What went wrong????

[stevers]

This is related to my other topic, "OK, here I go, wish me luck,". The first time I tried to de-gas the clear, this happened,,,,,,,,,

And it only took about 15 minutes to gel. I mixed it for 2 or 3 minutes and put it in the pot under 26" of vacuum. Here are some things of interest,,,,,,

>>High humidity, with evaporative cooler in shop, probably 60 to 70 percent,
>>Warm resin, maybe 100 to 110 degrees,
>>Thought I had 3 drops per oz. Used 21 to 23 drops for 7 oz.
>>MEKP from A different brand of resin,

So what do you experts think? The second try seems to be working better. Tried to lighten up on the MEKP, 20 drops per 7 oz. The blue mix was still liquid when I opened the tank to add the clear(with the worthless wood blanks) and pressurize.

PS: forgot to mention, Mr. Fiberglass Silmer 41,
and I just went out to check, the round "chunk" is so hot I can barley touch it.

 

[smoky10]

Steve, I'm no expert at this but i put just the catalyst(if thats the right word) in the vacuum. I don't mix the the hardener in until after I have used the vacuum. With that temperature and what you call high, ours usually runs 80 or 90 percent, humidity it will set up quicker. Like I said, I'm no expert but I'm sure some of the guys that do this all the time will jump in here soon.

 

[mrplace]

Steve, I use 15-20 drops for 6-7 ounces that get poured in to 3/4" pvc molds. These are thinner casts and do not generate as much heat. So mine takes much more time to set up. Pouring in a bowl, making thicker molds, will get hot and set alot quicker. I notice a big differene just from 3/4" molds to 1" molds. So the larger your molds, the less I would use. Another note, the hotter they get, the more brittle they will be.

How did your blanks turn out? They looked more like reasonable pours than the bowl did.

 

[stevers]

The bowl was just a mixing cup. It was to go into the mold with the worthless wood next.
am going out real soon to check on the others. Will let you all know in a few minutes.