Resin

[fox_racin4]

how do i mix the figerglass resin?

i tried some out yesterday and its not dry yet? i put 13 drops of hardner into a small amount ( not even 1/4 of the litle can) and its not dry i want to do it on my box but... not if it isnt gunna dry haha

unless i pour it all out and use all the hardner ahaha

i need me some helppp

[BigJohnny]

its supposed to be 1:1 is it not?

equal parts resin and hardener?!

[itssteve]

definitely not 1:1, and it also depends on the temp and the humidity out side and most of the time when you buy the resin it will tell you how much to use.

[bobonit]

you need to read the instructions on how much hardener to put in. I use polyester resin and for 8oz of resin, I need to use 80 drops of mekp which is the catalyst. It also depends on temperature. Read the sticky in the fiberglass section on this forum, it has a chart on how much mekp to use.

[eliassami5]

1:1...no

different resin's need different amounts of catalyst. The resin that Bondo makes requires 14 drops of hardener per 1 ounce of resin. Read the directions on the resin can and it will tell you how much hardener to use.

Oh and just out of curiosity...did you stir the resin thoroughly once you put in the hardener?

[Armoredhaulin]

I use 15-20cc's of mekp per quart of polyester resin. 15cc's on the warmer days & 20cc's on the cooler days.

Invest in a mekp measuring bottle. They are really cheap and make getting the proper mix ratio correct & it's a hell of a lot easier than trying to count out "drops" from those stupid tubes that come with the cans.

[keitare]

so if it is hot outside you use less hardner. I live in az and plan on glassing the seams with my box and it is starting to hit 100 out.

[Joeskey]

Dont use 1:1! it would heat up too fast and possibly crack also probably give u no play with the resin, i go with a 1:4, or pretty much just mess around with small portions for a while and see whats comfortable for u

[Armoredhaulin]

Well, yes & no...kind of depends on the application.

The hotter & more humid weather will make the resin set-up faster than in the cooler weather, it depends on how much work time you need to put down all the resin. If the area you are doing is on the small side, you could mix the resin "hot" with more mekp because you could probably put it all down before it starts to set-up. If the area your doing is quite large, you will probably want to mix it "cold" with less mekp to extend your work time before it sets.

For glassing the inside of an enclosure like your doing, it's less critical than if you were forming custom panels totally out of fiberglass like kick pods or glass sub enclosures. Mixing the resin to hot in those applications will cause the fiberglass the distort out of its intended shape.

More layers in seperate applications is better than trying to lay down it all at once. Meaning, if you were going to be laying down, say, 9 layers of fiberglass mat, it's better to do it 3 layers at a time instead of trying to wet out all 9 layers at once. This will keep the heat much more minimal than the resin it will take for all 9 at once.

If you mixed the resin close to the correct ratio it should harden regardless it will just take longer for the cure time. Resin does have a shelf life to it. If it is to old it may not harden or if it has been left in temps below freezing that will make it go bad also.

I doubt that will be an issue for you being in AZ...haha!

Hope that helps.

so if it is hot outside you use less hardner. I live in az and plan on glassing the seams with my box and it is starting to hit 100 out.

[Neo_frog]

My first few times I really went nuts and just mixed randomly. After much trial and error, I've found the best ratio for the stuff I use. I never measure anything, I just use the same tub over and over and I can just "see" my mixture.

Not the best way to do it, but my glass comes out stronger than shit now.

Don't do this ^