ok sorry for sending messages so much…but its nice to talk with people who comprehend what im saying…well anyway i guess its atmospheric pressure to blame but i have 1 of those bottles for measuring mekp. and day by day it keeps dispensing on its own… so again tonight i went to pour it back in the bottle.and i looked at my jar of wax and styrene mix, when i bought it it was liquid now its solid, but the temp now is 48.f . but i guess wax can only stay liquid untill a certain temp. im basically wondering if this is gonna hurt it’s properties , cause i know ive heard its not a good idea to store resin in cold or hot temps fo long. ahhhhhhhh. itll be ok. screw it…i hete messing with mekp more than i have to but i decided to move it inside along with the wax and im shure once the air in the bottle wams up itll push the mekp out again. ok that all for now.
Bob, Both Methyl-ethyl-ketone-peroxide and styrene are relativly light organic solvents, with that in mind they have very high vapor pressures and\or partition co-efficients…thsi means they like to evaporate!!! Your MEKP bottle likes to barf out your catalyst due to pressue in the vessel, not the outside air…even at low tempratures…best to keep out of light and heat source (next to the water heater is not a good place). Your wax is probably lost some of its styrene and hence has hardened up…warm it up a bit and see if you get a melt, if not, just add some styrene.
pressure problem easy to fix… just unscrew the bottle a little bit when not in use… but evaporation may become more of a problem this way…
what the hell is styrene anyway.? ive heard i can get it at a hardware store but this was lowes nothing but pretty girls running registers old ladys wandreing around , and the guys dont know what the hells going on either. i can buy more styrene wax mix(probally easier than making myself). but i never opened the jar and its been outside out of the cold. i brought it inside a few hours ago and it still looks like wax , and when i got it ,it was liquid.
ops i meant to say it has been outside in the cold.
Bob, The wax solution has to be around 70 degrees F to melt back together. I have that problem all the time. I pour some wax solution in a plastic bottle, when it is warm…through a paint strainer! I keep this bottle, tightly capped of course on my work bench. when I am ready to use I warm the resin in a similar bottle by my CERAMIC heater. When both are about 72 - 75 degrees they are ready to use. It is important that the foam be at this temp also. Always glass in decreasing temps to minimize gassing from the blank. If you pour your warm SA (wax solution) into cold resin the wax will precipitate back out! Do not use resin with wax flakes visible, they will leave holes through to the lam once it kicks and you start sanding. Glassing and keeping chemicals in the cold is tricky. MEKP bodi bottle should be loosened when not in use. Temp change makes it pressure up and self dispense. I keep a little plastic bottle to pour that in also. when it gets full I pour it back into dispenser. It WILL completely overflow if you don’t watch it! MEKP is probably the #1 most hazardous chemical we use. Treat it with the respect it deserves. ALWAYS…ALWAYS wear gloves when handling. Krokus
doesnt your MEKP bottle have the little pop-off cap? mines always capped, no issues. http://www.surfboardglassing.com
Howzit Bob, Styrene is resin thinner and it’s very toxic and can cause cancer. Probably one of if not the most toxic chemical used in surfboard building, use gloves when handling. Aloha, Kokua
yeah yeah ok now its under control. but my wax mix is still solid but its chilly in here …the styrene shouldnt not have evaporrated or anything like that should it? oh i hope not.
Howzit Bob, went on a 2 month vacation and when I returned my can of styrene had turned solid, so yes it will evaporate on you. Aloha, Kokua