Kwik Kick (RR) – How to, Tricks and Tips (Especially in colder temps)

General Discussion
1

Hi all
There are already some posts about using kwik kick and problems. Nonetheless I wanted to get some advice and how to’s for using kwick kick, as I will be using it for the first time, also it will be my first glassing.

I got my kwik kick from this shop
and in there I somewhere read that one should do a recoat within 12-18h of time to connect the coats better.

However what I plan to do:

  1. Lam bottom of the board, let it sit for 24h at least
  2. Lam top, let it harden for another 24h at least
  3. Sand
  4. Hot coat bottom (sit for 24h)
  5. Hot coat top (sit for 24h)

Do you think I will run into problems with this? What about connection of layers? I never saw anything about having to do the hot coat within 12-18h, when watching all those epoxy glassing videos on youtube.

Also I am in Europe and it is winter right now and I want to use the Kwik Kick in colder temps (workshop is at 19° celsius = ~66°F).

  • How will that affect my lamination process? I assume I will have more time, right?
  • Will the curing just take longer but still work?
  • Should I microwave the resin a bit before mixing?

Also I am glad to hear general tips and tricks. There is another post, which gave me some hints about how to distribute the resin (not just pouring all into the middle).

Especially I would be interested in:

  • How long do you mix/stir, regarding that I don’t have much time anyway. Should I mix for 2-3 min?
  • For the hot coat I imagine it could be easier if the resin is flowing in a more fluid way. What could I do to get an evenly distributed hot coat?

Thanks a lot in advance.
Cheers

2

I use this resin, so I will tell you what I do. I’m not a professional and I’m not even gonna say this is what you SHOULD do, only saying this is what I do, regardless of how my reply is worded.

First of all, I have never worried about the time between coats. Yes if you follow up quickly of course thats good. But if the surface is clean and sanded (not glossy), then bonding has never been an issue for me.

If you want to sand between coats before the resin is completely cured, be aware to use safety precautions as uncured epoxy has greater health risks than cured epoxy. Just sayin. Either way try to keep it off your skin and out of your lungs,

Wear gloves while glassing, and an apron over your clothes. I always clean up good immediately after with white vinegar, and shower or bathe asap, and put your clothes in the laundry, don’t keep wearing them all day. I try to wet sand as much as possible, if you can get wet/dry sandpaper in the coarser grits, to minimize dust.

Warm it up by putting your resin cup in warm/hot water for a few minutes before adding hardener. The hardener doesn’t tend to thicken as much as the resin. I add surfacing agent for every coat except the lamination coat.

I stir a good 100 laps, steady but not fast, make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the cup as you stir.

You want the glassing room as warm as possible on a cold day, or if its cold but sunny and not windy, setting in direct sunlight will draw warmth to the surface. Glassing with epoxy in a cold shop is not recommended, you can invite big headaches if you do. Epoxy needs warmth for the process to be as trouble free as possible.

Fish eyes can be a problem with epoxy, especially in colder climates. You can minimize the risk by mixing a small cup of resin, and squeegee as absolutely thin a coat as possible. When it starts to kick, then apply your regular coat. When you lam keep the glass tight, and use just enough resin to wet out the cloth. If you work clean, you can often apply the fill coat to fill the weave when the lam coat kicks (gels).

I use a foam weenie roller for every coat but the lam. And I have used it for the lam coat too, but not in cold weather. Use a squeegee for the lam coat in cold weather.

Quick kick resin can go off quickly, even in colder weather, its not always predictable, so always work quickly & efficiently, have everything on hand before you start, and a helper if one is available. And always as you work be expecting the quick kick, just in case.

Hope this helps.

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3

I’ve had problems using this resin but I laminate in the garage and have done so as cool as 45deg F (not recommended). The only other thing I would add to the great reply already present is you may want to keep an egg-timer or cell phone timer with a little additional “buffer” (extra 3mins shy of the expected kick time?) that way you know when you have to panic/hustle. I think I’ve seen tables with the gel time [ https://fiberglasssupply.com/epoxy-geltime-calculator/ ] but definitely responsive to ambient temps and Kwik Kick in my limited experience was harder to control and had more little dimple spots presumably to poor control of dust contamination. Since using Kwik Kick I now use a bucket of warm water and sit the resin tub in there while measuring out the hardener which seems to control viscosity and gel time more consistently. I’ve seen other folks on YouTube videos use coolers or similar containers and place heaters in there to warm the resin up prior to application - probably a better solution.

4

I use RR Kwik Kick only for hotcoating i feel like i wont be able to pull a good lamination in the short timespan as i’m a novice, i use the RR 2000 or smth and once i got so carried away in airpockets that it almost gelled on my rails, since then i always get the room as hot as possible or at least 20+ degrees celsius and then turn the heater off until i’ve laminated, that also creates a suction effect on the EPS so in theory less air bubbles.
What I do now is i have separate cups ready not mixed, for let’s say the general area on the deck and then i mix more for the rails, it gives me more time to pull the lap.
When i start laminating i really dont like to sand inbetween so i manage to do everything in one day except the bottom fill coat,
i start with bottom lam, deck lam and deck fill coat in the span of 12 hours, i’ve had delams before and i would not like to have them again.
Never touch the laminated board with anything else than glove, i even stopped using acetone, just sand it blow it glass it/fill it.
Use additive F.
Mind what tape and cover paper you use for cutlaps, as some can leave residue or the paper can soak and get glued to the foam/lap.
Progress not perfection is my motto!
Good luck!

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