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Building Tips and technical articles. => Building techniques => Topic started by: Allan Perret on February 21, 2015, 05:41:55 AM
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Anybody use West 105 for gluing balsa skins on foam cores ? If so which hardner are you using. I am currently using Zap Finishing Resin and just wondering how the West System would compare.
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Allan,
West system will work just fine. If your shop temp. is 70F or above use the slow hardener. Under 70 use the fast. I've used West for many years getting my first exposure to it building wooden boats. I've never had problems with it and have used it under some pretty terrible conditions. I remember laminating some deck edges on a boat one time that was docked and we had put up a tarp cover to protect the deck from the elements. It was snowing and freezing cold and we went ahead and did the lamination with fast hardener and microfiber filler and the temp was a toasty 34 degrees F. That night we got about 6" of snow and our tarp cover had collapsed from the snow. The lamination had set up perfectly even under the trying conditions. I use it all the time.
Alan Resinger
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Allan,
West system will work just fine. If your shop temp. is 70F or above use the slow hardener. Under 70 use the fast. I've used West for many years getting my first exposure to it building wooden boats. I've never had problems with it and have used it under some pretty terrible conditions. I remember laminating some deck edges on a boat one time that was docked and we had put up a tarp cover to protect the deck from the elements. It was snowing and freezing cold and we went ahead and did the lamination with fast hardener and microfiber filler and the temp was a toasty 34 degrees F. That night we got about 6" of snow and our tarp cover had collapsed from the snow. The lamination had set up perfectly even under the trying conditions. I use it all the time.
Alan Resinger
Hey Alan: Are you familiar with West System's G/F Epoxy. I was reading description on their site ands it sounds like the ideal adhesive for fuse nose construction with its vibration absorption properties.
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Allan,
The G/flex is probably overkill for our use in models. The 650 is a bit thick and I wouldn't thin it as you could lose some of its good qualities. The 655 is useless for us, as it is like putty. I'd just stick with the 105 resin with either 205 or 206 hardener. If you ever need to thicken it, I'd use the 407 microfibers. Don't try that for fillets as it is really tough to sand. For fillets, I use either AeroPoxy Lite or Super Fill. No substitutes.
Alan
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Anybody use West 105 for gluing balsa skins on foam cores ? If so which hardner are you using. I am currently using Zap Finishing Resin and just wondering how the West System would compare.
It will be much better/tougher than the finishing resin, and also has better pot life.
Brett
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What is the approximate cure time for the fast and slow hardners in roughly 70 degree air temp?
Thanks!
BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM
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Bill,
Curing to solid for 205 Fast Hardener is 6-8 hrs, and with 206 Slow it is 10-15 hrs. Now that is a thin film. Full strength cure for either is 1-4 days depending on the conditions. Be careful about mixing large amounts of this epoxy and keeping the mass together in a mixing vessel as the resin will exotherm and build up a large amount of heat in a large mass.
Alan
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Bill,
Curing to solid for 205 Fast Hardener is 6-8 hrs, and with 206 Slow it is 10-15 hrs. Now that is a thin film. Full strength cure for either is 1-4 days depending on the conditions. Be careful about mixing large amounts of this epoxy and keeping the mass together in a mixing vessel as the resin will exotherm and build up a large amount of heat in a large mass.
Alan
Alan,
Thanks for the information! Should be an excellent epoxy in regards to strength with those cure times!
BIG Bear
RNMM/AMM
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Bill,
Curing to solid for 205 Fast Hardener is 6-8 hrs, and with 206 Slow it is 10-15 hrs. Now that is a thin film. Full strength cure for either is 1-4 days depending on the conditions. Be careful about mixing large amounts of this epoxy and keeping the mass together in a mixing vessel as the resin will exotherm and build up a large amount of heat in a large mass.
Alan
Spread the mix out on a mortarboard in a thin layer so you don't get ignition. A roller tray with a stiff plastic liner is a good choice. It also improves the working time, especially when thickened.
Watching a cup of West System go up in smoke is wild.... well, when you are not holding it at least.
Phil