This is my 1st time building a board - I started glassing and the “resin” part of the epoxy (not the hardener) is very think. I would say it is the consistency of slightly crystallized honey. It is to the point where it will not pump out of the container (I have to pour). I am glassing in my basement (winter time in PA, USA) which is probably around 55ish Fahrenheit. I am guessing for my next layer I should warm up the epoxy (I am thinking of putting the bottle down into warm water). What is the ideal temp for the epoxy when I apply it? Also - the epoxy cured nicely but is okay to let it cure at this temp? Thanks.
you could just micro wave the resin for 5-10 seconds. It shouldn’t be a problem if you don’t over heat it. If you are scared of it getting too hot … just heat it for 2-3 seconds at a time until it is viscous enough to work with
I try to aim for 70°F, use a spaceheater I borrow from a neighbor to heat my glassing area. my RR cures to touch in about 4 hours in these conditions. at 55°F its gonna take your epoxy quite a bit longer to cure even if you preheat it.
Thanks for the tips – I have been working on the board only the weekends – so I am okay with it if it takes awhile to cure – one weekend I lam it and then a week later I work on it again. The main reason I want to increase the temp is so the epoxy is workable. Thank you both!
im in Pa also doing it in my basement. i use a small space heater on high. while i go around making sure the glass and blank is ready the RR heats up and workablity is great. i also use the X55 accelerator to get the cure times back down.
Brings me back to the first time I ever built an epoxy. The resin wasn’t very good. Lot’s thicker than what our stuff is today. Anyway it was a cold day in winter and I went to pour the resin and it wouldn’t pour at all. I mean it was like it was gelled or something. Lots of years later it just seems normal to stick the stuff in a microwave for a few …
Try and bring the room temperature up if you can. The problem with sticking it in the microwave is that it cools back down fairly quickly if it’s cold enough.
Right … in the winter I do both
Thanks for all the tips. And a big shout out to all the Amish out there!
It may kick OK in colder temperatures than recommended but watch for blush. Above 65 is the recommended minimum and the resin should be allowed to cure for 24 hours at that temperature if I recall correctly.
using rr epoxy right now. Got it shipped from Pa to Ca. I had to do a warm water bath to make it workable. Was rock solid when it was shipped. About 120 degree water it softened up quick. Def suggest warming that room up before you work until well after you are done laminating. Good Luck!
http://www2.swaylocks.com/forums/first-epoxy-glass-job-s
Click on the link and read the thread two times. 55F is too cold for RR epoxy....
Snow,wind.rain,wet basement......Why????
Can't wait for summer? I'm sure the waves are go'n off at your local break....better get that board glassed right away!
Stingray...aka......
... Epoxy Surf Snob.......
I'm with Stingray. Your asking for trouble if your not laminating in 70+ degree weather. RR resin gets thick as pine tar when it's below 60 degrees. as mentioned put the resin side in the microwave until it becomes watery...it will take many small micro zaps to get that big chunk of resin butter melted. Don't mix it with the hardner side if it more than luke warm to touch. If you do it will therm faster than poly resin in the bucket. If you do..get it on the board fast..I mean really fast like within a minute or two.
Also make sure you blank is warmer than your glassing room, i.e., Heat the blank inside your house and then move it to the basement to glass.. If not and your blank is colder and becoming warmer when you glass, you can potentially have gassing issues with your blank (depending on the quality of EPS...I hear the NZ stuff gasses like yo grandpa).
your resin, additive f and even the accellerator (I think) will crystallize and thicken if it gets too cold.
I microwave my resin…say 12oz of resin (no hardener) gets about 10-15 seconds in the microwave; note, when you warm the resin like this it will reduce your pot and working time depending on how cold the hardener is that you mix in to it…sometimes this is a good thing.
for the additive F, I usually just do a warm water bath in a bucket or my utility sink and it goes from having a bunch of “gunk” floating on the top to being perfectly fluid so I can extract some out through a needleless syringe.
if you warm your shop for this type of work…be sure to turn the heat off prior to starting so that you are working in a room where the temperature is dropping. if you work in a space with rising temps, you can get all sorts of interesting outgassing which can cause pinholes or worse.
It should cure fine at 55F, mine always did.
But, I would pre-heat the resin in a warm water bath (immerse the resin container in hot tap water). The resin doesn’t mix well if it is too cold. It will flow a LOT better if pre-heated. I was always too nervous to use the microwave, but it probably works well too. The warm water bath can last a long time, and can be refreshed easily.
hth
Ha, this is hilarious. How many of PA shapers are there that are shaping in a freezing cold basement? If I didn’t know better someone was taking everything I’ve been talking about in the last two weeks and pretending to be me.
I live in PA also and found great results with RR epoxy when i heated the basement with a space heater, for a couple hours and made sure the resin was sitting in room temps for a week ahead of time.
Everything came out awesome.
Good luck and maybe we should get a PA shaping crew together.
I just gotta add, Stingray what’s your problem? Not all surfers live in lala land out west where everyone and there mother has a shaping bay in their backyard.
We make do with what we have and advice on a site like this should be productive.
I ended up going with the hot water bath -- it worked out nicely - the epoxy was so much easier to work with than the two times I worked with it before. I was able to saturate the cloth with a lot less resin because it was so much thinner and flowed nicely.
At this point I have the tail patch, deck patch, and bottom glassed. I have one more layer for the deck and I will be done glassing. I have a bottle of Additive F but forgot to use it for the other layers -- should I use it now for the deck layer and hot coat? Or just be consistent and not use it on the deck/hot coat?
**PA Shapers In The House**
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[quote="$1"]
I just gotta add, Stingray what's your problem? Not all surfers live in lala land out west where everyone and there mother has a shaping bay in their backyard.
We make do with what we have and advice on a site like this should be productive.
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You're welcome...Let me know if I can help any time...
Did you read the link?...
...Step by step...How to glass a board........yes ,,,,step by step......... how to glass a board....
I have a big problem......Don't glass with RR at 55F....No Rain , no snow. no wind...wait for summer....
Funny stuff Forthelove......LOVE...yeah right...
What was your question?
Ray
Oh wait...one more thing...
I love my wife and I want to stay married....we've been together for a long,long time...
If I walked into the house with a cup of resin an put it into the microwave.....
.......game over!!!
...Think about it..................