+wenestvedt Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 I need help forcing some two-part epoxy to set. Please help me, Cachers! I am making some Giant Nano containers, from the size of a few stacked quarters up to something the size of a softball. Some of them are large enough to attach magnets to using screws (as they are still bonded to steel plates from the hard drives in which they were originally mounted), and these are fine. However, others have shallow recesses in their base into which I put a blob of two-party epoxy, on which I floated a flat magnet. [Thanks again, hard drives!] Three days later, the epoxy is still tacky in these, though it dried thoroughly where I used it to glue some glow-in-the-dark Pony beads to magnets (which I got from Sonicare toothbrush heads; I love me some free magnets!). Is there any way to accelerate the thicker blobs of epoxy to finish drying? Can I safely ignore its stickiness and place them outside -- or will they fall apart if I do so? Thanks for any suggestions! - Will Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 (edited) Is there any way to accelerate the thicker blobs of epoxy to finish drying? Can I safely ignore its stickiness and place them outside -- or will they fall apart if I do so?Heat it, if you're gluing items that won't be damaged by heat. The last time I had some finicky epoxy, I placed the bison tube above a night light. It cured in a few hours. When heated, some epoxies can get more fluid at first, may not be a big deal in your tackiness situation. You definitely should be sure it's cured before placing. Edited June 6, 2010 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
+ihorn Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Also it could be that the mixture of the epoxy was off, and it wont ever fully cure. If that is the case then you would need to remix a new batch, and use it on the project. If you do option 2 then make sure to remove all the old epoxy. Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 You could try adding some Methyl Ethyl Ketone to the surface to help it cure. A caveat... It's been demonstrated that magnets don't secure well to epoxy over time. Quote Link to comment
oakenwood Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 In my experience, when epoxy doesn't cure well, it's not mixed enough. Give it a thorough mixing; it won't set that fast. Quote Link to comment
+mchaos Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Is there any way to accelerate the thicker blobs of epoxy to finish drying? Can I safely ignore its stickiness and place them outside -- or will they fall apart if I do so?Heat it, if you're gluing items that won't be damaged by heat. The last time I had some finicky epoxy, I placed the bison tube above a night light. It cured in a few hours. When heated, some epoxies can get more fluid at first, may not be a big deal in your tackiness situation. You definitely should be sure it's cured before placing. Defiantly heat. A good amount of heat can compensate for lack of hardener or too much. It will excite the chain reaction. But it will get real hot once it goes. I do fiber glassing from time to time. winter before last, I had to get a project for some one done, and it was really cold. I had to keep a big halogen shop light on it. Once the reaction gets going, it usually hardens quick. Quote Link to comment
+Dread_Pirate_Bruce Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Why does MEK help epoxy cure? I would expect just the opposite. Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 Why does MEK help epoxy cure? I would expect just the opposite. It's just a theory. MEK is what makes fiberglass resin set (if I remember correctly from my plastics class a couple decades ago) Quote Link to comment
+EScout Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 If it has not cured in 3 days, I would scrape and start over with another epoxy. I assume that you mixed the two parts well. So, you have a poor quality epoxy or it is old. I recommend JB Weld Kwik. It is fast setting and you will see a nice shiny hard surface very soon. The package says it bonds in 4 minutes and cures in 4 hours. Quote Link to comment
4wheelin_fool Posted June 6, 2010 Share Posted June 6, 2010 I would use JB Weld, or even JB quick weld. I've had mostly good results with that. Quote Link to comment
+wenestvedt Posted June 6, 2010 Author Share Posted June 6, 2010 Hmmm, heat didn't help. It *is* pretty old, so that must be it. I'll scrape it off tonight and try again. Thanks everyone! - Will Quote Link to comment
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