Polyester resin drying?

Discussion in 'Materials' started by jawnn, Aug 17, 2015.

  1. jawnn
    Joined: Aug 2015
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    Location: Port Townsend

    jawnn jawnn

    I used some penetrating epoxy resin on my floor after removing old linoleum.

    Then a couple days later put some polyester resin on it to level out the rough spots. It hardened but is staying tacky.

    I do not know if the poly resin had wax in it. I was reading an old thread on this forum, and one person said: “To get rid of the tacky layer depending on size of project you can wipe down a small area with acetone and alot of paper towels. Using the acetone and the towels pick up the uncured resin not just smearing it around your project”

    Should I wait a few days more of heating as much as possible before trying this?
    The temps are dropping below 60f at night.
    I cannot use a heat gun due to lack of electricity.
     
  2. gonzo
    Joined: Aug 2002
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    gonzo Senior Member

    The amine in the epoxy is a cure inhibitor for polyester. It will never harden. You need to scrape and wipe it off with solvent.
     
  3. jawnn
    Joined: Aug 2015
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    jawnn jawnn

    can I put somehting over it? that is a major job to remove the resins...I will have to replace the ply wood that it is on.
     
  4. TeddyDiver
    Joined: Dec 2007
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    TeddyDiver Gollywobbler

    Pour concrete or do as Gonzo said..
     
  5. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Polyester over epoxy doesn't stick well and if you do have any amines, you're in a bad place. Even the tongue in cheek concrete remark will not work, as the poly isn't going to stick to either the poorly prepared epoxy or the concrete. Scrape off what you can, sand what you must, to get back down to a properly prepped surface. For what it's worth, the penetrating epoxy was a waste of time too, but many still swear by the use of this stuff, which the damned internet keeps perpetuating. Lastly, the solvents on a rag trick isn't going to do much except smear around a lot of uncured goo.

    When you do get back to a solid, uncontaminated surface, seal it with straight epoxy (no penetrating crap) and finish with more epoxy, before top coating or covering with finish of choice.
     
  6. Mr Efficiency
    Joined: Oct 2010
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    He said it has hardened, but with surface tack. I have no idea why he is using this stuff on flooring, but trying to remove it sounds like a mountain of a job. He could try brushing on a coat of PVA release agent to seal it from the air so it can cure tack-free, then mop it off next day, it is water soluble. If it fails after that, then too bad, and go back to the lino/vinyl. :D To hell with scraping it off.
     
  7. SamSam
    Joined: Feb 2005
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    SamSam Senior Member

    You should say what this is.. a house or a boat or a what. You should say what you want to do with it after dealing with the mess you have.

    Paper towels to wipe sticky resin off plywood....who was the person recommending that?

    Whatever this floor is for keep in mind that if you cannot seal off the works, you might have the odor of resin lingering around for a long time, maybe years.
     
  8. Mr Efficiency
    Joined: Oct 2010
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    Mr Efficiency Senior Member

    I think the idea with the paper towels was to remove the un-cured surface layer with acetone, and change the towels constantly so as not to just spread it somewhere else. Health hazard imo.
     
  9. CDK
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    CDK retired engineer

    I don't know where Port Townsend is, but I guess it's pretty cold there.
    When the resin has cured but is still sticky, time will solve your problem. Heat or sunlight (UV) can accelerate the process; maybe someone will lend you a propane heater.

    There are polyester resins you can touch a few hours after hardening, others stay tacky for days when the temp drops. It seems you picked the latter.
     
  10. ondarvr
    Joined: Dec 2005
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    ondarvr Senior Member

    If the polyester resin did get hard and only the surface is tacky, it may get better after a few days, it just depends on the exact resin you used. If it does stay tacky you will need to recoat it with waxed resin, if you don't it may stink for a while.

    If the polyester resin cured poorly due to contact with the epoxy, then you will most likely need to remove it because it may stay a stinky, sticky mess for a very long time.
     
  11. JR-Shine
    Joined: May 2004
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    JR-Shine SHINE

    polyester or gelcoat over epoxy (most epoxy) will remain a tack mess, has nothing to do with temperature. There are some epoxies that are compatible with polyester/gelcoat, and you can use them as a "tie coat" between the regular epoxy and the gelcoat. Even when using the tie coat epoxy you have to be careful not to sand through it before putting on the gelcoat, if you do there will be little fish eye tacky spots of uncured mess wherever you sand through the tie coat.

    Scrape/wipe best you can and move on - sorry :(
     
  12. jawnn
    Joined: Aug 2015
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    jawnn jawnn

    Varathane as a penetrating catalyst???

    :?:

    OK I had so much fun tearing out the old plywood in my land yacht, to find so much rust on the hull (sub floor) that anyone with money would scrap the whole project.

    So then I vacuumed up the powdered rust and killed the rest with phosphoric acid. Now I want to apply a layer of Varathane. But I am afraid to do it until the acid has dried a few days. I don't think I could remove much of it with Acitone, just to bumpy.

    Then I will lay down some strand board because ply wood is very expensive. but first I have to cut the wood to fit and varnish with thinned out Varathane.

    I will have to use a little liquid nails adhesive between the wood and the wood and the varnished metal. Then latex wood filler in the large seams.?

    I do have a bit of the polyester resin to remove from the wood and a spot on the metal from wich I removed a lot of rotten ply wood.

    And after I get he main corridor finished I have to do the area under my bed.
    I believe there is a lot of rotten ply wood there. So considering how much pain killers I have been taking to do all this bending a lifting, I would like to just do what the epoxy sealer label said to do. But with Varathane, thinned with low odor mineral sprites. [drill holes about an inch apart, and let the stuff sink in.]

    The think I need to ask is: will the Varathane dry evenly inside the rotten wood? or should I just rip out the rotten wood and kill the rust that I know is there.

    Well this project has become a night-mare. I am thinking I need to seal up some of the gaping holes in the metal floor with Bondo. Don't worry this is not a boat, it is an old bus.

    And now I am thinking about getting cement board for the top of it all. But it will be cold.
     
  13. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Why are you trying to reinvent well established techniques and processes? If you dilute a clear coating (assuming the Varahane), you do realize it's become much less effective than a straight out of the can coat, right? Do you dilute your beer too? Which Varathane product are you looking to use and why do you think it needs to be diluted?

    I'll assume by "strand board" you mean OSB or do you mean something else, like partical board? What is the APA stamp on this strand board, because not all have a WPB adhesive. I mention this because you could have issues (again) with less than acceptable materials and practices. Ever see a kitchen cabinet after a sink leaked? How the "strand board" hold up? This is the difference between appropriate products and techniques and guessing.
     
  14. jawnn
    Joined: Aug 2015
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    jawnn jawnn

    flexable resin for steel floor?

    well I can't drink beer any more after my heart attack a few years ago. and I will have to ceck the specs on the stran bourd.....the reason I wantedto dilute the varithane is simply penitration into rotten wood....didn't I say that abouve?

    So now I am thinking that the varathane may not be flexable to put on the steel subfloor....what do you think I should put on that, and not have to remove the acid?

    I do not know what established proceedures are....I am just too illiterate to be reading a book....maybe there is a webpage? but what do I look for?

    I don't know if epoxy would be flexable enouogh for the steel subfloor either.

    But at this point I do not want to waste any more money on over priced resins.




     

  15. kapnD
    Joined: Jan 2003
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    kapnD Senior Member

    Start with the metal, there are quite a few primers available that are specifically designed for use over rusty metals, the ospho is a good first step, probably worth repeating a couple more times.
    Why the fixation on varathane?
     
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