surfacing agent

Hey, this is first post so please realize I may not be used to the forum format.

I have one question. I am experienced with resin, accelerators, MEK and styrene use. Here in Thailand we get raw resin without any formulation so I have to add styrene monomer, cobalt accelerant and of course MEK.

Not having a wax based resin or gel coat available here has been a major problem for years. I want to add paraffin wax to styrene monomer and then add this surfacing agent to homemade polyester resin as a surface barrier to cure well.

I see you call this a surface coat and there were many posts already on this subject but I found them confusing mixing liters with grams. I will make my question precise so it is easier for someone to answer and to not start a confusing thread.

According to previous posts, I want to warm the styrene in a pan of warm water, off the stove and set aside and not too hot to avoid flashing. I realize the danger and have a thermometer to monitor the heat. Paraffin melts at 85 F and styrene flashes at 115 F. I plan to grate the paraffin wax into the styrene and dissolve it. After it has cooled to ambient temperature, I will add the paraffin styrene mix into the home made pigmented filler topcoat. I am wondering if I should lessen the original amount of styrene in the gellcoat, because I will add the paraffin/styrene. I am thinking that may be too much styrene as a thinner, perhaps a thinner result is ok, not sure.

My question is using a scale to weigh the paraffin and styrene what is the percentage mix and how much of this mixture should I add to the polyester resin.

Threads about this varied in amounts and measuring methods, this is why I picked weight as the measuring standard.

Thanks so much!

 

Though I have heard of it being done, I have never made my owm Surfacing agent.

I buy it pre-made.

Fool proof.(well, kinda).

If finely grated the paraffin will dissolve in styrene at a temp of 65° or more.  No need to heat styrene on the stove. Mix at a ratio of 5%. Can be added to a resin that already contains the proper ratio of styrene without the fear of over thinning.

 

What phebus said. Paraffin dissolves in styrene at room temp. Don’t need to be playing around with a fire hazard.

On another note, I just want to make sure you mean MEKP - not MEK.  They are very different substances.  The catalyst for your resin is methyl ethyl ketone peroxide.  The “peroxide” is the most important part of the name if you want it to work.

Kind regards.

Oh yeam MEKP I allways leave the P off, lots of letters allready

I will try this now thanks to all!

Cheers!