JEM Watercraft

Anyone have experiecne with the use of RAKA epoxy and hardeners in the 50 to 60 degree Farenheit range? In the winter my basement hardly ever gets above 60 degrees, and often struggles to stay above 50, so I am considering just only gettting the fast hardener for all the work on my JEM Trapper 15 canoe. Or is 50 to 60 too cold for even the fast hardener? If so I'll have to rig up some space heating.
Any advice on this will be appreciated.

First of all check with the epoxy mfg about kick off time at different temps.
Keep your epoxy in a box with a light bulb on to keep it warm, a real light bulb not one of those curly fry things. think heat emitting!
cold epoxy is difficult to work in to cloth. your boat will have excessive weight , warm it up!
I've have great success by hanging blankets and drop cloths around my project, make a "tent" of sorts. put as many 100 watt light bulbs in there as necessary to heat it up. burn the bulbs 24-7. It won't take that much, you'ld be surprised at how effective this works.
I never ever use fast hardener , I like to work a bit slower and more methodical than that stuff allows. just me, maybe you're younger than me.lol
I used to use a lot of West epoxy but switched over to MAS 10 years ago, just me.
most epoxy will cure at 50 f. just how long you want to wait. It's ok for fast bonding and fillet work but for soaking cloth you need warmth.
hope this helps
Just tent it!!
Tim

Thanks Tim.
I do already have the question emailed to the manufacturer as you suggested.
I have a little electric space heater that I might use instead of or together with light bulbs, and I can use blankets, paneling, etc, to close off the immediate work space from the larger area, which is heated by a couple vents in the ductwork heating the 2 apartments above, but don't get it to 'room' temperature when it is way below freezing otuside. I would be much more comfy with slower hardener, at least 50/50 fast slow. If I can't keep the work space warm enough, I might just wait until spring to start with the epoxy work. (I'm only about 80% done marking and cutting out the panels.) This winter in Chicago is starting off extremely warm so far (it is in the plus 40s now, and was 64 on Dec 3!).

Another reason to stick with the slow part B is that it should reduce or eliminate blush. Blush is caused by excess amine coming to the surface during curing and the only time I have noticed it is when I tried the faster part B for my brand of epoxy.

I am sure that there are variations between brands but as a general principal I believe that the faster the part B is the more amine it contains. I also suspect that all part B resins contain a stoichiometric (look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls!) excess of amine to ensure that the part A is fully reacted. This means there is always a chance of blush but that it is much higher with the faster resin formulas.

Heating the resin is probably not so important for glueing and filleting as blush is not such a problem there. However Crabyak's advice is excellent for wetting out the glass and this is also when using a slow part B is better for a clear finish.

Good luck with it - looking forward to seeing some photos.

Thanks Bob,

This is my 67th winter coming in and I am yet learning, especially learning to heed good advice.

LesForgue wrote:Thanks Bob,

This is my 67th winter coming in and I am yet learning, especially learning to heed good advice.

As we all are!!