I Think I Messed Up...

Twitch8965 · Jan 15, 2009

I finished my pepakura MK IV helmet and i just resined it.
I added the hardener and mixed it and applied it to the outside with a sponge brush thing.

but now its been about 3 or 4 hours and nothing has hardened, not even the left over resin in my mixing container...

Anyone know what I did wrong and if i can fix it?
Or am I crazy and this is what is supposed to happen?

Ithica · Jan 15, 2009

Did you add the hardener? Prob not. I do not know what you can do to fix it. It just may take longer, I don't know.

You might be able to put another coat on with hardener and maybe just maybe it might mix or harden over the resin you have on now.

Ithica

Humungotron · Jan 15, 2009

whats the temp outside? is it cold? the colder it is, the longer it takes to set up. even when the temp is below 60-ish degrees, it can double the amount of time required.

Shade88 · Jan 15, 2009

How much hardener was applied?

Jessmo · Jan 15, 2009

If it doesn't harden up in the next couple of hours, you could have a problem of it being too cold outside, or not adding enough hardener to as much resin you used. To fix it, I would suggest mixing up a new batch and apply over top of the old resin. Just make sure you add enough hardener.

godsarmor · Jan 15, 2009

amount of hardener, and temp outside will greatly effect you're result temp will make it take up from 11 hours till 24 and not enough it may not harden or take a long time to set

remember 12 drops of hardener for every oz of resin

Twitch8965 · Jan 15, 2009

Thanks everybody.

I think its a combination of not enough hardener and the fact that its like 40 degress out.
Thanks again.

Privateer · Jan 15, 2009

Twitch said:
Thanks everybody.

I think its a combination of not enough hardener and the fact that its like 40 degress out.
Thanks again.

Set up some kind of heat source for it and hopefully you will see some hardning in a hour. If not you might have to sit on it for a couple of days and let it harden over time, if there is any hardner in the mix at all it will eventually cure though it will take a while.

Twitch8965 · Jan 15, 2009

Privateer said:
Set up some kind of heat source for it and hopefully you will see some hardning in a hour. If not you might have to sit on it for a couple of days and let it harden over time, if there is any hardner in the mix at all it will eventually cure though it will take a while.

yeah thats what im hoping. i was sitting in front of it for a little bit with a hairdryer and it seems to have gotten better. thanks for the idea, i think i have a heater around here too.

mchammertime · Jan 15, 2009

uggh, this happened to me when i was making my codpiece. I ended up having to toss it since it got all messed up.

hlomaster55 · Jan 15, 2009

Ya that happens. Altho it says roght on the back of the tin can on the directions that it as to be at least 45 in your workspace. I fixed this by coating it outside,and moving it inside while it dried. It will smell a little, but it will cure. Or if you do have a spare heater or heating lamp, those work too.

Hope it turns out good, post up some pics when your done.

BFDesigns · Jan 15, 2009

I do all my resining and bondo in my kitchen. I keep a ground fan turned on full blast facing out in the window. It takes all the fumes and gets rid of them fast while keeping enough of a temperature barrier up so that I don't freeze (as it's 16°F outside right now and all the fluids in my jeep are pretty much frozen).

A couple of things you can do:

1) drip hardener onto the surfaces of your part and rub it around with your fingers (use gloves!) this should take care of it.

2) set your oven to 110°F and place your part in for about 7 minutes, that oughtta bump it enough to start it curing properly.

3) build a Drybox for your garage and set your parts in there to cure from now on; a drybox will create a micro environment that sits at around 65°-70°F, enough for your parts to cure properly.

sirblood · Jan 15, 2009

I resined some pieces the day before yesterday. I did it in my garage, I had heaters on them until around 11pm (5 hours) the next morning they weren't dry yet, when I got home for lunch I put them in the basement, they smelled a little still, but by that evening they were dry and good to go. it was 35 degrees outside, but it dropped quickly to 5 degrees around 1 or 2 am. The garage was around 40-45 degrees

Hopefully that gives you a little to go on.

If its below 40 degrees you are suggested to DOUBLE the hardner for better results. I personally use cups that are 1/3 of a 29 oz bottle of resin ~10 oz, tonight I added about 2/3 of a tube of hardner. It took about 25-30 minutes for the resin in the container that I was using to get very thick... by morning I don't expect it to be totally dried yet either, but around noon I am puting them in my basement again. Today it was 7 degrees outside, but the garage was around 40 degrees.

Hope you find at least some of that helpful.

Privateer · Jan 16, 2009

yeah if they dont seem to be drying AT ALL I would try brushing on a thinned mix of resin / hardner very and go heavy on the hardner. But if they are starting to cure best bet is patience and let em go on thier own with a heat source resin will harden without any kind of hardner added if left out to the air long enuff ( like months ) but just wait it out before you get discouraged.

BFDesigns · Jan 16, 2009

An electric stove works too, set it to high and hold the pep part over it for like 30 sec. It will retain heat enough to set. Just be careful not to set your piece on fire. I actually did this about an hour and a half ago as there was some matting in my helm that would not seem to dry. Works perfectly!

Yttrium · Jan 16, 2009

In order to get resin to cure on these cold days (-15 F here in Indiana), I put my pieces in an closed closet in an empty room with a space heater while leaving the window to the room open. I let the space heater run for about 10 minutes and then shut it off while trying to minimize the amount of heat leaving the closet. When I come back about an hour later, the pieces are usually rock solid even though I'm using somewhat less hardener than the directions recommend.

Twitch8965 · Jan 16, 2009

hlomaster55 said:
Ya that happens. Altho it says roght on the back of the tin can on the directions that it as to be at least 45 in your workspace. I fixed this by coating it outside,and moving it inside while it dried. It will smell a little, but it will cure. Or if you do have a spare heater or heating lamp, those work too.

Hope it turns out good, post up some pics when your done.

Yeah, pics will be posted when it is finished.
I did manage to fix it, or at least it seems i did.
its supposed to take a very plasticy feel, right?
Like i laminated the helmet?

Twitch8965 · Jan 16, 2009

Yttrium said:
In order to get resin to cure on these cold days (-15 F here in Indiana), I put my pieces in an closed closet in an empty room with a space heater while leaving the window to the room open. I let the space heater run for about 10 minutes and then shut it off while trying to minimize the amount of heat leaving the closet. When I come back about an hour later, the pieces are usually rock solid even though I'm using somewhat less hardener than the directions recommend.

but wont the space heater light the thing on fire?
Like..isnt resin flamable?

Twitch8965 · Jan 16, 2009

Privateer said:
yeah if they dont seem to be drying AT ALL I would try brushing on a thinned mix of resin / hardner very and go heavy on the hardner. But if they are starting to cure best bet is patience and let em go on thier own with a heat source resin will harden without any kind of hardner added if left out to the air long enuff ( like months ) but just wait it out before you get discouraged.

Thanks, I actually ended up doing this and it seems to be working.
Is it still supposed to be flimsy like paper?
I only resined the outside, i have done nothing to the inside.

also, sorry for being such a pain with the questions...

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