I'm getting ready to mount some deck hardware on my hunter and want to do the job right. I have found several articals that say to drill holes, back cut the core, fill with thickened epoxy and redrill. Sounds simple enough but How do you thicken epoxy?
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harder is better
epoxy is a two part system... part A is the resin and part B is the hardener which you mix together and chemically they heat and harden to a solid. Usually this mixture is 50% hardener and 50% resin. However, this this ratio may vary according to brand. Drying time also varies per brand, mixture and weather conditions. I suggest you experiment with a small batch if you've never used this material before. What are you mounting, could you just install wood, or stainless backing plates, as this might be a lot less messy?
epoxy is a two part system... part A is the resin and part B is the hardener which you mix together and chemically they heat and harden to a solid. Usually this mixture is 50% hardener and 50% resin. However, this this ratio may vary according to brand. Drying time also varies per brand, mixture and weather conditions. I suggest you experiment with a small batch if you've never used this material before. What are you mounting, could you just install wood, or stainless backing plates, as this might be a lot less messy?
Use a filler
I'm no expert, but I believe you use a product called a filler, probably a high density filler. The filler is just a powder you mix in to the wet epoxy to make it thicker. It is a little like adding flour to a wet dough mix when baking. I was told that it should be of "peanut butter" consistency for most filling applications (holes, etc). Here is a description of the product from the West website: Fillers are used to thicken the basic resin/hardener mixture for specific applications. Each filler possesses a unique set of physical characteristics, but they can be generally categorized as either Adhesive (high-density) or Fairing (low-density). Adhesive filler mixtures cure to a strong, hard-to-sand plastic useful in structural applications like bonding, filleting and hardware bonding. Fairing filler mixtures cure to light, easily sandable material that is generally used for cosmetic or surface applications like shaping, filling or fairing.
I'm no expert, but I believe you use a product called a filler, probably a high density filler. The filler is just a powder you mix in to the wet epoxy to make it thicker. It is a little like adding flour to a wet dough mix when baking. I was told that it should be of "peanut butter" consistency for most filling applications (holes, etc). Here is a description of the product from the West website: Fillers are used to thicken the basic resin/hardener mixture for specific applications. Each filler possesses a unique set of physical characteristics, but they can be generally categorized as either Adhesive (high-density) or Fairing (low-density). Adhesive filler mixtures cure to a strong, hard-to-sand plastic useful in structural applications like bonding, filleting and hardware bonding. Fairing filler mixtures cure to light, easily sandable material that is generally used for cosmetic or surface applications like shaping, filling or fairing.
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