Black Cloud Away?

RidgeRunner · #1 08-10-2014, 09:08 AM

Anyone know where to get some?

Tired of the black cloud following me around.

Attempted to glass a small area of the transom on the skiff. Don't you know the hardener had started to go bad.. The hardener I purchased last week mind you..
What I have done looks great and I put the time in. BUT Will it harden?? What a kick to the balls. I am about ready to throw in the towel.
Always test your $tuff first. After the job is thought to be done is no time to find out the hardener works but only at ten times the normal rate.. It will save you time and aggravation..

One area that has the largest buildup of glass seems to be hardening up. The outside sections are tacky still, and with this heat. I am screwed.
It shoulda went off by now.. 14 hours old.. I have the time, I will wait it out. If it never hardens it will be easy to tear out later... What will harden needs a chance to cure so the grinder won't gum up so bad..
I will come back in three days to see what the heck happened..

Time for a nap

spareparts · #2 08-10-2014, 09:16 AM

put a heat lamp on it

RidgeRunner · #3 08-10-2014, 01:09 PM

Did that my friend. Even tried a heat gun in a spot or two. I ended up adding nearly the entire 2 oz of MEK to 8 oz of resin to make it kick. I couldn't stand it. The area that was starting to set had squishy resin all underneath so I ripped it all off. Wiped down with Acetone and I am ready to go again. I hope that I don't wear out my welcome at the glass shop tomorrow morning.. I am stupid for not trying it first. I just got back from the getting place with more supplys if my heart was just in it..MEK three tubes from two sources says at least one of these are still good. Waiting on that magic temperature here now. No good glasswork can be accomplished without the 110 degree heat index.

RidgeRunner · #4 08-10-2014, 01:10 PM

I could not trust the repairs, even though they are cosmetic. I will get a picture up if I can find the camera..

spareparts · #5 08-10-2014, 02:50 PM

my father messed around with home built aircraft, he helped his brother start a project building an ultralight(never finished due to my uncles death from cancer). One thing I took note of, was everything they opened a new bottle of any type of adhesive or resin, they would make a test piece and check it to make sure it cured properly. No I don't do that as often as i should, but I usually start with a small repair or area before i jump into a larger area, just in case.

phatdaddy · #6 08-10-2014, 06:31 PM

had that happen a lot with poly on small patch jobs, i try to use epoxy whenever i can. pot life a lot more predictable in warm humid climates

RidgeRunner · #7 08-11-2014, 06:29 AM

No camera today. But I phone..
I hear you Phat. Although my experience with epoxy is limited I like the stuff and would use it when practical. This is a rolled gunnel boat with a splatter type gel coat finish on the topside. This transom is made of 3/4" plywood and they let the deck to hull seam as a but joint with minimal overlap. Consequently, it cracked at the seam. Looked like a very likely source for water intrusion to me, I was happy to be wrong again. LOL!
I need to be able to go back with gel coat. I have heard that amine blush can prevent gelcoat from working with the epoxy, again no real experience trying it personally, and I nearly stroked out buying materials as it is... I have not decided if I intend to match the gel or contrast with a tape line. Decisions, decisions.
The correct way to make the seam was to radius the trailing edge of the transom and wrap the fiberglass over the top of the plywood and down the transom a couple of inches. Fair it out and gel to suit. Builder was scared of the Gulfstream color gel on the hullside and did not want to have to buy more of it, or risk messing up his nice gelcoat job, can't blame him there. My way anyhow, might not be as pretty, but this ain't a pretty boat. For 18 years old this one is doing better than most..
I started glassing at 3:30 yesterday and finished about 7:00. Went with 2 layers of 6 oz tape, and a sacrificial layer of CSM for grinding and fairing on the outside sections. The inside got 4 layers of 6 oz in the corners and some 24 oz woven roven again with CSM as a sacrificial outer layer.

Glassing in temperatures from 96 right before the rains down to 75 as the rains moved through. Humidity 100%. The chart has a few cc's difference in hardener schedule in so many degrees difference. But I am so happy to report that it came out fine. Hardened like it should have with only about $100 worth of material wasted on the first try.

The cloud is moving off gentlemen.. About time too.. Hope it don't find you.

phatdaddy · #8 08-11-2014, 07:31 AM

glad it worked out, yea, the downside of epoxy is you have to paint to cover it. & the cost.

have you ever been to fiberglass technologies ( i think) over in the st pete, largo, clearwater area? i used to order stuff from them. decent prices, but very helpful with info & tips. i also used to use Maas epoxies and they had a helpline that was very good. i was doing small $50 - $100 projects and they would talk to me like i was building the ark.

spareparts · #9 08-11-2014, 07:54 AM

I had a repair similar to that on my proline, I taped off a 2 inch wide section all teh way around the transom cut out and rolled gel on that area, I left it in its textured finish. It looked pretty good when I was done and I didn't have to worry about matching the gel perfectly

RidgeRunner · #10 08-11-2014, 01:18 PM

I like that idea Spare. The topside is light gray. I could just go darker, say charcoal, like the stripes in the boat seats.

I have not had the heart to call Mini-Craft today. Does it really matter anyways?? I am over it, problem solved and I know I will need gel from them so thats when I shall play the card - discount baby..