Hi.
I did my first hot coat with RR epoxy last night. However I forgot to add the additive F to the pot.
How will this affect sanding down.
I also found the resin alot more viscous than poly and therefore harder to brush onto the board (temp here in ireland is aprox 65 F at the moment). iIs it possible to heat the resin prior to additing the hardner.
All in all the RR has gone well so far and lamination was no different from poly
Thanks
Brian
Somewhere in the Resources there’s this: http://www.swaylocks.com/resources/detail_page.cgi?ID=1029
"Additive F:
Greg Loehr – Wednesday, 19 February 2003, at 7:35 p.m.
First, as I’ve stated earlier Additive F is a miracle breakthrough in the production of epoxy surfboards. It does so many things it’s unbelievable.
In laminating, it helps wet the cloth eliminates most air bubbles, especially around wings and boxes, reduces the amount of resin needed, and most of all eliminates blush. Blush is what causes the banana peel effect you were referring to. In hot coats it eliminates blush, fish eyes, other surface blemishes and increases Barcol hardness. This increase in Barcol makes the board sand easy and improves the bond and strength between layers.
It also doesn’t interfere with recoating as wax solution in polyester does. That means no sanding between layers. One of the things I’ve tried to relay on this site is that epoxy boards have become easier to make (and safer as well) than polyester boards. Somehow I don’t think that has gotten through.
Additive F reduces resin use by about 20% in laminates.
How much?:
1cc per ounce of hardener = Laminations
2cc per ounce or hardener = Hot/Gloss Coats
Temperature:
Greg Loehr – Wednesday, 16 April 2003, at 5:35 p.m
Temperature:
Keeping a small room between 60º and 85º isn’t that difficult and gives consistent quality results.
The new fast hardener is fine above 50º. Additive F will solve many climate problems as well.
At less than 70º time is usually not an issue. Fast hardener has plenty of work time and you can still flip it in less than 5 hours. Slower curing agents like our slow or the surf source resin doesn’t allow you to flip in less than 12 hours, or even more, in cooler temps. Also when the resin doesn’t kick in a reasonable amount of time, bad things happen. Again Additive F eliminates these problems and a faster curing agent always gets better results in cool temps.
Keep Additive F warm to keep the solids in solution.
Greg Loehr – Monday, 17 March 2003, at 8:02 p.m. There are mixing buckets available that you can pour both sides into and not have to have a bunch of mixing cups around that are inaccurate. We work straight out of those cups. They usually last about two or three batches of boards before we throw them out. They cost about 50 cents a piece. Heating resin can cause problems and does make for inconsistent results. Hot resin will cool rather rapidly when poured onto a cold blank. It will also bring the temperature of the blank up which can cause outgassing. Heat curing done on an uncured lamination can also cause outgassing from the foam. My best suggestion is to work in an area that is between 60 and 85 degrees. The cure speed of epoxy today, at least our, is much improved with the addition of our new faster curing hardener. This is available now and at 75º you can flip it in 3 hours. The softening John mentioned is a problem with epoxies that have low heat deflection temperatures
Greg Loehr – Monday, 29 December 2003, at 12:16 p.m. This time of year warm the resin a bit to thin it out. Get it about 80º or so. I use a microwave for about 20-30 seconds."
you can give the resin a warm water bath or a very quick zap in the micro prior to mixing in the hardener.
and next time, don’t forget the “F”.
I just finished my first trial using RR and it is a beautiful thing. I experimented in many ways to get used to the product. Small batches large batches glassing 2 boards at a time ect.
You don’t need any fancy measuring devices I.E. digital scales all my mix’s were done with graduated buckets from Home depot and baby bottles which are great for small batches. Also you can use very small Dixie cups 3 Oz. for really small batches. Just take your tape measure. mark 1" and then another 1/2" very small 2 to 1 add your F if you like I did it both ways no problem but I suggest you stick to the rules, This is great for repairs or brushing small hot coats ect. very easy and works every time.
Anyway to your Question I think you will be fine if the resin is hard it will sand or not just add another coat.
Stick to every thing Greg has clearly laid out for everyone on Sway’s. This stuff is so easy to work with you use less material which means less mess almost nothing on the ground or you and no smell!!!
Oh" tried the microwave thing also I guess if your in freezing weather this might work for me 10 seconds and the batch was smoking!!! I mean 300 degrees and it melted the plastic graduated bucket!!!
But here is the funny thing, where I tried the experiment it did not melt the Eps I was working on. I was doing a laminate test with logo under cloth. I guess that maybe the logo lam defused the heat or something. Anyway fun experiment and the resin was hard as a rock in about 1 minute!!!
All in all stick to the prescribed directions 2 to 1 on your resin and hardener and 1cc of additive F per oz. for Lam and 2cc per oz. for hot coat and gloss.
Have fun
CG
I also found the resin alot more viscous than poly and therefore harder to brush onto the board (temp here in ireland is aprox 65 F at the moment). iIs it possible to heat the resin prior to additing the hardner.
I leave the resin container in a bucket filled with hot water to warm it up over 80F. It is VERY difficult to properly mix the resin and hardener if the resin is too cold. And this can have catastrophic effects on the lam.