Fiberglass Curing Question

[GeilheitHDDE08]

Hey again 405th. I have a good amount of work left to do before my big reveal to all of my nay-saying friends on Halloween. Im beginning to have problems with curing time though as it starts to cool down here in the midwest. Its taking a full 24 hours for my pieces to completely harden. Would it cause any harm for me to put a space heater, heat lamp, or other non-exposed-flame heating element over or near my curing pieces? (fiberglass or bondo) Thanks again for the help.

-Geilheit

 

[1shot1kill sku]

you can but may you be warned that even though it does not have an exposed or any flame it still can catch on fire. so it is highly recomended to not just a heater and just wait for a warm front or spring. yes its a long time but its better than needing a new house. or where ever you do you fiberglasing. i have used a heater befor and it still did not cure.

 

[Sgt Whoopass]

probably not the best idea. personally had a forearm catch fire and freak me the F*** out. in retrospect it WAS first time i got to use a fire extinguisher though so that was pretty cool. But i digress, still not the best idea, most i would go for would be a hair dryer at a safe distance….

 

[DAYWALK3R]

I agree space heaters are probably not the best idea, but have you tried simply adding a little extra hardening compound to your resin? Even cold 24 seems like a long time to cure. Also if you are having problems because of weather try this.

http://www.smooth-on.com/distributor.php

I know alot of the guys here use this stuff:
smooth-cast 321 (outside)
smooth-cast 320 (inside)

Several in the 405th reccomend it for members who arent old enough to buy resin themselves, or their parents wont let them use it in the house because of the smell. From what Ive gathered it reletively odorless (compared to fibreglass resin) and the fumes arent toxic, so using it indoors is okay. (most people Ive read about dont even open the window) Since its always proper working temp in your house this seems like a good alternative if the extra hardener doesnt work. (Just dont add too much hardener otherwise it will crack and split as it dries) But it takes a fair amount for that, youll know if its too much cause the resin will get REALLY hot. Hope this helps.

 

[GeilheitHDDE08]

Thanks for the answers. I cant wait til spring because I am impatient and I wantz my costume now so I guess I will have to try something. I hesitate to add more catalyst because I end up wasting resin but I guess I will give that a shot first. If that doesnt work, what if I just put the space heater in my garage with the stuff and just increased the overall air temperature? Does anyone know what the ignition point of resin is? Also, even after 24 hours, the bondo that I put on doesnt seem very hard. Does that stuff get as hard as the fiberglass or no?

 

[1shot1kill sku]

The bondo is the same as fiberglass it needs time to harden in the heat.

 

[Arioch]

I would just add a little more hardener to it. You wont be able to work with it as long, but it should cure faster. If the problem is that it just feels tacky, put baby powder on it and the tackiness wont be so bad.