Yet another U.V resin question...

General Discussion
1

And,yes I’ve archive searched…to no avail…

I’m a long time glasser but only recently switched to U.V.

With winter approaching down-under and,living on the edge of a big 'ol desert,nights can get down to below zero.

So viscosity can present a problem…to address this I’ve put together an e.p.s box with a low powered heating element

which maintains the resin at a workable consistancy and mekp ratio…easy!

My question is…will warming-up u.v activated resin encourage problems such as discolouration…?

Any other other pitfalls to be aware of…?

Advice greatly appreciated.

Sammy

2

My only question is why would you want to?

3

…now Im in a place with too much humidity and cold

so UV resin is the solution for all those situations

you can even do a gloss coat with low temp

4

G’day Sammy,

I just did a gloss coat this morning in UV @ 13 degrees C. No problem.

If it gets too cold in the glassing room I warm up the room with a little space heater with the resin already in the pot.

Doesn’t take long to get a 5m x 5m room up to 20 degrees.

The one thing I’d be worried about is the styrene vapours igniting in a closed environment.

Or maybe problems could occur if your board is at 5 degrees and you introduce resin at 25 degrees. I would think it would be better to have the resin and the board at roughly the same temp.

Daren

5

It’s quite simple really, Deanbo…

Cold temperatures = thick resin

e.g With an overnight temp. of zero or below in my shed the resin develops the thickness of tar…

To thin the resin to that of a workable viscosity , I warm it up.

Adding vast amounts of styrene is an option I prefer not to use.

I forgot to mention that it’s P/E resin to which I am refering to…

Hope that answers your only question.

Sammy

6

Thanks for taking the time to respond Daren.

I know how cold your Sth Coast nights can get…!

My glassing area is somewhat larger than yours…so harder to heat effectively.

But you’ve got me to thinking about sectioning off a seperate area more condusive to climate control…

Sammy

7

Biggest temperature change I’ve put UV curing poly through before using is about ten degrees celsius, and that’s warming up from about five degrees overnight to about fifteen on midday. Never seen any problems with discoloration but the change in temperature wasn’t very rapid or extreme. UV curing poly with filler seems to give me grief, so I MEKP it and then finish off with UV after it has well and truly kicked. I also add the “usual” amount of MEKP to UV poly for hot coats, and then let kick. That way there is a lot less chance of resin dripping off the board when I take it outside. I also add a little bit of MEKP regardless for the drips that get on the floor. The inside of my glassing area doesn’t get sunlight as you may have guessed.