hi. Is it possible that the heating process prior to mix the two components of flex coat high build, or after it is applied on rod , can create surface bubbles on finish? Thanks
Paolo Cevenini

If you overheat it on the rod you will get a burst of micro bubbles. If you use heat be very careful of getting your epoxy too hot. I can cause more problems than you are trying to cure.

Why do you want to heat the finish prior to mixing? Are you storing it in the refrigerator or in a very cold place?


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I heat it prior to mix, because I live in a cold country and the two components are very thick: I have applicate the flex coat instructions....

Getting either component part extremely warm or hot, can cause problems. It will shorten your pot life for one thing. Ideally, you just want both parts at room temperature - or slightly above if you find it easier to work with that way. But I'd never want my epoxy heated above something like 90 degrees, and that would be pushing it.

I don't think such a thing would causes bubbles, although it is possible to boil epoxy which will create thousands of micro bubbles. But you'd have to go way past the temperature mentioned to do that. Upwards of 160 degrees, which you generally would not do unless you take a propane torch to it.

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Thanks a lot.

Be careful if you heat thread epoxy after mixing. I tried microwaving mixed epoxy for around five seconds and set off a chain reaction that led to increasingly hotter epoxy. By the time I made it from the kitchen down to my shop the plastic mixing cup was melting in my hands! I guess there is a first and last time for everything......

Regarding warming before mixing (my parts are stored in a cool, dark place) I find that warming more than by just placing the containers in my pocket, or rolling the containers in my hands to warm while setting up to apply, leads to shortened pot life.

Jeff

I never heat before mixing.

I tried that once and the epoxy never cured, I know it sounds strange.....but it happened. I still have the same bottles of finish and they cure perfectly WITHOUT any heat. I don't know what the microwave heating done, but it sure didn't work well for me.

I mix them at room temp and roll with it 100% of the time. I'm in VA by the way, so I guess climate may matter?

DR

Climate shouldn't matter if you're working inside. I would assume that homes in Canada will be about the same temperature indoors as homes in Texas. Well, if they're heated and cooled, that is.

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Try letting the bottles sit in warm tap water for five minutes or so.

What is the room temp inside your home? Not your workshop, but you home.

It could be as easy as storing your finishes in the house and not the workshop. As long as they are a reasonable room temperature there shouldn't be a problem.

Jay

I microwave the resin (part A) of ThreadMaster and LS Supreme Hi-Build for 10 seconds with the lid off - to aid in drawing it into a syringe for accurate measuring. It's then squirted into a mixing cup where it sits and cools for several minutes 'til I get ready to add the hardener (part B). An epoxy mixer is used as well as a spatula. I don't think you'd want to heat the hardener, at least I wouldn't do it.

Stan



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/07/2006 08:13PM by Stan Gregory.

Tom Kirkman Wrote:
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> Climate shouldn't matter if you're working inside.
> I would assume that homes in Canada will be about
> the same temperature indoors as homes in Texas.
> Well, if they're heated and cooled, that is.
>
> .........

Tom
I live in the land North of 60 & trying to keep my place warm with out spending all my money on fuel is a real challenge.
There fore my place is constantly frosty :) My shop in the addition is unheated & @ -40 impossible to work in. I end up having to work near the wood stove in the living room. I'm moving next month so hopefully the new place will be a little warmer.


Regards
Dave

Fishing is Life the rest is just Details

i put them in my pocket for a couple mins to warm them a little and it makes it easier to push my loaded syringes for accurate measuring....it doesnt really matter for me if the pot life shortens because i usually only do 1 rod at a time and it only takes a couple of mins to get the epoxy on

hah come to south florida! its 85 during the day and its winter! haha send some of that cold down here ;)

For those of you that don't live in the frozen tundra of the north. Keeping a house at +70 degrees in the dead of winter is a pricey proposition. Dropping the interior temp 5 degrees saves you roughly 25%(which can mean upto $500 or even more per year depending on insulation and sq. footage of the house) on your fuel bill. So....room temperature in my house in the winter months is around 65 degrees F. epoxy just doesn't flow too well at that temp is gets more like paste than liquid, so adding a little and I mean a little heat makes things work more like they would at 75 degrees like you southern folks see all the time. I hold my bottles for a couple minutes under hot water prior to mixing to get things to mix a bit better and once on the rod I usually use a bit of heat to make things flow out better.

In the middle of summer when it is 75 degrees or better in the house, I don't add any heat and things work out fine.

Hey Jon, were in Florida are you from. I don't want to hijack the thread but I wanted to ask about local supplies but your e-mail is hidden. I used to have local guys who used to stock nice stuff but there all gone now, just wondering if you knew anybody near by?

Not sure where you are located, but unless they have closed, there is Biscayne Rods in Hialeah and I forget the name, but a bait and tackle on the north side of griffin road about halfway between SR 7 (441) and I-95.