Q Cell Questions

General Discussion
1

 

Ahoy Swaylockians,  So i’ve read about every thread there is about Q Cell.  But I still have a question.  When Resin mixed with Q Cell cures, should it cure super hard

or will it stay slightly pliable.  Lately every time I use the stuff it seems to prevent the resin from drying really hard.  It is still a little bit soft to the touch.  IS this ok?  Am i mixing too much Q Cell into my resin or possibly not adding enough catalyst to the mix?  Thanks for your help guys.  MAy the waves be up wherever you may be!

 

2

If you are using sanding resin then you should be able sand it nice and smooth.  It kind of sounds like you might have used laminating resin.  If you did use lam resin then do a hot coat over those spots with sanding resin, and you should be able to sand it all down.  You might have not be putting in enough catalyst as well.hope this helps

 

3

Mix your resin and hardener or cat before adding Qcell

4

Great thanks guys.  I will try those things.  

5

I have limited experience with epoxy resin, hardener and q-cel. Even less with PU and q-cel mixes.

But what I have found so far leads me to contradict mako224’s advice.

And I am aware that mako224 is totally in line with the advice given by manufacturers and other experienced users of these materials.

But I still think that the completely other way around works much better, if done the right way.

My suspicion is that most people are not experienced enough with mixing anything thoroughly, and therefore the problem gets worse if they use a method which is more susceptible to operator error. Thus, the manufacturers advise everyone to use the ‘dummy version’ for mixing catalysed resin with additives.

I think the completely opposite approach works best, but only if you are handy enough:

First, measure out the Q-cel into the mixing cup. Use a thin-and-tall sort of container, just big enough for the total amount of resin + Q-cel-mix needed.

Second, add the resin (without catalyst) slowly and gently onto the top of the Q-cel powder. Try to build a continuous liquid resin layer on top of the Q-cel powder. Once all of the resin has been added, and it hopefully floats on top of the Q-cel, start to gently stir the Q-cel into the resin. Try to keep as much liquid resin on top for as long as possible. The occasional puff of Q-cel dust might still occur, but generally there should be no dust floating away (into your lungs) while you are stirring.

Third, once you have stirred the resin into the Q-cel, you may take a break if you want, because you have completed the messy part of the mixing, and there is no time pressure. You can go for a surf and the resin mix will still be just fine. With some resins, you could wait days or even weeks before you proceed to the next step.

Fourth, mix in the catalyst (measured out in proportion to the resin without the Q-cel) when you are ready for using it. It is probably a bit harder to mix a thickened resin with the catalyst, but if you understand ‘scrape the walls and bottom of the container frequently’, then you will do very well.

My mixing method is this: ‘Scrape the sides of the container whenever you are not scraping the bottom of the container. For the rest of the time,  scrape the stirrer against the rim of the mixing container, then start scraping the sides again…’