Envirotex Lite drying temps...Options?

[ScottC]

Originally Posted by JFigliuolo

Yup, it works GREAT as a sealer and as I top coat. Probably not quite as durable top coat as full strength epoxy... but tough enough. After sealing with it i am never going back to oil based sealers.

Oil base sealers don;t last. With the west epoxy you do it once and it is done for good.

[bigrock]

Measurments have to be exact with E-tex, use Flex Coat syringes to get exact measures and make sure to mix thoroughly for the full 2min like they say. Also keep your temp above 70, cure time doubles for every 18 degree drop in temp! Dont try to weigh the parts either, the hardener is more dense than the resin and will give you a mix that is about 30% off.

[Striperknight]

Originally Posted by bigrock

Measurments have to be exact with E-tex, use Flex Coat syringes to get exact measures and make sure to mix thoroughly for the full 2min like they say. Also keep your temp above 70, cure time doubles for every 18 degree drop in temp! Dont try to weigh the parts either, the hardener is more dense than the resin and will give you a mix that is about 30% off.

Time your mix to your watch. You will be surprised how little you mixed it when you time it.

[bigrock]

It may sound a little excessive, but I have a kitchen timer I use, knight is right on the money!!

[gldnbear93]

If you don't want to or can't heat your whole shop, try getting a heat lamp and reflector from a hardware store and place it in front of your curing station. Those things work really well in heating a small space, but don't put it too close to the plug as it will burn the epoxy (I found out the hard way). This does cut down on the cure time, though I have cured several batches in a 50 degree basement (it just takes longer).

It does sound like yours was a bad mix or out of proportion. One of the sponsors here sells graduated mixing cups. Easy to use and disposable and not much$. Another alternative is to use 30 minute epoxy in the dual syringe container. It distributes even amounts of resin and hardener so you don't have to worry about proportions, and it cures faster.

[fishing bum wannabe]

If you don't mix Envirotex Lite correctly it will never harden. I turned some nice Mackeral painted Polaris style poppers and envirotexed them 3 years ago and they still are soft! If you top coat the unhardened finish you are just putting a hard top coat over a soft finish and the base coat still will not harden and the finish will not be durable. Sometimes the hardened topcoat will peel off. I have experienced that as well. In spite of these issues I continued with Envirotex figuring the issue was technique. It ws inexpensive and readily available. And other plugmakers were having great success with it.

I have been using graduated mixing cups for a long time and was still mixing wrong proportions untill I measured the two parts in separate mixing cups side by side.This way you can be sure that you have exactly the same amount of resin and hardener. Mix them together and stir for 2 minutes. It can be cold and the Envirotex will still eventually harden (my shop gets down in the 40s but the finish hardened after 36 hours). Exact proportion is very critical with Envirotex (and other finishes such as Flexcoat as well). All finishes need careful mixing. If you are exact in your proportions and mix thoroughly you should find all your Envirotex curing issues resolved. I did. It's been almost 2 years since I've mixed a batch that didn't cure completely.

[numbskull]

Does anyone know the conversion ratio used to mix Envirotex lite by weight?