I’ve decided to risk possible conflict with the neighbors and do my first glass job in some open space on the side of my apartment building. I’ll be glassing a board in the 5’0" range. My question is:
Being that there’s no covered/enclosed area that I can do this, how long will it take the board to stop smelling to the point where I can bring it into my apartment to let it finish curing?
Also may be important to add that this board will be glassed in temperatures of about 85-90 degrees.
I’ve been mulling over the same problem. I’ve been considering glassing a board on the roof of my apartment block. Today I went to a place that sells the resin. As I walked upto the shop I could smell the stuff from a distance of 5 metres. The guy who runs the place talked me out of doing it. According to him the smell can waft up to 300 metres and it’s not unheard of for neighbours to call the environmental patrol and that’s in Brasil. I wouls imagine that folk are even hotter on this type of thing in the states. Have you considered the epoxy option? I think I’m going to risk it at 5am one saturday while everyone is still sleeping off friday night.
I think I’m going to risk it at 5am one saturday while everyone is still sleeping off friday night.
Had the same plan here also.
I live in a low-income area of town and there’s alot of vacant lots next to Biscayne Bay, and some empty wastelands. I was thinking about maybe taking the board and doing the actual glassing over there.
I have very recent (yesterday) experience with this issue, glassing in a residential area. I went with UV cure with the hope that the the odor would be significantly less intense than catalyzed resin. While it was much less potent, the odor produced during the lamination in my garage was completely unacceptable in my opinion. When I took off my respirator opened the garage door and stepped outside to air it out the smell coming out was enough to knock you over.
Though, once the board sun cured, the smell disapated (sp?) rapidly, but 3-4 hours later it was still very noticeable in the garage, especially to the uninitiated (the warden, when she opened the door was not too pleased).
Today, the odor is 90% gone (well, to my dead sense of smell anyway); I may give another shot when I build a shed, but I will not finish laminating and hotcoating in my garage, near family & neighbors.
If you’re interested, I have a log of my recent progress here
Yeah, the UV will continue to fume in the garage until it kicks, it’s just like dumping a bucket of un-catalized resin. Some times I bring home some beach sand, sprinkle it all over the garage to pick up and wet spots, then sweep it up. Shouldn’t be an issue more than a day or two.
You can also make a sand pit when you glass, kind of like a big cat box, except the resin is the cat turds. Take a rake and sift the resin turds out. Take two 2x4x8 & 2x4x12 make a big cat box and fill it up with sand, the sand also doesn’t make any dust, or I should say it will keep the dust down if slightly wet.
-Jay
Not to dredge up old wounds, but you might consider using epoxy. If you went with the slow RR stuff you would probably be okay with the temp. Its so non smelly that Silly glasses in his spare room and I glass right next to the kitchen.
Howzit resinhead. Being one who has used UV resin for a few years now,I find it takes quite a few days for the excess floor resin to harden in an enclosed glassing area even if I open the doors. I have also found that when it comes time to get rid of the resin mound that there is still unkicked resin in the mound and when the mound is taken outside the unkicked resin oozes out of the layers and then kicks off but the mound must still have some unkicked resin inside it because as I break up the mound it has soft areas in it. Just some of my observations from working with UV resin.Aloha,Kokua
My trick that I have been using on board repairs in to let it cure as normal outside and then throw the board in my car once it is done being tacky. Then I leave it in the car while I am at work. The hot car gives it a nice post cure. The only problem is if you get a rainy day then you have to roll down the windows anyways on your way to work to get the fumes out. All windows must be down. A couple days in the car and it doesn’t smell at all inside.
I used to (before my current set up) just glass in my garage.
Lay down one of those cheap blue tarps, catches all the drips, no mess.
Drag the tarp outside (into the sun) when you’ve finished, and let the resin drips set on it, then use it again!
Open the doors to the garage, and because the source of smell is removed from there, the smell disappears quickly.
UV cure is the ONLY way to go, if it’s your first board or your 1000th board.
