Red Dye for MEKP ?or (Pink) white gelcoat

[tunnels]

I used to use red dye years ago to mix with mekp ! when using a chopper gun it was really good Instanly you know that there ws catalyst coming out of the gun and secondly when just saturating a cloth of any sort you couls tell how much resin you were putting on because of the shad of red (pink in most cases ) The dye changes as the resin hardens and takes on a slightly smokey brownish look . .
In Australia i came across colour change gelcoat as well that takes on a slight pink look when its sprayed with a internal or external gun and as it gels resorts back to the natural white .
So when you look at a sprayed job and its started to gel you can see instantly where its gelled (white )and where it hasnt (still pinkish) so no need to put your fingers in it !!.
Anyone ever used anything like these things before ??

[yipster]

Nop, did not use dye in my mek but souds good

[tunnels]

Originally Posted by yipster

Nop, did not use dye in my mek but souds good

Need to make sure you put the same amount in each new bottle to make sure its consistant in color density each time .

Works a treat for anyone using a chopper gun as a saturator gun to just wet out with .
Just have to make sure the operator is not color blind !!!

[ondarvr]

You can buy catalyst in clear, red, or vanishing red, plus you can buy the dye and add it yourself.

Color change gel coats can be made, and we sell some for testing how well the mix is on a piece of equipment. They aren't very popular products though.

Most resins change color on their own after being catalyzed and it has little to do with the catalyst itself changing color.

[Herman]

The company Syrgis (former Norac Andos) has these dyes, and add them to a couple of peroxides. Also, it is available seperately.

Indeed there is red, and fading red.

In the USA red seems to be popular. In EU it is not popular, although fading red is used more and more.

Our hand laminating peroxides normally do not have pigments, but the machine versions usually do, for the reasons tunnels explained.

[tunnels]

Originally Posted by Herman

The company Syrgis (former Norac Andos) has these dyes, and add them to a couple of peroxides. Also, it is available separately.

Indeed there is red, and fading red.

In the USA red seems to be popular. In EU it is not popular, although fading red is used more and more.

Our hand laminating peroxides normally do not have pigments, but the machine versions usually do, for the reasons tunnels explained.[/QUO
The fading red will be the one i have used before . Its realy up to the operator but just a quick referance to the fact the catalyst pump is working constantly and the shade dosent vary ever while spraying .
Its also good in countries where the resin could be any old thing and has no color code system and vertually no change in appearance during its going off hardening . .
Nz Marine resins are differant to anywhere else i have worked .
Goes through steps , blue to start ,then green when catalysed ,then yellow and semi clear and when gelled is a light smokey gray , so always you know how and at what step you are at in the process of resin going hard .
Its been developed over a lot of years ,very inovative and clever .

[Wynand N]

Originally Posted by tunnels

Nz Marine resins are differant to anywhere else i have worked .
Goes through steps , blue to start ,then green when catalysed ,then yellow and semi clear and when gelled is a light smokey gray , so always you know how and at what step you are at in the process of resin going hard .
Its been developed over a lot of years ,very inovative and clever .

I use Cray Valley resins (Harveys Fibreglass) and it also changes it color as described albeit in different shades to brownish when close gelling

[Herman]

tunnels is talking about a blue indicator, which can be added to the resin. Not all resins have it, as it leaves the resin brownish after cure.

Voor instance food silo manufacturers hate that. They use resins that keep their green colour, so it is easy to see the fill level of the silo. Also in many other projects it is unwanted. Comes in handy though, especially when workers are less skilled, and the workshop is less adapted to that.

Other solutions for constant resin quality:
-gear or piston pumps which dispense resin and peroxide. These are available from cheap(ish) manual operated, up to full automatic.
-flow indicators with alarm on spray and infusion equipment. In different levels of fool-proof-ness. Keep in mind a catalyst alarm can fail to work if the last valve is clogged, and the peroxide is forced back into the tank through the return line. we now usually install alarms on feed and return line.