I tried doing Transparent Wraps last night with YLI white silk 3/0 using LS Supreme. 1.5 resin, 1.5 hardener and 1.5 Denatured alcohol. I put the first coat on last night and i was expecting it to take a couple days to dry but came back this morning almost dry. It is not tacky but it is still soft. I was just wondering how long i should wait before i put another full strength coat on? If possible i was wanting to put on another coat later tonight.

The alcohol may have something to do with it - no epoxy formulator would advise you to add a solvent to an epoxy.

Generally, as soon as the epoxy is no longer tacky you can apply a 2nd application. These products cure by chemical reaction, not by the drying of a solvent. However, you've now added a solvent and if you trap it within the epoxy you may have problems. I think I'd wait another day before adding an additional application.

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Thanks Tom, makes sense.

I use alcohol to clean up stuff and I have a little bit left in a mixing cup. I toss that into my epoxy mixer to help thin it out so I can clean of my metal rod for mixing. I then pour the contents into another cup of "extra" epoxy that I have just sorta made my catchall cup. It's really quite flexible and soft for a long time, compared to the epoxy I left in another cup. After a few weeks, it actually got hard. Kinda looks cool in layers in the mixing cup. Someday, I'll have a big block of epoxy. Wonder if someone could carve that into something? )



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/28/2010 05:59PM by John Lubben.

My experience with FC is if you add Acetone, just to thin or break bubbles. Just using a couple of drops in a one Oz. mix well well retard the drying time by one day and it well not be fully curried for at least a week an a half. Also how hot was the room?

Good Wraps Bob

Matt,
Since you put in 1/3rd alcohol, I doubt that this finish will ever cure.
Alcohol does really not dry fast enough to escape being entrapped in the epoxy as it cures. Once the surface of the epoxy cures, the alcohol is trapped forever.

If you put another coat on top of the first soft finish, you are going to have a hard shell on a soft foundation. Notk a very good idea.

If you have to thin - not a good idea - use a fast evaporating solvent like acetone or Xylene.


Of the three solvents, i.e. Alcohol, Acetone, or Xylene; Xylene is the preferred dilluint (thinner) for epoxy. This material more closely matches the chemical makeup of the current rod finishes. Thus it has the best chance of mixing cleanly and thus thinning the mix.

However, the general recommended procedures for virtually any of the two part epoxy finishes is to NOT thin the mix with a solvent. If you do, you upset the chemical formulation, give rise to possible chemical entrapment and generally will give a cure that is not as hard and or as strong as one not mixed with added chemicals.

Take care
Roger

Thanks for the replies,

Bob the room is about 70 degrees.

Roger, i maybe should have been more clear on my post of the procedure. I thinned the finish to water thin just to coat the thread so they would become transparent. I went guide by guide applying the finish and after i was done and went back and took off all the finish that was sagging and i repeated this until no more finish finish was sagging. So in the end that amount of finish on the guides is just enough to penetrate the tread almost to the point where each strand of thread is visible.

I was following instructions made by someone else on another board so i thought it wouldnt be a problem. Hopefully i didnt screw things up but i guess there is only one way to find out.

The left over finish i had remained in the cup i used to mix and that became rubbery like John said but the drips i have on my work bench seemed to set up fine and also on my guide wraps.