First epoxy glass job ?'s

General Discussion
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Ok, 32 years ago we began working on epoxy resins.  Some of the first tries were horrendous.  One early one had emissions that were so bad that after laminatng four sides we had to leave the room and as we looked back it looked like there was a fire in the room.  No kidding.  White smoke just pouring off the boards.  We were trying to find a formulation that would kick really fast like polyester.  Back then speed came with extreme toxicity. Another one, we were stiring the resin and it just locked up instantly.  You could see the wake the stir stick left behind.  Then the stir stick caught on fire.  It took a while but we finally figured out how to change our work patterns to use the slower resins.  Do more than one thing at a time.  Fin boxes in and laminate the bottom at once.  Leash plug and deck laminate at once. Instead of making the steps faster, make fewer steps. I still do it that way even with the faster formulations we have now.  But the early attemps did have their humorous moments.

 

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BTW, Additive F in the laminate eliminates bonding issues between layers.  It eliminates blush even in a low blush resin like ours.  The problem with bonding is that you can go for months and never see a problem.  Then suddenly a whole weeks worth of boards has rails peeling off.  Add F makes it work every time.  And yeah, I always buzz the laminte before the hot coat.  Just a quick buzz with 80 grit and flatten the laps and pop the bubbles.  Makes the hot coat perfect.

 

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Thanks for stopping by and giving your insight.  There is no better information than from the source.

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Cheers all, I feel a bit honoured geting advice form Gerg Loehr :slight_smile:  - looking forward to getting the hot coat on tomorrow, will keep you posted with the outcome.  BTW Add F has gone into both the lam coats so far.