Epoxy Problem

[DISTELTK]

:sad:

I have some old epoxy I got when I built my BRS 15.  I got it from B&B.

My problem is:

I mixed a batch approx 1/2 of a 1 lb butter cup.  The A mix was solidified and I thawed (?) it by soaking the jug in a pail of hot water.  This took a few tries and I let it set several hours before using it.  The B mix was ok I think.

The project, to put a collar on the top sections of my masts and to build up a bushings to fit into the

aluminum mid section.  The mix in the pot  started to steam and gel before I was finished.  The mix in the pot got hot and set up hard.  The epoxy on the masts is still sticky after a day and 1/2.

What can I do to get it to set up.

Thanx  Tom D.

[Tom Lathrop]

As usual, you don't have an epoxy problem, you have a user problem.  No way to know for certain just what happened by anyone else.  If you mixed warm epoxy, it will surely set up very fast.  Why the topmast epoxy didn't set up is a guess but is probably the usual mix ratio or mixing problem.  Maybe it was the last bit and was scraped off the walls of the cup and that sometimes contains poorly mixed epoxy.

You can try just washing the top section to see if it is blush and not the epoxy base that is not set.  You can try some heat and that may do the job but I'm skeptical after this much time.

[PAR]

Ditto Tom's comments. We all learn these sort of things the hard way and unfortunately there's no real good answers.

Test the still sticky goo by using a twist drill, by hand and turning it into the goo. If it's as both Tom and I suspect, it's just not going to kick off and the drill bit will easily carve a nice deep spiral into the epoxy. You'll need to practice your epoxy clean up methods on it after you pull the bit out of the epoxy.

I'm not sure where you live DISTELTK, but if you've had reasonable temperatures, the epoxy should have cured. Since it hasn't, just bite the bullet and start removing it. Every last drop has to come off, then you can prep the surface (again) and try it one more time. I'll bet you don't soon make this mistake again after this. You''l mix well and measure as precisely as possible for quite some time, long after this event is just a memory. How do you think the rest of us learned . . .

[hokeyhydro]

Strange? Part A had gone solid? I've had the resin half of WEST acquire white flakes if left in the cold, freezing or near freezing, but the flakes go away when the epoxy gets back to room temp, but never had the resin thicken up or go solid, even stuff that was several years old.

Anyhoo, like Tom & PAR said, scrape it off, clean it up, and try again. Might want to mix a test batch to see if the mix behaves properly.

[DISTELTK]

Thanks for the advice.

I got the problem fixed.  It must have been some mix that was on the sides of the conatiner that I covered the areas with.  It only took a little cleaning and all is well. 

Thanx for the responcse

Tom D.