Frozen epoxy question

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Roger Long

Roger Long

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Nov 22, 2008
3,562
Endeavour 32 Portland, Maine
Question for one of our goop gurus:

How much is epoxy effected by going to low temperatures before fully curing?

My boat shop gets very warm during the day in the sun but very cold in the dark. I'd like to use slow kick hardener for longer working time but I'm wondering if the bonds might be compromised if the epoxy gets too cold overnight and finishes curing the next day.

Would I be better of with fast hardener?
 
Richard Bryer

Richard Bryer

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Jun 3, 2004
890
Hunter 34 Toronto, Ontario Canada
I have used epoxy in some pretty cool temps up here. I found even the fast cure hardeners from West to take an awful long time in cold night temps- days almost weeks.
My preference is for the cold cure products from Industrial Formulators
http://systemthree.us/
I have used this product down to +2 C with good results. They also make an accelerator hardener.
I also found that covering the uncured epoxy with a taped down piece of black plastic such as a piec of a garbage bag worked well if your work is out in the sun- provided you pick a sunny day of course
 
sailingdog

sailingdog

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Oct 22, 2008
3,502
- Telstar 28 Buzzards Bay
Roger—

There is a brand of epoxy called Cold Cure, which is specifically formulated for working in very cold temperatures. I would use that instead of West, MAS, SystemThree or any epoxy not designed for such temperatures.


photo courtesy of Lee Valley, linked to above.

Roger Long said:
Question for one of our goop gurus:

How much is epoxy effected by going to low temperatures before fully curing?

My boat shop gets very warm during the day in the sun but very cold in the dark. I'd like to use slow kick hardener for longer working time but I'm wondering if the bonds might be compromised if the epoxy gets too cold overnight and finishes curing the next day.

Would I be better of with fast hardener?
Click to expand
 
jibes138

jibes138

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Jan 27, 2008
3,092
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
I've used it with no problem

I used to freeze unused portions when i was building my sand dollar dinghy in a freezer in my garage to keep it from kicking over. Since it costs about $100.00 a gallon i didn't want to waste it. I would mix a batch use microballoons or microfibers then freeze the unused portion. I would then let it warm up and use it and never saw any detrimental effect from freezing it. All the low temperature does is slow down the reaction so there shouldn't be any detrimental effect I can think of, when it warms up the reaction continues and you get a full bond. I'm interested in opposing views as i am speaking from experience not from theory.
 
RichH

RichH

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Feb 14, 2005
4,773
Tayana 37 cutter; I20/M20 SCOWS Worton Creek, MD
Roger
Rule of Thumb for the kinetics of 'chemical reactions'
Increase the temperature by 20 deg. C and the reaction rate doubles
Decrease the temperature by 20 deg. C and the reaction rate 'halves'.
just 'thumbnail' rules. You mileage with epoxy may vary.
regards
RichH
 
jibes138

jibes138

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Jan 27, 2008
3,092
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Another Thought

Pre-Preg materials are kept in a frozen state to keep them from curing until they are used in an assembly. Since this is the designed process it seems it must be ok. You have to not think of freezing in terms of water. Melting and freezing points for each material are unique and the epoxy doesn't know what 32 degrees F means. It just has a continuum of temperature. At colder temperature the reaction slows down to essentially stop making the time available to work with it much longer.
 
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