I decided to drop in a fin box anyway. I am using some kwik kick i got in the mail yesterday.But its taking for ever to cure
I cut the fin box out.
Mixed 3oz resin with 1.5 oz of KK hardner a drop of Additive F and a bit of black pigment. I used this to coat the inside of the hole and then i put in a piece of cloth and saturated it.
I then took the remaining mix and added in west marines silica till the mix was almost peanutbutter filled the hole and pushed in the fin box.
It gelled slowly and after 1.5 hoursI cut the tape line with a razor. this all took place btweeen 10-12pm. When i woke up at 430 this morning. It had hardend to toffee. It clicks if you tap your nails on it. but if i push hard, i could dent it with my nails. I dont ge thome tonight till 6pm and I hope it is fully cured.
Did I do something wrong. I double checked the measurements and am using a mixing cup that has gradations on it. I am assuming the silica or pigments slowed the reaction. Can you put too much pigment in? If it doesnt fully set, any ideas on how to remove it. Its stuck pretty damn good.
It should fully cure in time… You can very carefully warm the area with a hair dryer to finish the cure, but this needs caution…
There’s no need for silica or additives to thicken up to a “peanutbutter” consistency… This can cause hardening problems at times…Add another patch of fiberglass if the hole is sloppy…
Pigment used in structural fin box holes should be kept to a minimum as it can either rubberize or cause the epoxy to become overly brittle depending on the tint used… Clear un- pigmented epoxy is the strongest…
Finally… I’d spend the money and buy a digital kitchen scale and weigh the RR epoxy at it’s correct ratio of 100/45… This is important as far as I’m concerned, but others say not… Especially when mixing small quantities…
Adding pigments and fillers to epoxy will slow the cure time. This goes for poly resin too.
Adding pigments will make the epoxy flexible when cured.
It will eventually kick off if mixed properly. Small batches or epoxy are best mixed in small 6oz PPG cups. Get them at autobody shops. All my problems with epoxy has been mixing by weight. I thought mixing by digital scale was the way..but not for me. I like to do it by volume with the PPG cups.
if you were mixing small batches and not precise, you might not ever cure hard. Might just stay like taffy. Let it cure for a few days to a week, and see what happens.
Thank you for all the info you guys are incredibly helpfull. If it does keep a bit of flex to it is that a huge issue? If so how would i remove it? It did harder significantly over night, so hopefully by the time i get home today it is all good. I added black pigment since it is a black box, that is partially in my black logo, I wanted to make it look uniform.
The fail safe way to mix RR with pigment and filler is to mix the proper ratio of resin and hardener around 200 times, and then add the pigment and filler. If you add it all at once you risk the resin and hardener not reacting properly.
I'm Probably beatting this subject to death...err but, There is no real benefit from adding filler to the box or plug pour. Possibly to the disadvantage..adding too much filler will only keep the bubbles in place and make the epoxy like fluffy Milky Way bar filling. I do use a bit of West System 704 adhesive filler in plugs. But that is used in conjunction with fiberglass too. But only used on boards that I know are going to get the BIG pull on.
The best thing (I've found) is to do is lay some 6oz glass in the bottom of the box, and slightly up the sides. Then just pour epoxy resin, with or without pigment. I usually put a dap of white, or black. But it doesn't take much to opaque out a box fill.
And like g-ratster said mix it all up properly, then add the colorant in. You got to get the bubbles under control, or you will have an ugly leaky box.
I just looked at your board on the Grain site. For what it's worth now. On that board, with that tail you are going to want to place your fin so the trailing tip is exactly in line with the tail of the board, or maybe a 1/2 inch up from the tail. Meaning, you probably set the box too far forward. I can't tell exactly, but you should be setting that box at about 3-4 inches from the tail. Then depending on the fin rake you would set it from there. If it was super rockery and a High performance board, then you would move the box up.
No worries though, they make all sorts of fins with big rakes and what not.
The fin that came with the board is a 9 incher from fins unlimited. It has a lot of rake. The back of the box is 4.5 in from the tail. with the fin a f1-2 cm back from center the tip of the fin is even with the tail. So i installed the box based on the fin i had. I wanted to put the box farther back as to interfear less with the logo, but then the fin was over hanging the tail.
belay that... it is a 10 in future fins classic longboard fin. I also purchased a wood fin kit. Its a polycarbinate fin base that you build a wood fin around.
The first time I mixed in qcell / west system I was worried too!
I checked it like 10 hours later and it was still soft as you say. I asked my mate who fixes epoxy boards professionally and he said that it definitely retards the curing, just leave it overnight/24 hours and you’re fine.
As stated earlier, (but doesn’t hurt repeating ) if you mix the resin a and b parts thoroughly first then mix in other stuff and it should be fine.
Got home at 630 and it was rock hard. so it looks like it worked. I sanded it flush and there were a few bubbles. so i sanded it down a bit l and sanded the area around it. then shot another hot coat around the box. that should leave it damn near perfect.
I noticed the bubbles too. I’m thinking you can let the mix stand for a while and stir very gently every so often might give a better result, it’s not going off in a hurry
I use it mainly for ding filler and the few bubbles don’t worry me but for plugs and boxes I’ll wait a bit next time. Glad to hear it turned out ok
When you mix epoxy you want to fold it in, not whip it up. Also letting it sit in the cup will only speed up the therming process. Trust me it will go off like poly resin if left deep in a cup.
If you need to add filler just add enough for adhesion. But as mentioned before, you really dont need it, just lay down some glass in the bottom of the box. Also for what it's worth, score around and under the glass / foam lip of the box cut out to make sure you have a good thick transition of epoxy. This will ensure you have a water tight seal........But if you are all bubbly, then this can't be guaranteed.
Good runny epoxy will give you a bubble free pour. keep some ziplock bags with ice in them around to slow down the therming process if the board gets too hot. If things start to heat up too much, just lay the bag over the box.
Also eps/ epoxy boxes holes should be cut with closer tolerances than pu/pe holes. leaving too much space is a guarantee you will melt the EPS foam....then you go a whole nether set o dem problems.
) if you mix the resin a and b parts thoroughly first then mix in other stuff and it should be fine.