Resin Drying Help...

[MC PwN 3R]

ok, so i started resining this morning, and i used bondo's resin and a different brand of hardener because no one else in town carries bondo brand hardener. now, i used a bit much resin and not much hardener like a couple tablespoons. i did it at 12PM on Friday. Saturday at 12 AM, the resin was still sticky. Now, the question is...
1. Did i use too much resin? Which is followed by, Is there a remedy for this problem?
2. Did i use too little hardener? Again, is there a remedy...?
and finally, and hopefully, (i hope its not this...please god.)
3. Did i use a third-party hardener which does NOT cooperate with Bondo Brand Resin? I dont think there is a remedy for this...unless there is a miracle.
Please help, i do want to know there is a way to save my projects. Unless i need to give it an overnight dry?!?!

 

[Belakor]

ok, so i started resining this morning, and i used bondo's resin and a different brand of hardener because no one else in town carries bondo brand hardener. now, i used a bit much resin and not much hardener like a couple tablespoons. i did it at 12PM on Friday. Saturday at 12 AM, the resin was still sticky. Now, the question is...
1. Did i use too much resin? Which is followed by, Is there a remedy for this problem?
2. Did i use too little hardener? Again, is there a remedy...?
and finally, and hopefully, (i hope its not this...please god.)
3. Did i use a third-party hardener which does NOT cooperate with Bondo Brand Resin? I dont think there is a remedy for this...unless there is a miracle.
Please help, i do want to know there is a way to save my projects. Unless i need to give it an overnight dry?!?!

Do you know exactly how much resin you used?
Someone that has used the bondo resin would probably know this but do you know what the ratio is for the resin and catalyst?
The third party catalyst could also be a problem, I believe they use different chemicals with the different resins so the different type of catalyst may not have any effect on the resin (it would never harden if the chemical reaction never happens).

 

[eggfooyoung]

ok, so i started resining this morning, and i used bondo's resin and a different brand of hardener because no one else in town carries bondo brand hardener. now, i used a bit much resin and not much hardener like a couple tablespoons. i did it at 12PM on Friday. Saturday at 12 AM, the resin was still sticky. Now, the question is...
1. Did i use too much resin? Which is followed by, Is there a remedy for this problem?
2. Did i use too little hardener? Again, is there a remedy...?
and finally, and hopefully, (i hope its not this...please god.)
3. Did i use a third-party hardener which does NOT cooperate with Bondo Brand Resin? I dont think there is a remedy for this...unless there is a miracle.
Please help, i do want to know there is a way to save my projects. Unless i need to give it an overnight dry?!?!

Hmm well, most times, if it is still tacky, I have heard you can put baby powder on it. Also, if you used Bondo's resin, shouldn't it come with the hardener?

 

[LameSuace]

sounds like you used too little hardener. PLUS if you got cream hardener and used it with resin, it wont work. bondo hardener and resin hardener are different i believe. i ran into this problem recently. i ran out of resin hardener and tried bondo cream hardener and it stayed tacky. i fixed the problem by putting a light coat of bondo filler with hardener in it over the tacky resin. i believe you might also have luck if you were to paint a light coat of hardener over the resin itself.

Best of luck!

 

[Overlord Ian]

For a while, i was testing methds of removing resin from brushes, and i tried putting one in pain thinner, and it IMMEDIATLY hardened the resin on the brush, i dont htink paint thinner would work as hardener, but it may remove the tackiness, but make sure you test it before actually put it on your helmet, we dont want it to accidently mess anything up do we??

 

[CPU64]

Not enough hardener..
It doesn't matter what brand it is, as long as its the clear liquid type, they are all mixtures of 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole, ethyldimethylimidazole and/or diethylmethylimidazole isomers which can also contain other alkylimidazoles.

If you want to kill the stickiness, just mix a little of resin with a bit more hardener (2-3 drops) than normal and brush it over the sticky parts. Do it quickly because it will harden FAST. If possible, do it while its not warm outside to give you more time.

I don't measure because I'm so used to knowing how many drops I need for whatever amount of resin I'm using. But in the instructions I think its says 14 drops per ounce of resin..
I vary the ratio depending on what I'm glassing at the moment.

 

[MC PwN 3R]

Not enough hardener..
It doesn't matter what brand it is, as long as its the clear liquid type, they are all mixtures of 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole, ethyldimethylimidazole and/or diethylmethylimidazole isomers which can also contain other alkylimidazoles.

If you want to kill the stickiness, just mix a little of resin with a bit more hardener (2-3 drops) than normal and brush it over the sticky parts. Do it quickly because it will harden FAST. If possible, do it while its not warm outside to give you more time.

