epoxy curing time

looked couz i'm in a bit of shame, but amazingly cant find teh answer in a quik search
did a small epoxy job mixing glasbubbles microfibers matting and thought i did a quick good job like before
but ouside temp is still between 10 celcius and subzero or 50/30 farenheid and curing took/takes time
its getting harder but after 2 day's still making nailprints so now placed a hot bottle and sweater over it

perhaps a portable 12v feun and still hoping but allready asking: any advice?

 

It won't cure in a month if the temp is down near freezing. Sometimes a lightbulb and a "tent" made over the area will get the temp up enough to cure. A hairdryer or other heat gun will also work.

PS Be careful, don't burn down the barn!

 

thx john and paul

so.. with luck it'l be 15c/60f next week and do what is said in the pm below, something i was wondering about

wheather repport on tv now mentions 5c below zero tonight, i should have been more patient to start with

 

If at critical gell stage it was under 50 f, sometimes it may never cure, but heat going ASAP.

 

I agree...get a small heater and tent it with some plastic...get the temps up to around 70 deg f or more and cross your fingers.

 

Toss a tarp over it and place some incandescent bulbs or a space heater (no flame type) under it. It'll get warm enough to kick off your goo. Seal it to the floor with some 2x4's or bricks, so you can really get a good cook, if it's really cold.

 

It's amazing how well a couple of lamps work to warm an enclosed space.

 

Rule#1 with epoxys, if you can't keep temperature above 50 f for a 24 hour period don't mix it.
Good luck yip. Hope we don't have to answer the next question, how do I get this stick goo off. Give it 3days after you put heater before you panic.

 

temprature and humidity

Seem no one ever reads what get written !
Always in my posts where people are glassing theres are two important things that i always on about no mater what country or where you are , "temprature and humidity"
Have worked in Low temprature parts where every morning was minus 15 C and a couple of feet of snow and cold wind , the humidity was down to 6% or there abouts , BUT we worked inside a tent inside a factory ,At night the heater maintained 15c to 18C and during the working day we raised to 22C to 25 C this was 7 days a week !! working in South korea .

Other end of the scale was Tahiti !! Humidity never went below 95% and temprature in the winter was a low 25C to 32C !!,summer the humidity stayed 98% to 100% for weeks , but temp was about 42c most of the time . working inside a tent trying to maintain 72% humidity was almost impossible even with 3 dehumidifyers running 24 hours a day and automatic drainers on the units they barely kept up with the moisture coming from everywhere .

All Resins are very sceptable to cold and also to humidity so if you cant have or get 12c to 18C or above dont even open the container !! If the humidity is above 75% you asking for trouble with slow brews and undercured glass and resin . Oh yes there are exceptions to the rule but this is general rule of thumb . Build a tent and keep everything you using in there , specially your glass !! keep it dry !! keep your moulds warm and your resin warm and all other things you could be using . Resin goes off properly when it surposed to . it cures and goes hard properly and how its surposed to .
Aaaah peace of mind and a much better artical !!!!

 

Rule#2 don't let it catch on fire, don't let it get above 120f either.

 

it did freeze, didnt build a tent yet, its only a small job but outside and without heat, looked again and really, its still curing

 

with temperature up a bit my second battery box stand cured, took a while but hard as rock

 

Wrong epoxy, or anyway the hardener. West with standard hardener (the faster one) works from 5C and up..

 

WEST epoxy 105 with hardener 205 (the fastest) is what I use. WEST claims it should work from 5 C, but I'm too impatient and use tent + two electrical car heaters (2*2 kW) for a few hours to speed up curing. Unfortunately it's never hot enough during spring to make short curing time a problem.

I've never experienced that the epoxy doesn't cure eventually, but anyway I'm relieved every time it does. I've heard it can happen.

Erik

 

I did that once! In Alaska, the stuff finally solidified. But it remained sticky on the outside.
Advice to me was mix a new batch on a warm day, cover the sticky stuff with the new batch, thinly. The new Batch will cover your hangnail pretty well.