We're having a warm spell of 45-50 degrees this weekend and I figured it would be a good time to reinstall my bulkheads. Does anyone have any tips or strategies they like to use when working with fiberglass in cold weather? I'm using West Systems fast hardener. Was also thinking about bringing a space heater and/or heat lamp
Cold Weather Fiberglass
- Thread starter Project_Mayhem
- Start date
west epoxy needs 72 hrs to come to full strength 8 hrs to cure to touch and temperature cannot go under 40 degrees. What's your night time temp. I waited last year until the night temp stayed above 40 and I also used a heater, electric and propane during the day
The boat is on a cradle so it'll have a couple of months to cure. Would heating the resin to 90 degrees help the process overall?
If the night time temps are not warm enough the resin will not kick and you'll be faced with uncured resin. Or some will kick and some will not and you'll be faced with as bad or worse.
Tent the space and heat it or wait till the temps are warm enough to give you proper temps. Note that the air might be 40 plus but if the hull is not 40 plus you are heading for disappointment. I want 55 plus temps. Otherwise your just wasting money.
Tent the space and heat it or wait till the temps are warm enough to give you proper temps. Note that the air might be 40 plus but if the hull is not 40 plus you are heading for disappointment. I want 55 plus temps. Otherwise your just wasting money.
It is not just the air temperature that you have to be concerned with. If the hull is 32* and the air temp is 50* as soon as the epoxy hits the hull, it will cool off to ~32*.
You'll have to get the boat to 50* not just the air. I know you're anxious to get going on this project. Another week or two and it should be warm enough.
You'll have to get the boat to 50* not just the air. I know you're anxious to get going on this project. Another week or two and it should be warm enough.
As I always advise on these questions, why not call the manufacturer and ask? West Systems is premium priced, but you're getting premium quality and support as a result. Give them a call (866-937-8797) or email https://www.westsystem.com/ They're based in a cold-weather town, so are familiar with this question.
On a side note for typing symbols, I use these following symbols alot,
Degree symbol, hold the ALT key down while typing 0176 as in 50°
Cent symbol, ALT with 0162 or 155 for ¢
OHM symbol, ALT with 234 for Ω
Also, here's a link for hundreds of special characters called Alt Keyboard Sequences
you may want to use at times, I have found it very useful:
https://tools.oratory.com/altcodes.html
I use windows
Degree symbol, hold the ALT key down while typing 0176 as in 50°
Cent symbol, ALT with 0162 or 155 for ¢
OHM symbol, ALT with 234 for Ω
Also, here's a link for hundreds of special characters called Alt Keyboard Sequences
you may want to use at times, I have found it very useful:
https://tools.oratory.com/altcodes.html
I use windows
I would probably arrive around noon or 2pm on Saturday. Here's the weather: https://darksky.net/forecast/41.7208,-86.9058/us12/en
West System claims their resin will work as low as 35°F
https://www.westsystem.com/instruction-2/epoxy-basics/cold-temperature-bonding/
West System claims their resin will work as low as 35°F
https://www.westsystem.com/instruction-2/epoxy-basics/cold-temperature-bonding/
Do you have IR Thermometer to measure the temperature of the hull and bulkhead? After reading the West Guidance hull temperature seems to the one area that you can't control well and if it is cold, it might cool the resin to a point where it won't cure properly.
Will you be able to post cure it?
Keeping the epoxy warm, is not difficult. Bring into a warm area of your house the day before, transport it in a cooler with a big jug of very hot water. Leave it in the cooler. Put the mixing sticks, brushes and mixing containers in the warm cooler.
Will you be able to post cure it?
Keeping the epoxy warm, is not difficult. Bring into a warm area of your house the day before, transport it in a cooler with a big jug of very hot water. Leave it in the cooler. Put the mixing sticks, brushes and mixing containers in the warm cooler.
Well there is nothing like being a test subject.
This is a fun graph on their website... I wonder what the temp is for the Initial Cure never to reach solid state.The temp at and below the red line.
It would seem that a constant gel state would be unsatisfactory, but them I am not a chemical engineer.
The 5-1 mix of WEST will work fine down to about 40. If you warm the surface you are putting it on AND warm the epoxy it works even better.
The 2-1 mixes are much more sensitive to cold- I won't use them under 50, 5 degrees
Dave has some excellent suggestions on keeping the epoxy warm
The 2-1 mixes are much more sensitive to cold- I won't use them under 50, 5 degrees
Dave has some excellent suggestions on keeping the epoxy warm
Thanks for the reminders. I knew about the codes, but I never bothered to memorize them, and in many cases I'm too lazy to go to the Keyboard viewer to copy and paste the correct symbol.
But you did motivate me to check out the degree symbol and a keyboard shortcut. If you use a Mac, shift+Option+8 will give you the ° symbol. Might work on a Windows machine too.
I just checked the 10 day forecast for Michigan City, IN. If there is a compelling reason to do this repair this weekend, it could be done. I would change your plans a little. Get there earlier in the day and put a heater inside the boat to raise the temperature of the hull and bulkhead. Get there around 10:30, put the heater in and tent the area off. Then go have a long lunch. Do the repair and keep the boat as warm as possible for as long as possible.
Here's the forecast I got: https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/in/michigan-city?cm_ven=localwx_10day What gives me pause, is the forecast for Sun through Tuesday, the high temps will be below 40°. Next Wednesday looks to be a much better day, except for the rain.
Here's the forecast I got: https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/in/michigan-city?cm_ven=localwx_10day What gives me pause, is the forecast for Sun through Tuesday, the high temps will be below 40°. Next Wednesday looks to be a much better day, except for the rain.
I'll probably hold off on the bulkhead till it warms up outside. I'm guessing radiant heat would be far better than convection (space heater). I'm kicking myself for leaving my heated door mat on my other boat (was bought to warm hull during paint removal).
I have a simple suggestion. Just wait a few weeks until the weather warms. I have made a lot of fiberglass hard tops for sport fishing boats and have some experience on this subject. Just wait until the temp is at least 50.
From the perspective as a boat dealer and the amount of fiberglass work and repair I did, I suggest you listen to dlochner and jssailem wait till it is warmer. Listen to those who have actual working experience vs me. Gel coat has a higher temp needed for curing and one fellow said it was 64 F per Frank Butler who owns Catalina.
I'll wait a couple of weeks as suggested. Like all old boats, there's no shortage of projects
I'll probably hold off on the bulkhead till it warms up outside. I'm guessing radiant heat would be far better than convection (space heater). I'm kicking myself for leaving my heated door mat on my other boat (was bought to warm hull during paint removal).
I've seen heated matts taped to a hull to dry out hull before osmosis repair, it worked lowering moisture meter readings to an acceptable level within hours , instead of waiting months