I don't measure because I'm so used to knowing how many drops I need for whatever amount of resin I'm using. But in the instructions I think its says 14 drops per ounce of resin..
I vary the ratio depending on what I'm glassing at the moment.

uhh...clear liquid? mine looks totally different...! its a brownish color like the resin but alot brighter...like a yellowish tint..not clear. in anycase, its West Systems 205 hardener, if that helps at all?
EDIT: i went and checked, the resin is still a bit sticky but not as much as it was still running yesterday.

 

[CPU64]

Well, you didn't mention that before did you?

The West System 205/105 is an epoxy system that gets mixed, I think 5:1 and usually by weight.
That's different than the Polyester resin that most everyone else is using (Bondo)

You probably got a Kit with either a fast hardener (205) or a slow hardener (206)

The cure times for the fast (205) is about 6-8 hours for the resin to solidify. (while the Polyester resin is a few minutes.) The 206 time is about 9-12 hours.
The total curing time is about 1-4 days with the WS epoxy resins.

So there's the reason why its still sticky. You need to wait a few days..

 

[MC PwN 3R]

Well, you didn't mention that before did you?

The West System 205/105 is an epoxy system that gets mixed, I think 5:1 and usually by weight.
That's different than the Polyester resin that most everyone else is using (Bondo)

You probably got a Kit with either a fast hardener (205) or a slow hardener (206)

The cure times for the fast (205) is about 6-8 hours for the resin to solidify. (while the Polyester resin is a few minutes.) The 206 time is about 9-12 hours.
The total curing time is about 1-4 days with the WS epoxy resins.

So there's the reason why its still sticky. You need to wait a few days..

i love you dude, you and your vast knowledge of info. yes, i used the 205 fast hardener. very small amounts compared to the 5:1 hardener/resin ratio. thank you, now i know my efforts were not in vain. i would rather wait than know my entire project is ruined!
yes! god has not forsaken me yet!
EDIT: wait, hold up.
i am using Bondo Fiberglass Resin and West System 205 Fast Hardener. will this still work?

 

[CPU64]

I don't want to answer that so you don't stop loving me for my vast knowledge...

But lets look at the scenario..

Bondo resin = Polyester resin
205 = Epoxy hardener


There "might" be a problem there... Epoxy and polyester resins aren't really compatible.

 

[MC PwN 3R]

umm...what?
EDIT: is there a remedy for this?

 

[CPU64]

umm...what?
EDIT: is there a remedy for this?

You need to get Bondo liquid hardener... (clear)

 

[Vrogy]

Sounds like you need to spend some time in baby-powder-and-scraper-land..

 

[MC PwN 3R]

Sounds like you need to spend some time in baby-powder-and-scraper-land..

wanna clarify? and probably if i do this, i might make a troubleshooting tut on it.

so, in accordance to the liquid hardener...
can i buy like the kit, use the hardener in there, make a batch of resin and paste it on? or do i put the hardener on the brush and paste it on the still-wet resin?

 

[Belakor]

wanna clarify? and probably if i do this, i might make a troubleshooting tut on it.

so, in accordance to the liquid hardener...
can i buy like the kit, use the hardener in there, make a batch of resin and paste it on? or do i put the hardener on the brush and paste it on the still-wet resin?

He's saying you're probably going to have to scrape the resin off the piece with something like a paint scraper.
You might be able to use the hardener on it's own to try and get the resin to cure but I wouldn't recommend just going over the top with another layer, it may work but the last time I did that I had to peel off three days worth of work

The thing leaning against the ODST torso is the bondo, resin and fiberglass that had to be pulled off because a previous layer wouldn't cure properly.

 

[CPU64]

Yes, stop using the hardener you have, and get a tube of bondo liquid hardener.

Remove any of the mushy resin you have on that isn't going to harden.. And start over with the correct materials.

Epoxy hardener and poly resin are not compatible...

Here's what you need:
Hardener

If you get a can of Bondo Resin, it will include a tube of hardener.
Read this Sticky

 

[MC PwN 3R]

well the thing thats pissing me off right now is that none of the damned stores sell any kind of hardener seperate from any resin combo except for the west system. it gets really annoying...so, the only thing i can think of where getting that damned hardener is either a repair kit, or another bucket of resin. i dont feel like i wanna order online, due to shipping making it more of a chore than it really is. oh well, i guess i can use the kit, use it on the "mistakenly" resined models, fix it, and buy a new jug of resin with the liquid hardener...
life is stressful enough as it is...

 

[chipscolaman]

Why wouldn't you buy it online?

wouldn't it be cheaper for long term if you take the 5$ shipping instead of always buying a whole bucket of resin?

 

[Sean Bradley]

Necro closed