How 2 clear up epoxy that hasn't gone off
Printed From: Yachts and Yachting Online
Category: General
Forum Name: Repair & maintenance
Forum Discription: Questions & tips on the subject
URL: http://www.yachtsandyachting.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9544
Printed Date: 14 May 25 at 12:57pm
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Topic: How 2 clear up epoxy that hasn't gone off
Posted By: Dave.B
Subject: How 2 clear up epoxy that hasn't gone off
Date Posted: 25 Jun 12 at 10:03pm
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I've begun building the core for my Farr centreboard and routed a groove around the edge to fill with graphite filled epoxy to create a hard edge.
I picked it up tonight to do a bit more shaping and ended up with a sticky black hand. The leading edge epoxy has not gone off at all (and this is after 2 weeks!). I remember mixing it casually without proper measuring - Big mistake.
It is so soft and sticky it's getting everywhere and I'm concerned that if I don't get it all off it'll bung up my tools, affect my finishes and be a real pain.
I've dug the soft stiuff out and used some acetone with limited success
Any other ideas ?
Thx
http://www.davesfarr37project@weebly.com - www.davesfarr37project@weebly.com ------------- H2 148 H2 113 RS300 365 Farr 3.7 397 Build Blog http://davesfarr37project.weebly.com/ |
Replies:
Posted By: winging it
Date Posted: 25 Jun 12 at 10:12pm
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heat gun then clean up with acetone?
------------- the same, but different... |
Posted By: JimC
Date Posted: 25 Jun 12 at 11:18pm
| Vinegar has been known to help with uncured epoxy, but I imagine you need to clean up every traceand then more when you've finished. |
Posted By: mongrel
Date Posted: 26 Jun 12 at 7:10am
Cotton wool!
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Posted By: RS400atC
Date Posted: 26 Jun 12 at 7:59am
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If what you are trying to get it off of is waterproof, a cream cleaner like cif can be effective. Otherwise, iso-propanol or meths. You can use a green kitchen scourer to scrape up a lot of it. Never guess epoxy mixing! |
Posted By: Rupert
Date Posted: 26 Jun 12 at 8:46am
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You can buy specific epoxy solvents which might work, but to begin with you are probably stuck (!) with mecanical means - scrape off as much as you can first, before adding anything that will spread it further. Glad I'm not the only one who has done this... ------------- Firefly 2324, Puffin 229, Minisail 3446 Mirror 70686 |
Posted By: alstorer
Date Posted: 26 Jun 12 at 9:05am
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fro, a pro point of view, acetone and its near cousin methyl ethyl ketone (MEK, CH3COC2H5) are the best cleaners in most situations, though I'd advise scraping (with a palette knife if possible- something big, flat, thin, rigid but not sharp) as much as possible off first. ------------- -_ Al |
Posted By: Contender 541
Date Posted: 26 Jun 12 at 12:28pm
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MEK can be bought from your local DIY store as ABS pipe joiner - once you smell it you will never forget it (its actually quite nice) ------------- When you find a big kettle of crazy it's probably best not to stir it - Pointy Haired Boss Crew on 505 8780 |
Posted By: alstorer
Date Posted: 26 Jun 12 at 1:01pm
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the other one we use a lot, many for soaking hand tools (not fast acting but has high boiling point so it doesn't evaporate quickly) is gamma-butyrolactone, but that's harder to get hold of ever since it made a Class C... ------------- -_ Al |
Posted By: Jack Sparrow
Date Posted: 26 Jun 12 at 3:46pm
The only thing I can think of is, as you are going to be fairing down eventually to a hard epoxy mix. Is to sacrifice a router bit to the great epoxy god and cut a slightly bigger groove and do the same with some 40 grit sand paper to take off the rest of the sticky stuff off the front edge. Maybe do this the other way round - sand face first, route second. So your router doesn't get mucky. That is if no sort of chemical is working. ------------- http://www.uk3-7class.org/index.html" rel="nofollow - Farr 3.7 Class Website https://www.facebook.com/groups/1092602470772759/" rel="nofollow - Farr 3.7 Building - Facebook Group |
Posted By: Dave.B
Date Posted: 26 Jun 12 at 10:10pm
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Great advice thanks all, need to build up some enthusiasm and have another go ------------- H2 148 H2 113 RS300 365 Farr 3.7 397 Build Blog http://davesfarr37project.weebly.com/ |
Posted By: Rob.e
Date Posted: 29 Jun 12 at 10:33am
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Just be warned, MEK was a widely used solvent in the print industry but is now banned, so use decent gloves with it. ------------- |
Posted By: Kev M
Date Posted: 29 Jun 12 at 10:41am
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and only use in a well ventilated area. The reason it's so bad for us is because it's so good at what it does. I've never come across a cleaner/degreaser as good as MEK. ------------- Successfully confusing ambition with ability since 1980. |