PE Kicking question

General Discussion
1

So I layed up a fin panel yesterday. It has a small amount of pigment. In short, I was retarded and forgot to catalyze about 18 layers of cloth in the middle and didn't realize it until the top and bottom layers had kicked. I mixed all of my resin batches in the same cup, so I believe that the middle layers that were not catalyzed had about 3-4 drops of MEKP per half quart.

Question is, how long will this take to kick? Will it ever kick? I guesstimated the the catalyst to resin ration and its like .15%. Top and bottom are fully hardened so does the inside resin need to be exposed to air/sunlight to kick or will MEKP eventually set it off in the stupid little capsule that I just created?

Also, resin doesn't seem to be draining out of anywhere so the cloth should be 100% saturated if the panel ever kicks.

Thanks

 

2

Anyone? How long am I going to have to wait untill this guy can finally be foiled 

3

I’d say it might be a lost cause. Try putting it out in the sun for a day. You can try drilling a pinhole through it.

4

It is UV cure resin. I put it in the sun for a long time. I think that pigment is blocking UV from reaching deep into the cloth layers.

Will it just be a matter of time? a long time?

Does the styrene have to evaporate in order for it to cure fully? I ask this because it is not going to evaporate due to the cured resin capsule around it?

 Thanks for the response

5

eventualy it will kick

6

Hot coat it.

7

If you don't mind me asking, how eventually are we talking about? Year?Month? Week?

Again, thanks for the responses

8

If you have a long hot 80 deg, plus day that should kick if it’s UV. Try the pinhole at the edge of where you are in doubt.

9

It isn't an edge that I am in doubt with. The bottom 10 layers are solid as a rock. Middle 20 are wet, top ten are solid as a rock as well.

Where should I drill if this is the case?

Dean, What would a hotcoat do to help my problem?

Thanks

10

I would lay it out in the sun first and then drill. What have you got to lose? I don’t mean the edge of the fin blank, but the edge of where you thinks is in question. A 3/32 drill bit will leave a very small hole that can be handled and the matter it extracts will tell you if it is gummy or not. Lay out the fin on it with a sharpie and drill where the curve of the fin(s) miss.

11

how do you know the iner is still soft?

12

If you hold it up to bright light can you see any light through it?  You say you added some catalyst?    If so, I'd say it has a good chance of kicking.  Heat and light might help do the trick.  Put it in bright direct sunlight and lay it on aluminum foil. 

If it doesn't fully kick in a day or so, toss it and laminate a new panel. 

 

13

I know that it is not kicked because I plunged a router bit in a part of the panel that I was gonna toss later.

It is completely opaque. No sun is showing through, because it is a chocolate brown opaque.

Thanks for the imput guys

14

maybe you can split it and roll some mekp on the two halves and some resin , clamp

it back together and pray

15

Hey that is actually a really good idea. I'll probably wait a day or three and see if there is any improvment. if there isn't, that is a pretty clever plan B. Thanks

16

    Howzit astevens, I would put it in the sun every day and just not think about it, it should set up some day but it could be weeks or sooner or longer. I used to not catalyze resin that I used to seal oily wood so it wouldn't pull the oil to the surface and delam or cloud up. All you can do is wait and see but some day the styrene will evaporate and the resin will harden but since it is in the middle of a multi layered slab of fiberglass it could take quite a while. If you can pull it apart and add some catalyzed resin that might work but be careful not to let the sun get to it before you get it clamped back together but then again gluing 2 halves together may be a good fix. Now another thing you could do is if you can pull it apart you could just look at it as 2 half panels and start adding glass to each half till you have 2 full fin plates. Aloha,Kokua

17

If you’ve ever hot coated a board with poly but forgotten to put catalyst in, the trick is to re hot coat the board with new hot coat resin and MEKP. It works.

18

The simple fact that you layed up a fin panel tells me that you are totally insane. Welcome.....you crossed the line......it's a good thing.......

Forget about fin panels for a while...start a new project.....Park that fin pannel out in the side yard for a few weeks........Buy a cheap shortboard blank and work on foil and rocker ..........

 

Ray

19

Put the panel out in the sun ,covered in black plastic or something that can assist is rising the internal temp.It still may take a few days but assuming you did add catalyst it should harden up.Adding a pigment to resin always slows the gel/cure time at normal catalyst ratios.Always add more catalyst. Fin panels can be laid up easily in one hit.Most are only between 28-36 layers.

Hope this is helpfull'

Steve Rice

20

Microwave