Alumilite Problem

[jimofsanston]

I recently got some Clear alumilite less than a month ago and I have made 2-4 oz blanks and have been keeping the resin in the house i a cool spot around 68-73 degress. The problem is that the B part has turned to a honey consitancy and is not mixing properly and takes time away from the working time. Is this normal? And Yes the tops are secure.

 

[ElMostro]

Hmm, I have worked with alumilite a bit and have never seen that happen. Is it the Water clear or the Crystal Clear?

 

[JayDevin]

With My First Gallon order by the time I got near the Bottom it was like "honey" on the "B"...the B is thicker by nature...if you notice that you seem to have more a than b when they are new...I mixed it up with no problem...it may add a few seconds to the mixing time, I use wide craft sticks, but it turns out perfect blanks. I use a pump with my gallons and I think that the "B" is thicker anyway, just notice it more towards the end of the container...I think that this is "normal" Give Mike or Carol a call at
Alumilite...but I dont think that is a problem.

 

[NewLondon88]

It seems to be normal for the new Crystal Clear.

Mine seems to be like thick egg whites (uncooked) and it doesn't so much pour
as come out in a long string or lump. I have a hard time transferring it to another
container (like mustard and ketchup squeeze bottles for accurate measuring of
small amounts) because the Part B won't stop pouring..

and, given the thick lump of Part B, it's a little trickier to mix. You don't want
to beat it and introduce air, but mixing doesn't seem to want to break up that
lump.

Warming the resin eliminates the problem. If I'm going to use it later in the day,
I just put the bottle in the oven and turn on the light bulb. That keeps the
oven warm, but not hot. After that, Part B pours just like Part A.
Cuts down on your setup time a little, though. But that's OK, Crystal Clear has
a longer open time than the Water Clear.. so it's all good.

 

[jimofsanston]

Hit on the head.

I think you are correct London. it is the crystal clear type. So just warm it up a little. Ok i will try that.

 

[workinforwood]

I could see how that would be an answer. The system three 50 coat epoxy part B goes all white and lumpy if it gets too cold. The solution from system 3 is to fill the sink with warm water and set in the bottle to warm it up and it's good as new. I use the cc alumilite and have not had this problem..yet.

 

[NewLondon88]

I've only had this 'problem' on the last two batches of CC. The first one
didn't exhibit this symptom. But I find that over about 90 degrees, it flows
pretty freely. Lower than that, and it's sort of like thick egg white.
Still, I've been warming the resins anyway, so it's no big thing. The warm
resin flows better and the air bubbles don't stay suspended because the
warm resin is thinner. It's all good..

The warm water in the sink would work too. You're not getting it hot, just
warm.

 

[wolftat]

CAll Mike or Carol at Alumilite, this is a known issue and they are working on it. I had some from the same batch, this has happened twice to me and the last batch was thick as snot and was unusable for imbedding. They replaced that batch for me and the replacement is the usual thin part "B".