Epoxy Resin Cure Times
All materials used in this tutorial can be found at boatbuildercentral.com
Boat Plans are available at bateau.com
Epoxy Hardeners:
(This cure speed table applies to resins sold at BoatBuilderCentral.com.)
Mixing Ratio:
All our resins use a 2:1 ratio. This means two volumes of resin for
one volume of hardener. Note that the ratio is by volume, not weight.
The easiest way to measure the proper volumes is with a dispensing
pump. Buy two: one for the hardener, one for the resin, The pumps
fit right on the epoxy jugs. For large batches (12 oz or more), we prefer to pour from the bottle into graduated mixing cups – this saves time on big jobs.
Hardener speed:
Epoxy mixed with hardener will cure in a wide range of temperatures
but the speed of the cure varies with the hardener. We sell three
hardeners: slow, medium and fast. They can be mixed for even more
precise cure speed. Below we show a table with typical cure speeds.
After the indicated times (minutes), at those temperatures, a batch
of mixed resin and hardener ( 30z./100gr) will begin to gel. With epoxy, you cannot adjust cure time by altering the amount of hardener. Adding more or less hardener will only make for an uncured batch, stick to the formulated mix ratio.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
35
|
2
|
90
|
||
|
40
|
4
|
72
|
||
|
45
|
7
|
60
|
||
|
50
|
10
|
50
|
120+
|
|
|
55
|
13
|
41
|
92
|
|
|
60
|
16
|
33
|
69
|
120+
|
|
65
|
18
|
28
|
56
|
106
|
|
70
|
21
|
22
|
44
|
89
|
|
75
|
24
|
18
|
35
|
74
|
|
80
|
27
|
14
|
28
|
61
|
|
85
|
29
|
12
|
24
|
49
|
|
90
|
32
|
10
|
20
|
41
|
|
95
|
35
|
8
|
16
|
35
|
|
100
|
38
|
6
|
13
|
30
|
|
105
|
41
|
5
|
11
|
26
|
|
110
|
43
|
4
|
9
|
21
|
The ideal temperature ranges are highlighted. Note that resin will
cure faster in a larger batch but slower when spread over fiberglass. Mix small batches at a time and wait 24 hours before sanding. Do not leave epoxy to sit in the pot, this “mass” will accelerate the cure and reduce pot life.
Try our epoxies with our trial kit. It includes samples of epoxy, various fillers, fiberglass and instructions on their use.
If you did not find the answer to your question, please use our
message board and we will
respond within a few hours.
Or explore the HowTo files at our technical support web site bateau2.com
