Ready Steady Eddy

[EddyCurrent]

Reactive Resins Syntac EPAFD epoxy with Synamin 201-c slow hardener.

This was the starting point using shims to level up the linear rail support beams.



A test piece was made using a 50x50 offcut, epoxy resin, draught excluder moat, http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Iron.../sd2802/p70101

Temperature 17 deg C
Used kitchen digital scales to measure out by weight.
Mixed in a plastic cup, no melting of cup, no heat felt but it was only a very small amount.

Just after pouring, the viscosity was very good for pouring, it seemed to be runnier once the hardener had been added and mixed.



You can see surface bubbles, I dragged a tooth pick/cocktail stick through the epoxy a few times and bubbles dispersed.
Next time I will mix the two parts more slowly so as not to introduce so much air.



The viscosity was such that 2 hours later the remains in the plastic cup could still move like a thick fluid.
Slight leakage occurred at draught excluder butt joints e.g. corners, so I will be using a dab of glue at these points.

Following day about 20 hours after pouring.



Depth of epoxy = 5mm
Draught excluder removed with a chisel no problem but it left a slight sticky residue that cleaned up okay with spirits and the epoxy captured a very small amount of foam in it's outer skin.
A slight meniscus can be seen but this was expected, 'Clive S' describes how best to remove this.
The epoxy is fairly hard but you can tell it has a day or two to go until it's cured.

I would say this test was a success and I have no problem with using this on the machine.

[cncJim]

Thanks for posting the pics eddy! The foam seems an excellent quick way to do this task.

... the epoxy captured a very small amount of foam in it's outer skin.

I wonder if applying some sort of grease to the draft excluder before pouring would help with that?

Jim

[EddyCurrent]

I wonder if applying some sort of grease to the draft excluder before pouring would help with that?Jim

Vaseline maybe (no jokes now!)

[Clive S]

You can see surface bubbles, I dragged a tooth pick/cocktail stick through the epoxy a few times and bubbles dispersed.
Next time I will mix the two parts more slowly so as not to introduce so much air.

Ready Steady Eddy-epoxy2.jpg

I found that a warm air gun flashed across the surface got rid of the bubbles. As a matter of interest the Wests System was still like thick water 6 or 7 hors after the pour before its started the cure. With no sticky stuff on the top when cured. Also the mixing was just done with a flat bit on thin ply and gently stirred it round. ..Clive

[EddyCurrent]

I found that a warm air gun flashed across the surface got rid of the bubbles. As a matter of interest the Wests System was still like thick water 6 or 7 hors after the pour before its started the cure. With no sticky stuff on the top when cured. Also the mixing was just done with a flat bit on thin ply and gently stirred it round. ..Clive

You mentioned this before so I tried a hair drier (it's the wife's, no use to me now) on it's lowest speed but it was moving the epoxy round like the seas at Cape Horn.
Yes I think this epoxy was still flexible after 6 to 7 hours but maybe just beyond any self leveling properties on the scale required.
It's interesting you confirm the slow mixing method.

[Clive S]

You mentioned this before so I tried a hair drier (it's the wife's, no use to me now) on it's lowest speed but it was moving the epoxy round like the seas at Cape Horn.
Yes I think this epoxy was still flexible after 6 to 7 hours but maybe just beyond any self leveling properties on the scale required.
It's interesting you confirm the slow mixing method.

I meant to say hot air gun straight after the pour so the waves won't matter. I was told by the people at Wests a good way would be to mix in a container with a small hole at the bottom on the side (say 7mm) with some tape over it, when mixed remove the tape and let the epoxy flow out of the hole into your trough that way you don't get the bubbles. I never tried though. ..Clive

[EddyCurrent]

I meant to say hot air gun straight after the pour so the waves won't matter. I was told by the people at Wests a good way would be to mix in a container with a small hole at the bottom on the side (say 7mm) with some tape over it, when mixed remove the tape and let the epoxy flow out of the hole into your trough that way you don't get the bubbles. I never tried though. ..Clive

That was likely okay with your moat design but with the draught excluder there's not much height before the banks are breached. That sounds like a great idea for pouring.

Also I'd like to thank everyone for their input because I feel I've learned a hell of a lot more about this epoxy idea these last few days.

[Lee Roberts]

Also I'd like to thank everyone for their input because I feel I've learned a hell of a lot more about this epoxy idea these last few days.

Me too, thanks everyone !

[njhussey]

I meant to say hot air gun straight after the pour so the waves won't matter. I was told by the people at Wests a good way would be to mix in a container with a small hole at the bottom on the side (say 7mm) with some tape over it, when mixed remove the tape and let the epoxy flow out of the hole into your trough that way you don't get the bubbles. I never tried though. ..Clive

One slight problem I can see with playing a heat gun over the epoxy is that the moat is foam...heat and foam aren't the best of friends in my experience! Only takes for the heat to be on a fraction of a second too long and you've a leak in your moat!

I think I'm going to do a mix of ideas for getting the bubbles out. Firstly I'll mix it slowly in one container and hopefully not induce too many bubbles. Then I'll transfer it to a second pot to ensure its all mixed and no pockets of just resin. This pot will have a hole in the side to aid pouring. I might even pinch a bit of 100 mesh SS filter wire from the works to strain it through. This should trap all the bubbles on the way through the mesh.

Some cracking ideas in this thread...