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10-10-2017 #1
Yeah, you're probably right. Sigh, I never thought I'd get tired of welding!
I may get some grief, but I ordered Totalboat 5:1 epoxy. Supposed to be equivalent of West at about half the price. Actually, it wasn't so much that it was cheaper - they had a nice kit on Amazon with resin, slow hardener, metered pumps for each, and mixing containers. Specs have viscosity with slow hardener at 700 Cps, which is actually lower than West's 1000 Cps. So should flow as well or better.
Thanks,
Wallace
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11-10-2017 #2
Being a skin-flint I'm very curious how successful different cheaper epoxies are at self-levelling, so please report back when done.
Had a look on the web and wonder whether you've gone for just the Slow-Hardener or the Extra-Slow-Epoxy-Hardener which seems to me to be closer to the West system that the successful pours on this forum have used?
5:1 Slow Hardener ~ http://www.totalboat.com/product/51-slow-hardener/
• Excellent thin-film characteristics provide smooth flow-out and self-levelling ideal for coating and laminating
• Pot life @ 75°F: 20 minutes
• Set time @ 75°F (thin film): 10 hours
• Cure time @ 75°F (thin film): 1-4 days
Tropical Extra Slow Epoxy Hardener ~ http://www.totalboat.com/product/tropical-hardener/
• Excellent thin-film characteristics provide smooth flow-out and self-levelling ideal for coating and laminating
• Pot life @75°F: 46 minutes
• Set time at @75°F: 20-24 hours
• Cure time at @75°F: 4-7 days
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11-10-2017 #3
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12-10-2017 #4
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13-10-2017 #5
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13-10-2017 #6
Read over more epoxy-related posts before pouring and came across the one by Boyan Sylvaski discussing shrinkage of centered bridge causing distortion in the middles of the rails! Well, I wasn't tearing it down and starting over. So, I did the pour, gave it time to flow out, and then blocked the bridge entrances with razor blades:
Used a heat gun multiple times to get rid of bubbles. I was surprised at how well that worked. You could see the bubbles pop and disappear as you waved the heat gun over. Top looks like glass at this point.
Wallace
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18-10-2017 #7
Pulled forms off today. Not sure if this was because I used the Totalboat epoxy, but I was surprised at the size of the meniscus. I have one side pretty much cleaned up, but I'm guessing I had to file in maybe 5mm from the edge to get rid of it. Does this sound like what most of you see? Nothing to base this on, but I expected it to be a narrow and steep meniscus. I'll try to get a pic of the other side before cleanup.
Linear rails supposed to arrive from China this Friday...Last edited by wallyblackburn; 18-10-2017 at 06:57 PM.
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