Anyone got any rough measurements for ratio of how much resin/catalyst/q-cell to mix for the filling part of a hole in the board? Also what is the rough ratio for actual resin? Have heard if you get it wrong it can be tragic!

I got a repair kit for my B-day but need to stock up on some more sandpaper and get a squidgy. I believe I need 100, 140 grit and some wet and dry. Dont have a sander, was thinking of getting a cheap one to save the elbow grease

1% cat from memory. I always mix my q-cell with the resin first then the cat.

I just hand sand small stuff, keeps you from going to far through the repair.

Yeah thats what I dont get, if I use say 100ml of the resin how am I supposed to measure 1-2ml of the catalyst accurately, thats a tiny amount!

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Souwester said...

Yeah thats what I dont get, if I use say 100ml of the resin how am I supposed to measure 1-2ml of the catalyst accurately, thats a tiny amount!

I go to chemist and buy a cpl of syringes, used them once and then throw them away when I need to mix small batches of resin. I think you can often get them from your fiberglass supplier too. Not sure what others use.

Yes 1% should be good depending on the temp. You should never need to go more than 2%.

And make sure your catalyst is fresh, perhaps a tiny practice batch would help.

The little cheap eye droppers from the chemist or supermarket are another good way to measure accurately.

I mix my resin and catalyst then add filler - issue is if your using a really thick mix you don't always get the catalyst mixed in evenly and I generally use epoxy at home.

As for how much filler depends on what your using just start adding a bit mix it in then add more if it doesn't look right till it does you can go from too much to to little pretty quickly. There is a rule of thumb for a max amount depending on what your using as you can make the mix too dry but I've spaced it.

With all things resin read the pds/hazzard statments and wear gloves, saftey glasses -MEKP (poly catalyst) can blind you, and mask (the fillers aren't good for you), and if you have kids put it away in a safe cupboard.

I use 1 x eye dropper for 100g of resin then add q cell to bulk it up this time of year i use 2 x dropper per 100g the dropper is 2grams

If epoxy it would be the amount i.e 100g of resin '''devide''' this by 4 percent this gives you the amount of hardner you need but it needs to be perfect one percent either side and it may not go off

Standard resin 100g 4 percent of that = hardner

Note, One is DEVIDE the other is percent

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boarder paul said...

I use 1 x eye dropper for 100g of resin then add q cell to bulk it up this time of year i use 2 x dropper per 100g the dropper is 2grams

If epoxy it would be the amount i.e 100g of resin '''devide''' this by 4 percent this gives you the amount of hardner you need but it needs to be perfect one percent either side and it may not go off

Standard resin 100g 4 percent of that = hardner

Note, One is DEVIDE the other is percent

Note to Paul, >>divide

Gave it a crack filling with the Q cell. Mixed up too much resin for the dings by a long shot...oh well. I can see what you mean in saying the resin doesnt go off if you mix the catalyst in last. I had 2 dings to fill.

Mixed it up and poured it into the hole, no worries. Kept mixing harder and put the rest in the other hole. The second hole went off perfectly and the first one is still tacky! I probably just didnt mix it well enough for the first one.

All apart of the learning process. I think I am going to by pass the catalyst/resin and go straight for the UV resin next time. If I can get away with that it seems the way to go. Where can I grab some UV resin from? I stocked up on all the necessary safety gear and sand paper so hopefully can sand back the fill and put a layer of glass on tonight.

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Souwester said...

Gave it a crack filling with the Q cell. Mixed up too much resin for the dings by a long shot...oh well. I can see what you mean in saying the resin doesnt go off if you mix the catalyst in last. I had 2 dings to fill.

Mixed it up and poured it into the hole, no worries. Kept mixing harder and put the rest in the other hole. The second hole went off perfectly and the first one is still tacky! I probably just didnt mix it well enough for the first one.

All apart of the learning process. I think I am going to by pass the catalyst/resin and go straight for the UV resin next time. If I can get away with that it seems the way to go. Where can I grab some UV resin from? I stocked up on all the necessary safety gear and sand paper so hopefully can sand back the fill and put a layer of glass on tonight.

If its a bit sticky but hard just give it a sand with some 80grit dry paper. Should be ok.
Uv is great for small stuff but I like the resin hardener combo for bigger fixes

Just dig it out and fill it again - if it's tacky then it didn't kick right and it can be a bigger hassle later.

Not a fan of the UV stuff.

BP - becarefull with that rule of thumb with epoxy, mix ratios change between vendors and between vendor resin lines. I prefer to mix by weight it's more accurate (and uses a different ratio generally as well), grab the missus baking scale and resin on just don't forget to put it back

the easiest way to mix Qcell...or the easiest way to do your quantity...is to pour the amount of Qcell into the vessel first.... judging roughly how much you think you will need to fill the whole...the amount wont change much when you add the resin because you wont need much resin...most people pour the resin in first then you will need heaps of Qcell to get it to a paste and have way too much for the job....because you don't have much resin you wont need much hardener...better to be calculating by temperature i.e. colder= more.... warmer=less....if its drying sticky you may not be using waxed resin....you need to have waxed resin to be able to sand it properly...try to record your mixes..i.e. one peanut butter lid of Qcell with one table spoon of resin with 5 drops of hardener, had a gel time of ten minutes in 22 degrees....so next time you fix a ding you can check the temp and adjust it accordingly...more faster.... less slower....hope this helps...everyone should be able to fix their own boards good luck

Yea, i tend to stick with west products, I can mix my eye now But i have put to much styrene wax on the hot coat and its a nightmare the same as not enough hardner and not to mention the discs i clog up getting down to the dry

Doing repairs i find the big ass pain is boards with heaps of lacquer and the spray under this, Rather than doing the spray on foam or on the laminating

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arkgee said...

the easiest way to mix Qcell...or the easiest way to do your quantity...is to pour the amount of Qcell into the vessel first.... judging roughly how much you think you will need to fill the whole...the amount wont change much when you add the resin because you wont need much resin...most people pour the resin in first then you will need heaps of Qcell to get it to a paste and have way too much for the job....because you don't have much resin you wont need much hardener...better to be calculating by temperature i.e. colder= more.... warmer=less....if its drying sticky you may not be using waxed resin....you need to have waxed resin to be able to sand it properly...try to record your mixes..i.e. one peanut butter lid of Qcell with one table spoon of resin with 5 drops of hardener, had a gel time of ten minutes in 22 degrees....so next time you fix a ding you can check the temp and adjust it accordingly...more faster.... less slower....hope this helps...everyone should be able to fix their own boards good luck

Hmm good tip, I go through q cell buy the bucket, $40 a bag it aint cheap

when you finish fixing your dings give'em a coat of clear anchor spray paint.

Took me a fair while to get all the excess fill off last night! Judging the Q-cell first sounds good. It is strange stuff isn't it? I had the mask and goggles on to make sure I was protected cos that stuff goes everywhere!

Didn't get a chance to put some glass on, will hopefully do that tonight. Should be another lesson in quantities for sure! After the glass in on and dry I then hit it with 100/120 grit don't I? Then a rub over the whole lot with the wet and dry? I will post pictures of the progress with any luck.