So I am working to seal off my lazaret and fix a couple of holes in the forward wall. I have used laminating resin at one point and when I came back to it after 24hrs, it was not tacky as expected. So I sanded it, which did not gum up the paper so it must have fully cured hard. This evening I am tabbing in the forward wall because there were some holes in the seam. I used structural repair putty for the fillet. Allowed to dry and sanded in a smooth radius. I applied the finish resin, mixed a batch of 5oz of resin to 2cc of MEKP at a time. Its been 4 hrs now and this resin is still super tacky. Im in Mobile, AL and we have had a good bit of rain and of course high humidity. We are under cover so no direct rain. I have added a small space heater and tarped the boat to trap in the heat and hope to drive out some humidity.
Between the laminating resin not being tacky and the finish resin still super tacky, what are the odds that the resins were bottled or labeled wrong? Guess I'll see in the morning......
Wrong resins?
- kenfyoozed
- First Officer
- Posts: 234
- Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2021 5:19 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
- Location: Mobile, AL
- kenfyoozed
- First Officer
- Posts: 234
- Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2021 5:19 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
- Location: Mobile, AL
Re: Wrong resins?
After adding the heater overnight this morning it is was dry as expected. I tabbed in another section and added the heater again and this time it was dry within few hours. Still humid this morning but no actual rain so maybe that is the difference. Just finished tabbing the top part of the forward wall and now waiting for it to dry. The laz is so small that working in it I have to contort into uncomfy positions. Doing so means I'm pressed against a couple of sides at ant given time, so I have to work in sections. Just the transom to tab in and glass over.
- Wyb2
- Engineer
- Posts: 143
- Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2021 8:02 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 25
- Location: Northeast US
Re: Wrong resins?
I would believe that any resin would still be tacky after 4 hours in cool temps. I was doing some work on the rudder in my basement over the winter, in 52F temps things would still be tacky after leaving it overnight. I ended up using heat lamps to move things along.
Not sure about the laminating resin curing hard. Maybe a high MEKP ratio would do that? I will say: my laminating resins never seem to stay ‘tacky’ sticky. More like, if you press your finger to it for a second or 2 you can feel a small sticking sensation when you pull it away.
Not sure about the laminating resin curing hard. Maybe a high MEKP ratio would do that? I will say: my laminating resins never seem to stay ‘tacky’ sticky. More like, if you press your finger to it for a second or 2 you can feel a small sticking sensation when you pull it away.
- kenfyoozed
- First Officer
- Posts: 234
- Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2021 5:19 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
- Location: Mobile, AL
Re: Wrong resins?
Got a reply from Total Boat that the laminating resin will eventually harden depending on the amount of mekp and environment. So not sure having both finish resin and laminating resin on hand is worth it.
- Wyb2
- Engineer
- Posts: 143
- Joined: Tue Jul 06, 2021 8:02 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 25
- Location: Northeast US
Re: Wrong resins?
That’s an interesting piece of info. I’ve noticed that some unfinished areas of my boat (mostly the underside of the interior pan) are still slightly sticky after almost 40 years. I wonder if they go really light on the MEKP during manufacturing to give themselves plenty of work time.
Also I suppose resin chemistry has probably been tweaked since the 80’s.
Also I suppose resin chemistry has probably been tweaked since the 80’s.
- kenfyoozed
- First Officer
- Posts: 234
- Joined: Fri Aug 20, 2021 5:19 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26D
- Location: Mobile, AL
Re: Wrong resins?
I think it has to do with the new poly resins designed to not release as much styrene into the environment.