just glassed the bottom of my board. the resin was really thick. i didnt add anything to it..... should i have added styrene to thin it out?... and because of the resin being too thick when trying to drag it up and down the board, the cloth picked up in places. so should i try and thin it down for the deck or use it as is again?? i used 500ml of resin to start but didn't have enough to wet the laps, so had to make about another 250ml... i was glassing a 6'4" shortboard.
thanks
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it would have been about 6°C
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I had to do the math, but 44 degree F is too cold! Thirdshade gave you some good advice, go with it.
Did you go from the middle out? sringer to rail? The cloth will bunch up if you don’t…
If the resin was thick, it could be old. Was it greenish instead of blue? was it at all clumpy?
Yes, you can thin polyester resin with styrene. Just don’t go overboard.
i went from tail to nose to start, the i went from stringer to rail to get the cloth flatend
no, the resin is new. blue, no clumps.
how much styrene should i add?... should i add styrene for the deck even if i didnt do the bottom or just do it with out??
What temp were you glassing in? If it's cold the resin will be like molasses. You may want to warm up your work space.
it would have been about 6°C
Sounds like you were working with cold resin...I suffer the same fate in my workshop here in Cornwall through the winter. I usually stick the heater on a while before I laminate - usually while I cut the cloth which gives it time to get up to temp. I also pre warm the blank with a hot air gun to stop the resin hitting such a cold surface and cooling off too quick. In cold weather I also warm up the resin by placing my resin bucket in a large bucket of hot water...got to be real careful with this as you can get it too hot and it will gel off in no time at all drastically reducing the time you have. I usually drop the catalyst right down to combat this.
Cheers
Rich
Howzit nj, For years I glassed from the center to the rails then I watched a fellow glasser wetout the rails first then pour down the center and work out to the rails. I started doing my lams that way and never went back and did them this way for years. I will say I was leery about oing them like that but In the end it is a great way to laminate boards.Aloha .Kokua
Thanks, Kokua…
What’s the advantage? I’m an adequate glasser, no expert for sure, so I’m a bit gunshy to change my technique.
Howzit nj, One advantage is the glass won't move and if you are using catalyst and your batch starts to kick early the rails are already wet out. I am not trying to make anybody change the way they do things , just letting you know there are other ways to do it. I had probably glassed a few thousand boards before making the change, just shows you can teach an old dog new tricks. Aloha,Kokua