Oh yeah And when your done for the day and leave the shop ….. Put the cups outside away from flammable’s
Just a few drops, roughly a teas****ful to a quart. It will vary depending on temperature, how old the resin is, how fast you want it to kick, etc. just like bondo. Experiment with small amounts until you get the feel of it. Different batches of resin, and different hardeners will vary.
Just to be a **** I'll add that there is polyester resin which uses the liquid drops and then there is epoxy resin which uses a ratio of resin and hardener usually in the 70/30-50/50 range. You are probably using polyester resin which is pretty stinky so you'll know it when you smell it. Find the manufacturers website and find out how many drops to add depending on the temperature and humidity. Nitrile gloves are mandatory as you will eventually develop an allergy. Everybody does, it just depends on your tolerance. Also keep the place well ventillated or wear some lung protection. The fumes will make you fuzzy. Since you are new I would advise not making the resin too hot where it kicks off before you're done gl***ing. It'll harden eventually if you are a bit conservative with the hardener. Good luck, NAES
mixed some up way to strong in a coffee can one time -used it & it worked good- but when the leftover kicked off in the can it looked like a steam engine!!!!!!!!!
True about the epoxy but that stuff is like $100 a quart. Not much chance of buying it by mistake. Polyester is what everyone uses for fibergl***.
Ambient temp is the biggest problem. Most Polyester resin uses 11/2-2 percent hardner. Add more for cool temp and resin will not set (kick) below 60 degrees ***umptions: · Resin Weight: 9.5 lbs. per gallon · MEKP specific gravity: 1.1 · Catalyst quan***ies rounded to the closest convenient unit Polyester GP Resin is general purpose polyester resin. Contain wax. Amounts of MEKP to use denpens on your working time. You can slow it down for more work time, or speeded up for less work time. But cannot add below ½ % or exceed 2%. of MEKP. Must be mixed thoroughly for a minimum of 2 minutes. Work time is 15-25 minutes at approx 77 degrees Fahrenheit with 1 %. Complete cure 45 minutes to 3 hours. Do not use below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Can be brushed, rolled, or sprayed. Resin Consumption: 2 parts resin, 1 part gl***, by weight. Remove air with a Bubble Buster Roller. May recoat within 24 hours by sanding the surface. Is not UV stabilized and should be coated with a gel coat with wax . Resin may be thinned with styrene by adding no more than 10% by volume. A fillers ( Cab o sil or Qcell ) may be add to make putty. May add up to 4% pigment, by volume, for coloring. Clean up with acetone.
Start with 6 drops and adjust from there, depending if it hardens too fast or too slow for you. Before long you will get the feel for how much you need, same as bondo.
You need 0.09 to 0.12 oz of hardner for 6 oz resin . If you tell me how big your drops are , that is how many of your drops are in 1 oz I can tell you how many drops you need
I did a bit of 'gl*** work today. My can of resin said to use 14 drops per oz. Your mileage may vary!
Make sure you buy fresh materials. Some places rarely sell fibergl*** so it sits on the shelf too long.
3% hardener is the norm. Get it locally from a boat builder here. $50.00 gallon, and a quart of catalyst ($10) will last you forever. Just do a small test 1st, I like to add a few drops extra, to make sure it's hard before the morning. Also really wet out your matte, leaving no white area's (air). Oh, and acetone to clean up. Your cheap stiff brush will do a few rounds if you clean and brush out on the used hand cloth.
I found two gallons that had set waay back in the corner. Since 1989. Used it to make the molds for my Studebaker front clip. The stuff was super thick so I mixed it with same brand new stuff. Made great fender/hood molds
CAUTION! If you get MEKP in you're eyes, you will probably end up going blind from it. You have less that 10 seconds to wash it all out or it permeates the surface of the eye. Don't say I didn't warn ya... The mixture depends on ambient temperature but is usually about 1%± MEKP by weight at 74º F
The hardner I've been using lately says right on the back of the tube 14 drops to 1 oz resin. The bigger the hole you put in the tube the bigger the drops.Practice a few batches.you'll be alright..
follow directions and you will get the hang of ---try to mix the same size batch each time ,it makes it easier to figure out---good luck...
I have a fibergl*** expert friend who some times hooks me up with a little material. He made sure to make me understand that you don't want to get even a speck of the hardener in your eye. he has a friend who lost an eye to it. Very nasty around eyes.
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