compressed air either, so I take my shop vac and switch the hose to the exhaust side, then put on the adapter for my planer that makes the hose a smaller diameter. Then I blow the blank off using that. Not as great and quick as compressed air, but with the adapter that exhaust has some force! Works really well for me. As an extra precaution, take a long piece of tape and run it tacky side down across the blank to get the last bit of dust.
You want to bake the board prior to sanding. Not necessary either, just an extra step you can use.
That’s plenty of resin… yes, 1cc of Add F per oz. of hardener, so you’re right on for lamming (double the Add F for hotcoating.)
You can flip and cut the lap as soon as you can handle the board. It may still be sticky to the touch, but it should be cured enough that the cloth won’t pull away from the foam. Cover your rack with waxed paper if you do flip when sticky.
You really only have to heat the resin only. It’s the thick component, and you only heat it to thin it out. You never have to heat the hardener…Why heat something that’s already a low viscosity?
However, I’ll sometimes mix it unheated, then (if it’s not TOO thick) I’ll fold back the cloth and paint the foam of my rails using a cheap 3 inch foam chip brush. You want it kind of thick, here, anyway. Once the rails are basted, fold back the cloth, heat the mixed resin SLIGHTLY, then pour it all out on the flats.
Use one bucket; hardener first, then resin; mix for two minutes, then pur it all out.
I pour it ALL out. I actually pour it out, then turn the bucket upsidedown on the stringer and let it sit there. You’ll get some resin back when you pull the flats off the rail… just scrape the spreader each time. You’ll have quite a bit go back into the bucket for dry spot touchups. If you’ve painted the rails already, you can spread the resin out over the flats, let it sit for a couple of minutes (no need to work the resin into the cloth… it does it by itself), then pull the resin and tuck the laps in one motion. By the time you’ve done the whole board once around, and all the laps are tucked, you can go back with the same foam brush and the lefover resin and hit the dry spots. You can use a normal natural bristle brush, but they’re too expensive for me.
You can sand as soon as it’s not sticky anymore. You don’t have to wait until the next day. It’s ready when it’s ready.
Yes, DNA wipe. And DO NOT use the same rag. Get a box of “shop rags” that look and feel like heavy duty paper towels. Use a clean one each time for DNA wipe. Save them for cleaning up tools, but don’t reuse them to do another wipe. All that does is transfer what you wiped off one side to the other side.
I’ll do a LIGHT sand with 80 grit with the foam side of my block, then DNA wipe before the hotcoat/cheater coat. So… do it as soon as you can sand (no longer sticky). I usually do it the next day, just 'cause it’s convenient.
Just lam it. No need to re-sand. The foam bonds well to the lam. It’s really the fisheye situation you need to avoid, which is epoxy-to-epoxy only, not foam-to-epoxy. I’ll brush the entire board with a clean 4 inch natural bristle brush to get the dust off, and I’ll do it in a breezy place to avoid the dust landing right back on it.
You can lam both sides in a day. You can hotcoat both sides in a day. Sand as soon as you can, before the resin gets rock hard. Cure in a room that’s warm for up to 6 weeks, or cure in a post cure oven, on a rocker table, per the manufacturer’s recommended cure temps and times. Don’t risk it in the car or attic. It’s so easy to make a complete freaking disaster of a board trying to “ballpark it.” Stick it under your bed and forget about it. You’ll be glad you did.
That’s plenty of resin… yes, 1cc of Add F per oz. of hardener, so you’re right on for lamming (double the Add F for hotcoating.)
You can flip and cut the lap as soon as you can handle the board. It may still be sticky to the touch, but it should be cured enough that the cloth won’t pull away from the foam. Cover your rack with waxed paper if you do flip when sticky.
You really only have to heat the resin only. It’s the thick component, and you only heat it to thin it out. You never have to heat the hardener…Why heat something that’s already a low viscosity?
However, I’ll sometimes mix it unheated, then (if it’s not TOO thick) I’ll fold back the cloth and paint the foam of my rails using a cheap 3 inch foam chip brush. You want it kind of thick, here, anyway. Once the rails are basted, fold back the cloth, heat the mixed resin SLIGHTLY, then pour it all out on the flats.
Use one bucket; hardener first, then resin; mix for two minutes, then pur it all out.
I pour it ALL out. I actually pour it out, then turn the bucket upsidedown on the stringer and let it sit there. You’ll get some resin back when you pull the flats off the rail… just scrape the spreader each time. You’ll have quite a bit go back into the bucket for dry spot touchups. If you’ve painted the rails already, you can spread the resin out over the flats, let it sit for a couple of minutes (no need to work the resin into the cloth… it does it by itself), then pull the resin and tuck the laps in one motion. By the time you’ve done the whole board once around, and all the laps are tucked, you can go back with the same foam brush and the lefover resin and hit the dry spots. You can use a normal natural bristle brush, but they’re too expensive for me.
You can sand as soon as it’s not sticky anymore. You don’t have to wait until the next day. It’s ready when it’s ready.
Yes, DNA wipe. And DO NOT use the same rag. Get a box of “shop rags” that look and feel like heavy duty paper towels. Use a clean one each time for DNA wipe. Save them for cleaning up tools, but don’t reuse them to do another wipe. All that does is transfer what you wiped off one side to the other side.
I’ll do a LIGHT sand with 80 grit with the foam side of my block, then DNA wipe before the hotcoat/cheater coat. So… do it as soon as you can sand (no longer sticky). I usually do it the next day, just 'cause it’s convenient.
Just lam it. No need to re-sand. The foam bonds well to the lam. It’s really the fisheye situation you need to avoid, which is epoxy-to-epoxy only, not foam-to-epoxy. I’ll brush the entire board with a clean 4 inch natural bristle brush to get the dust off, and I’ll do it in a breezy place to avoid the dust landing right back on it.
You can lam both sides in a day. You can hotcoat both sides in a day. Sand as soon as you can, before the resin gets rock hard. Cure in a room that’s warm for up to 6 weeks, or cure in a post cure oven, on a rocker table, per the manufacturer’s recommended cure temps and times. Don’t risk it in the car or attic. It’s so easy to make a complete freaking disaster of a board trying to “ballpark it.” Stick it under your bed and forget about it. You’ll be glad you did.
good advice from all who’ve chimed in… but there are lots of little epoxy tips & tricks and people pick up with time and experience… things that make the whole process go a lot easier and better. even after just one or two epoxy jobs, people figure these things out. i’m sure there’s someone in your area who has had a go with epoxy before… track one down… have him come out for a day of glassing… buy him beer. you’ll learn more about working with epoxy, you’ll learn it faster, and you’ll probably yield a better board, too.
