I overlayed some cloth with some epoxy resin (EXR). I know I could’ve used PER but let’s ignore that for the moment…
After two days it’s still tacky. The heat gun seemed to have helped it a bit though. Am I SOL? What’s the best way to remove this stuff?
Or should I try heating it more? I’m afraid of making it bubble.
Next time I’ll just use PER:mad:
that sucks, did you not mix the epoxy well? make sure you mix in one cup, then pour in to another and mix again every time. you can try mixing some new epoxy up and wet out the surface and peelply it. sometimes this will work
yep that does suck. I just mixed up a small batch of epoxy. my stupid cat kept wanting to mess me up so i may have gotten the ratio wrong. hopefully it will fully cure for me. I suppose i should have just set that batch aside and mixed up a new batch correctly. DOH 
if your mixing epoxy you should really invest in a digital scale that reads to the tenth of a gram. very importannt for epoxy!! epoxy should always be mixed to the exact gram, and be mixed very well with two mixing cups
Where do i buy a scale that reads in tenths of a gram? I have a digital kitchen/postal scale that reads in tenths of an ounce.
Ohaus makes the best scales, thats what we use to weigh ours, but it cost more then $400. heres one on ebay for cheap: http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-Jewelry-Gram-Scale-2000g-x-0-1g-Bench-Scales_W0QQitemZ150162359653QQihZ005QQcategoryZ34088QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem . the problem with cheap scales is they dont weigh in real time, you have to pour wait for it to register then pour again, but maybe you can find a nice one used on ebay?
here is a decent priced Ohaus: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-OHAUS-SCOUT-PRO-Digital-Scale-FREE-SHIPPING_W0QQitemZ260161110485QQihZ016QQcategoryZ11814QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
this looks like a niced used ohaus: http://cgi.ebay.com/Ohaus-Scale-Scout-II-400g-x-0-1g_W0QQitemZ160157797857QQihZ006QQcategoryZ11814QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Thanks for the replies, I’m 99% sure I mixed right, this wasn’t the first time with this stuff (West105 and 206 hardner). I measured with a scale and did the double cup method also.
The only thing I did different was to add 2-3 drops of black PER pigment. I checked around and looked on the net and found that PER pigments were OK with epoxy, guess not!
So hojo, I can wet some more out and force it to cure?
yea, if you want to dye epoxy, make sure its pigment for epoxy, that may be one reason why that happened. also if you put too much pigment in this can cause that problem too. I wont make any promises, but try wetting the surface out and peelply it, worth a shot. what are you making? why did you decide to use west system?
I was originally doing a CF/kevlar hybrid layup of my hood and wanted it to stick really well, so used the EXR. I ended up using EXR only on the kevlar portion and the rest with PER.
But I needed to build up layers of the EXR and so continued to use it, this time with a little pigment. And well, you know what happened next:(
The shape is too complex to peelply, damn. Is it a reaction-with-air issue? If it were dry enough I could cover it with PVA…I’ll try a small spot, otherwise I’m gonna break out the scraper, brush, acetone, etc!
Thanks again
I use the west system pumps. They work great, never had a bad ratio yet. However, seeing you have a scale, i’d contribue the problem to the pigment.
Yeah, taht’s the only thing I’ve ever done different with this stuff is the pigment. Sux.
Pigments are only 2 to 3% max to the resin used.
But finish it off, stick it out in the sun / heat and it should cure, but slowly.
Yeah, taht’s the only thing I’ve ever done different with this stuff is the pigment. Sux.
I saw a supplier selling powdered graphite as a black pigment for epoxy ( i think it was for epoxy lol). Also www.jrgreer sells epoxy pigment in black… $12 plus shipping for 10 ounces.
First i was the Tony Stewart of Home Depot… now it seems i’m advertising for jgreer. lol.
I’d advertise for US Composites, but it seems they don’t want my business because they don’t like cash… only plastic. :o
Hojo, that’s funny, i was going to ask you if a jewelers scale is what i needed.
I don’t use metered pumps for now, uses more resin than i need per shot. I may just use my postal scale for now… it measures in the tenths of an ounce. Close enough for gov’t work… and what i do 
or just not spend much $ and buy this one for 40 bucks.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150163847444&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT&refitem=150162359653&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&usedrule1=StoreCatToStoreCat&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget
Here is the black epoxy pigment i saw from one of the suppliers…
Thanks!
I tried heat, sunlight, etc. and no luck. I saved hojo’s suggestion for last and least it’s cured on top! I don’t know what the layer beneath is like…
I’ll never mix the PER pigment again. My resin was 5 ounces, to which I added 2-3 drops from the end of a screwdriver…who woulda thunk?
remember, you get what you pay for, I can almost guarantee you that if you buy that digi for 40 bucks your gonna hate the thing, theres nothing more enoying then try to weigh resin with a digi that takes 5 seconds to reregister. whatever digi you buy, make sure it is realtime and weighs to the tenth of a gram. thats my two cents on that