I used epoxy to glue a few maple pen tubes a week ago and the glue never seemed to completely harden. There is still a slight hint of tackiness. I used a new double tube of epoxy and I am sure I mixed equal parts. It was 70 degrees when I used the epoxy. Will the tubes eventually harden or do I need to start over? Thanks for your help.
Epoxy
- Thread starter Tomm
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KenV
Member
You did not note if it was fast (5-10 min set) medium (30-60 minute) or slow (overnight set) epoxy.
When you stick something sharp into it, is it soft? I have had surface tacky feeling but the epoxy is firm. If you can stick at pen or knife into it (soft below the surface) I would try to turn it befor I started over. If failure, turn down to recover the tubes and start over.
If hard, wipe down with acetone to take the surface tack off.
When you stick something sharp into it, is it soft? I have had surface tacky feeling but the epoxy is firm. If you can stick at pen or knife into it (soft below the surface) I would try to turn it befor I started over. If failure, turn down to recover the tubes and start over.
If hard, wipe down with acetone to take the surface tack off.
vick
Member
Start over and wipe down the tubes with acetone before doing it again. If you did have equal parts I would say you did not mix the parts together well enough. The equal parts has some room for error and I will often use more or less thasn equal hardener depending on what I am glueing. Previously I had the same problem as you quite often but since I paid more attention to my mixing I have almost no problems with epoxy.
gerryr
Member
Contrary to popular belief, maybe even an urban legend, epoxy will not set any quicker or harder if you use more hardener. In fact, too much hardener will have the opposite effect and the epoxy will never set properly. I always have a little hardener left over when the resin is all gone and it always sets firmly.
I use an artists pallette knife to mix it. The blade is about 1/2" wide x about 3" long. It works really well.
I use an artists pallette knife to mix it. The blade is about 1/2" wide x about 3" long. It works really well.
2 common problems with an epoxy are improer proportions and inadequate mixing of the 2-parts.
2 lines of equal length do not always relate to equal parts. One will be a thinner consistency that the other and will spread out on the surface more than the other. It usually takes a few tries to get it right.
Thorough mixing of the 2 parts is important to all epoxies. 5-minute epoxies are the the worst because we don't want to waste half of their pot-life in mixing. However, they are the ones that are the most sensitive to proportions and require the most thorough mixing.
2 lines of equal length do not always relate to equal parts. One will be a thinner consistency that the other and will spread out on the surface more than the other. It usually takes a few tries to get it right.
Thorough mixing of the 2 parts is important to all epoxies. 5-minute epoxies are the the worst because we don't want to waste half of their pot-life in mixing. However, they are the ones that are the most sensitive to proportions and require the most thorough mixing.
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