Not curing

shaw520

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
634
There's an area on my starboard deck that the poly resin is not curing,.. other than the cool nights weve had (40 degrees) ,.. what are some possible reasons for this non-cure, tacky situation... and will it eventually cure given enough time ???

Thank you Shaw
 

bvetter

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Jun 2, 2013
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263
Re: Not curing

What % did you catalyse? How much volume of resin and catalyst did you mix on your batches?
 

GT1000000

Rear Admiral
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Jul 13, 2011
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4,916
Re: Not curing

and...how long ago did you apply it?
Is it hard yet still tacky, or is it soft and still spreadable?
Try putting some heat to it in the form of a space heater, halogen lights or if available and possible...put it in direct sunlight on a warm day...
 

old islander

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Jan 27, 2013
Messages
302
Re: Not curing

I had this happen to me a few times. I just mixed up another batch with a little extra catalyst in it and put it over the sticky stuff. It kicked and hardened. Not sure if this is right or not, but it worked well for me.
 

shaw520

Chief Petty Officer
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Aug 27, 2009
Messages
634
Re: Not curing

Thank you for all your response,.. and all viable reasons no doubt.

Well these dam cold *** nights, it got down to 37 degrees last night but supposed to hit 68 today,.. so we shall see,.. if it isnt cured today then I will be going over with another coat. Everything else I did that day has cured,... now Im beginning to wonder if I didnt have enough catalyst,...OR,.. is it possible that the off gassing from the 2 part foam below deck is doing anything ??? hmm
 

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
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Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
Re: Not curing

There are many possibilities as to why it may not be curing and you didn't answer any of the questions asked to help possibly narrow down the exact cause.

Will it cure... maybe.

How soon...no way to tell.

Will it be right...no way to know.

What was the cause...no way to tell unless we have more info.

If other areas done at the same time cured correctly and this area didn't, then something was done differently.
 

shaw520

Chief Petty Officer
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Aug 27, 2009
Messages
634
Re: Not curing

There are many possibilities as to why it may not be curing and you didn't answer any of the questions asked to help possibly narrow down the exact cause.

Did I do it in the direct sunlight - No

The correct amount of catalyst was added.

I went over the area with another coat and that seems to have cured it,.. It appears now that the hardener I used in that area may have been bad or out dated .
 

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
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Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
Re: Not curing

I didn't mean to sound like an ****, but not curing can mean many different things to different people, and we never know how some people may use the terms, so questions are asked to help define the problem and get a better answer for you.

Here's what we were told, one section didn't cure. We don't know if this means the surface is still tacky or the entire laminate is still liquid.

We don't know if it was just a coating of resin, or several layers of glass. Was the catalyst added, and at what %, was this area done at a different time, etc. Without those things being made clear an accurate answer can't be given. Then you came back with no answers, only another question.

We here are interested in the outcomes of peoples projects, and when we ask questions about the issue we all become involved in how it turns out. It can be frustrating sometimes when we can't get the details to give a good answer. Plus, frequently people asking questions never come back and say if what was suggested helped, or if the problem was ever solved. The questions, answers, and final outcome are important to those that give advise here, and to those that come here looking for answers and read threads related to their problem.

It's good to know it finally cured.
 

shaw520

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
634
Re: Not curing

We don't know if it was just a coating of resin, or several layers of glass.
It was my last batch of the day, a final coat of just resin.

Was the catalyst added,
uh,...yes

and at what %,
the recommended amount

was this area done at a different time,
Yes.


We here are interested in the outcomes of peoples projects, and when we ask questions about the issue we all become involved in how it turns out. It can be frustrating sometimes when we can't get the details to give a good answer. Plus, frequently people asking questions never come back and say if what was suggested helped, or if the problem was ever solved. The questions, answers, and final outcome are important to those that give advise here, and to those that come here looking for answers and read threads related to their problem.

This would imply that every project, every procedure and every outcome is of great importance to such an intensely inquisitive and diligent audience,... yet I have an entire thread going on this very project without one question or response. :lol:

But yes,.I do get your point,... and it is my best determination that the hardener that I used on the final batch was either outdated, ..possibly subjected to a freezing condition,... or just plain faulty in some way. (although im not sure if freezing would render the catalyst non-effective)
 
Last edited:

ondarvr

Supreme Mariner
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Apr 6, 2005
Messages
11,527
Re: Not curing

Sometimes we are at fault for not following projects all the way through, but there are so many on this site it would take many hours every day just to read through them, they can also get very chatty about other subjects, so frequently I just look for new threads with titles I may be able to help with, or that I'm interested in. In a situation like this if you didn't get any responses in your normal thread you did the right think by asking it in a new thread, sometimes there just isn't any other way to get an answer.

I checked your other thread, there were no questions and it appeared you were just reporting progress on the project with no real problems to speak of, I'm not surprised people didn't comment.
 

shaw520

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
634
Re: Not curing

Sometimes we are at fault for not following projects all the way through.


Well ondarvr,... thank you for the in depth lesson on how to act in a social media forum,... I guess at the age of 54 there is always more to learn.
 

old islander

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Jan 27, 2013
Messages
302
Re: Not curing

Glad it worked out for you shaw. The first time I messed with resin I had many disasters. Some would not harden...other times it would overheat in the cup and kick while I was still mixing. It took awhile to learn the relation of temps to hardener added. I'm 52 and still learning....
 

shaw520

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
634
Re: Not curing

Thank You OI, the difference being, this is far from my first boat restore,.. in 92' i did a complete stringer/deck restore on a 190SRV,... then in 2000 I did the same to a 21' Thompson Sportsman,.... then in 09' I did the transom/engine mount replacement on the same Thompson, (can be seen in my past post)... then last year helped a friend restore a 215 Larson. Hence my confusion as to why this particular batch wouldnt kick,... but as noted above, the problem was bad catalyst.
 
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