dmastachief
Jr Member
whats the coldest i can use my resin its about 50f to 60f is that to cold to resin stuff
Resin Temps
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ARMYofONE2469
Member
i resined my odst helmet at 51-55 and it did not dry and now my helmet is a pancake in my backyard!
dmastachief
Jr Member
ok thanks
ARMYofONE2469
Member
Harding29 said:
Mine wasn't
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if i remember right, it depends on the amount of hardener you add to the resin mixture, if it is cooler than 70 deg F, then add more hardener to your mixture. The reverse goes for when it is hotter or humid, reduce the amount of hardener you add to the resin mixture to achieve the desired cure time. I'm not sure on the exact amount of hardener per degree difference, you will have to do some experimenting there.
I’ve found that adding in more of the hardening liquid is an excellent way to counter the effects of the cold… but too much is a great way to promote cracking/instability in the mix… which is really evident if you don’t use weave/cloth.
The main issue I’ve found in the cold is air bubbles get into the mix… when it starts dipping down to freezing temps, dear god in heaven the chaos!
I’ve been working fiberglass in the Minnesota winter for a very long time now and I really wish that I had a concrete formula to say to go by, but really the flavor of the mix changes with the temp.
I do know that when it dips down to crazy cold temps, I like to put up a wind blocker, and I’ve also used jet (forced air) heaters, as well as WARM the resin!
one more time for those in the back room… WARM YOUR RESIN!
I’ve found that a el-cheapo candle warmer at Walmart makes a night/day difference when trying to work with cold weather resin.
If I’m in the cold wearing a bunny suit, I’ll separate out and pre-cut my sheets and shove them in the bunny suit to keep them warm. This will certainly ruin a bunny suit by boogering it up in resin.
The best way with the bunny suit is to work in quick layers, and you’ll tear thru some chem. gloves, so the el-cheapo ones are awesome for that.
Lastly… there are some up here who swear by West… but some swear at.
I like Bondo fiberglass resin. It’s cheap, works well… hell I even like the smell.
But West does make some claims, like it’s workable to 35°F.
I just didn’t like the stuff, but if you want to check it out, they have a site, and it can tell you where to buy. link!
It’s really 6 of one, half a dozen of another with resin.
The main issue I’ve found in the cold is air bubbles get into the mix… when it starts dipping down to freezing temps, dear god in heaven the chaos!
I’ve been working fiberglass in the Minnesota winter for a very long time now and I really wish that I had a concrete formula to say to go by, but really the flavor of the mix changes with the temp.
I do know that when it dips down to crazy cold temps, I like to put up a wind blocker, and I’ve also used jet (forced air) heaters, as well as WARM the resin!
one more time for those in the back room… WARM YOUR RESIN!
I’ve found that a el-cheapo candle warmer at Walmart makes a night/day difference when trying to work with cold weather resin.
If I’m in the cold wearing a bunny suit, I’ll separate out and pre-cut my sheets and shove them in the bunny suit to keep them warm. This will certainly ruin a bunny suit by boogering it up in resin.
The best way with the bunny suit is to work in quick layers, and you’ll tear thru some chem. gloves, so the el-cheapo ones are awesome for that.
Lastly… there are some up here who swear by West… but some swear at.
I like Bondo fiberglass resin. It’s cheap, works well… hell I even like the smell.
But West does make some claims, like it’s workable to 35°F.
I just didn’t like the stuff, but if you want to check it out, they have a site, and it can tell you where to buy. link!
It’s really 6 of one, half a dozen of another with resin.
if you really wanted a rough formula to go by, you can get one from the directions on the container of bondo resin.
It states that 12 drops hardener for every 1/4 ounce of resin at 75 deg F with no humidity = 1.5 hrs dry time.
if you feel like some algebra you could set your # of drops needed to equal x, then create an equation. 12x(number of drops) is equal to 75(temperature). which would look like this -> 12x=75.
divide 75 by 12, which gives you x = 6.25.
this means you need 1 drop of hardener for every 6.25 degrees Fahrenheit. this is for a mixture of a 1/4 ounce of resin with no humidity.
for the final equation, you would have ----> x=T/6.25 where x = number of drops and T = Temperature in Fahrenheit
if T is < 75, then final answer should be x + 12
if T is > 75, then the final answer should be 12 - y where y = x - 12
an example is for 50 degrees F.
You would take x = 50/6.25
You should receive an answer around x = 8
so you would add 8 to 12 because your temperature is less than 75
this means that your final mixture should consist of 1/4 ounce resin and 20 drops of hardener the result in a 1.5 hour cool time at 50 def F with no humidity.
If you decide to mix more resin, just increase the final answer to corespond with the increase of resin.
For Example:
instead of 1/4 ounce, you decide to mix 1/2 ounce.
Since 1/2 is twice of 1/4, just double the number of drops you need
This should work for any amount that is proportional to 1/4
Ex: double for 1/2 ounce
triple for 3/4 ounce
quadruple for 4/4 ounce( otherwise known as 1 ounce)
and so on
Also, remember this is a ROUGH formula for NO HUMIDITY, it might need to be fine tuned to your specific area and conditions. I was just trying to help you get in the general area for your mixing numbers
Sorry if this seems completely random. I was working on calculus for my college class and needed a break. Hope this helps with making your resin mixtures a little less painless.
P.S sorry if anything is hard to understand, let me know and i will try to simplify it.
It states that 12 drops hardener for every 1/4 ounce of resin at 75 deg F with no humidity = 1.5 hrs dry time.
if you feel like some algebra you could set your # of drops needed to equal x, then create an equation. 12x(number of drops) is equal to 75(temperature). which would look like this -> 12x=75.
divide 75 by 12, which gives you x = 6.25.
this means you need 1 drop of hardener for every 6.25 degrees Fahrenheit. this is for a mixture of a 1/4 ounce of resin with no humidity.
for the final equation, you would have ----> x=T/6.25 where x = number of drops and T = Temperature in Fahrenheit
if T is < 75, then final answer should be x + 12
if T is > 75, then the final answer should be 12 - y where y = x - 12
an example is for 50 degrees F.
You would take x = 50/6.25
You should receive an answer around x = 8
so you would add 8 to 12 because your temperature is less than 75
this means that your final mixture should consist of 1/4 ounce resin and 20 drops of hardener the result in a 1.5 hour cool time at 50 def F with no humidity.
If you decide to mix more resin, just increase the final answer to corespond with the increase of resin.
For Example:
instead of 1/4 ounce, you decide to mix 1/2 ounce.
Since 1/2 is twice of 1/4, just double the number of drops you need
This should work for any amount that is proportional to 1/4
Ex: double for 1/2 ounce
triple for 3/4 ounce
quadruple for 4/4 ounce( otherwise known as 1 ounce)
and so on
Also, remember this is a ROUGH formula for NO HUMIDITY, it might need to be fine tuned to your specific area and conditions. I was just trying to help you get in the general area for your mixing numbers
Sorry if this seems completely random. I was working on calculus for my college class and needed a break. Hope this helps with making your resin mixtures a little less painless.
P.S sorry if anything is hard to understand, let me know and i will try to simplify it.
dmastachief
Jr Member
well i just resin at like 430 and its almost dry now
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