If he had done what I had instructed to start, he would even be in this situation…Sting could have done it in,140 degree heat,with a set-off time of a minute,and never had the fear of meltdown.
I know I’ve done it for kicks …just to see what would happen.
ALWAYS !!! Keep a bucket of wet rags,and a fan around…(this includes polyester/pu)
Why…
Because it works !
ps…Ray,If you would like…I have a s—load of slow set epoxy for laminating woods(skater-stuff).Let me know if you would like some…got plenty…it’s a 1 to 1 ratio…hard to make a mistake…crystal clear and set off times in normal temps are like 30min.-hour…at 100 degrees like 15-20 min.
Ray, for a couple tips of a very practical nature…
The trash can behind your local Best Buy will have all kinds of chunks of very good density EPS from when they unpacked all those flatscreen TVs. Crisp, white, tiny cells, good compression… and usually in little square blocks which are - gasp! - just the right size for finbox inserts.
White opaque pigment works just fine in 5-minute epoxy from ACE Hardware.
White opaque pigment also works just fine in Elmer’s Ultimate PU glue.
With hints like these, I’m sure you can figure out the rest.
I’ve been using ice packs on the deck of the board and slow RR hardener in 2# EPS. It’s a bit of over kill but pretty much guaranteed to not have a melt out. In 70F will take like 12 hrs to fully harden. Well worth the time for peace of mind though.
Try the wet towels and fan(you can use ice water)…easier,stores better,and allows the resin to dry quicker.Plus you can switch out the wet towels as/if needed.
But…DON’T put the wet towels on liquid resin ! It has to be set first…not hard… but not liquid…it can be in a very fresh , in a rubbery state…just not liquid.
What does ice or water do?.. You may ask…answer: It doesnot allow the resin to get to critical mass temps abruptly,therefore no exotherm,smoking,cracking = meltdowns.
Can you guy’s recomend a name brand of this low temp slow set epoxy I can use for fcs. Hopefully something available here on the big island - ace or home depot’s all I got. Sure would be nice to pour and go - no babysitting. Mahalo’s
Also someone else said they use epoxy putty , with good success.
I’ve even used quick set 5200 Marine Adhesive in eps/epoxy boards …does it work…one of the boards I did like 2 years ago is near dead…but the boxes are still holding just fine.
Generally speaking if you use the new FCS box you won’t have a problem. Fin boxes have never been a problem for us. FCS plugs have. This is one reason FCS decided to make a box.
In the case above a couple things.
First the rout should be tight without a lot of slop. The slop requires more resin and builds more heat.
Just as in all things epoxy get the resin out of the bucket first thing. Letting heat build inside the bucket is a major cause of meltdown.
On very hot days keep the resin cool before you mix it. Resin that is 90 degrees when you mix it will exotherm much hotter than resin at 75 degrees.
We do have a slow hardener which doesn’t create the heat that fast does. Having said that, I’ve installed thousands of boxes with fast and have never had a problem. But I’ve always followed the rules above.
The two most critical things are (1) tight hole, and (2) mix and pour… don’t fuss about it. If you’re used to poly, you’re used to moving, so keep that mindset.
Also, you can use fillers and pigment to minimize exotherm. I use white (epoxy) pigment and hollow glass microspheres (also saves weight and makes sanding easier). I always have some on hand because I like to seal with it.
No extra glass necessary, but you can do two pours.
Wet rags on under the install is good enough for me, and I only EVER use fast hardener.
5200 might work ok with fcs plugs, but it is a no go with probox or other box systems. The last thing you want is the box or plug having flex in it. The box needs to be as rigid as possible. Let the fins do the flexing. I tried 5200 slow cure & 5200 fast cure with probox, all it does is crack the boxes and blow out on waves with more power.
I’ve had good luck with a bit of west system high density filler #404 (snow white color) mixed into the epoxy, also put a glass patch in the bottom and up the sides of the hole or box. Makes a nice bubble free install too.
1/4 Chunky peanut butter , 1/4 blue cheese dressing, and 1/2 Polyglycerine. Mix the three together and you’ll have a water tight strong install that you can munch.
I 've used it with Red-X boxes Primarily,and only in eps/epoxy boards.It doesn’t hold up in poly boards,but eps/epoxy flexes quite a bit and allows for some box flex.
I have also done a few fcs boxes in 5200…results?
None of the boards have come back yet…and it’s been over a year since I’ve seen any of them.
I’m sure if the installs failed they would be on my door step by the next day.
My b@#ch with 5200…even the quick set , is the slow set-off times…very,very slow to cure time as well.
I know what I did wrong and I know how to do a good install with ProBox. The main reason for the box failure was the fact that the Surfer’s Ass landed on the fin breaking out the box. The weak install by me did not help but the box would have failed anyway when the guy landed on it. This is the third fin box repair this year for the same guy. The other repairs are the glass over type of box…
Now, I’ve cut out this square of bad foam that I need to replace. Melted it down once and don’t want to melt it down again. Some say use polyurathane foam others suggest dumpster diving. I have both eps and poly foam. I’m going to think about it for a few days…
ProBox Larry called me today. He’s sending me a new replacement box for free. Thanks Larry!!!
…Looks like we will get some lessons/photos soon from ProBox on how they handle this type of repair…
As long as I have your attention…EPS foam takes on water much faster than poly. From a repair stand point what methods have you used to get rid of the water and dry out the foam.