Better results, low VOC emissions, 5 mins cure in good sunlight, and your readyto glass again, sand, whatever.
I can finish a board in ONE DAY now! (if i’m keen!) Except for the fins/leash plug, cause UV doesn’t work with the white pigment.
Check out the claims that this UV additive manufacturer makes http://www.soltekonline.com.au/home.html
It’s the stuff I use - they claim way more strength, way less yellowing over time etc etc.
Except, I’m still an epoxy convert…
Kit
you are both practical candiadates for using epoxy resin
as it is virtually odourless
and no respirator is needed
just some disposable gloves
if you put down some old carpet you can do it on your porch or even in the house
no problems
and no respirator is needed
Are you sure about that? Just because it doesn’t smell bad doesn’t mean it’s not harmless.
The man in the resin shop over here told me a different story.
its important not to assume stuff in life
like if the guy at the counter in a shop actually knows what they are talking about
(either that or the epoxy he sells is absolute crap)
i would recomend you do a little research
i didnt say it was harmless!
i said you dont need a respirator
its also important to try an avoid using solvents like acetone for cleanup.
just use disposables
Hey Kokua,
Kind of like the nouget center in a in a Milky Way bar.
I got it so bad one time that the UV stuff seeped under the glassing stand, never did kick, until I dragged the stand outside and flipped it on it’s side.
Howzit KKSurf,I lay down clear plastic sheeting and also wrap it around the legs and base of the racks but I was doing a lot of boards and and the mound builds up fast and was not about to change the plastic after every board. Usually would let the remove the mound about every 6 months or so and I could just break the plastic off the racks and floor fairly easy. Done way over 1000 boards but always hated having unkicked resin on the floor and walking around in it. One trick if you can do a catalyzed hot coat after each lam job helps cure the resin under it but there is lots of times when I’m doing several lam jobs in a row which means lots of unkicked resin. I didn’t have to worry about odor complaints since the smell goes into a pasture behind the house.As for yellowing Fiberglass Hi uses an additive in UV resin that prevents it. Even opening the door still takes a few days for resin to kick because of the 7’ overhang that extends past the doors.Aloha,Kokua
Howzit resinhead, Yep pretty trippy how the resin oozes out, the first time I changed the mound we got a kick out of watching it happen.Aloha,Kokua
its important not to assume stuff in life
like if the guy at the counter in a shop actually knows what they are talking about
too true. too true. I kind of assumed he would know what he was talking about after being in the business for 38 years. I’ve seen lots of people working with epoxy without masks but I think I’m going to go with the mask just to be on the safe side. After all, with the mask on you’re a lot safer all round.
would recomend you do a little research
it’s true I didn’t research before posting… can you point me in the right direction, please.
I was glassing a board in my garage one time, I had a mask on and so did my son, well a salesman came up and asked if he could talk to me for a min. I told him I was very busy but he said it would not take long, so I told him to come on in and we could talk while I was working. He stepped right in and started his pitch, after about 2 min his eyes started watering and he could hardly stand it. He asked me if this stuff was harmful, and I said why do you think we both have mask on? Last time I saw that guy he was crying and tring to catch his breath.
Epoxy resin has a very low level of volatile organic compounds. VOCs
ie,poisonous fumes
some of the cheaper hardeners can be harmful if absorbed through the skin and can
cauze allergic reactions
some of the fast setting 5 min epoxies or 2 to 1 mixes seem to be stronger in odour
west systems which is a fairly standard 4 to 1 epoxy
is virtually odourless and no mask is needed when laminating
it wouldnt hurt to work in a ventilated space
and best to keep it off your skin
in saying that though
SOLVENTS used to thin epoxy or clean up like XYLENE or ACETONE are a different story
and i would recomend you wear a mask when dealing with these chemicals
theres a women i work with with whos been in the jewellery business for 20 years
and couldnt tell a cheap synthetic emerald from a real one!
and this was obvious
my cat would have known