Are the Glen-L kits enough? Advice on epoxy, solvent, etc.

[polarisman14]

In the coming weeks I will be starting to buy materials for my Flying Saucer and need to know what I need to get for epoxy. I think I did the calculations correctly based on what I have read on the Glen-L site for Poxy Shield and Poxy Grip, but need your opinions on whether or not this will be enough for my intended project.

I am building a Flying Saucer which I will be stretching to 13'6", and have this on my "to buy" list for epoxies:

(1) Glen-L Flying Saucer Fiberglass Kit
(2) Poxy-Shield #1 Kits (1 Qt. each), for encapsulating
(1) Poxy-Shield #2 Kit (1 Gallon), for encapsulating
(1) Poxy-Grip 1/2 Gallon Kit, for gluing structural members

I basically bought what Glen-L recommends for the Zip for Poxy-Shield as it's better to have too much than not enough. No sense in paying shipping more than once.

Also, what kind of solvent should I be using to make sure I don't have any amine blush between epoxy coats, and for general cleaning for preparation? Just denatured alcohol, or do you guys have a specific suggestion?

Please feel free to comment on my other thread in the Paint subforum regarding what paint and varnish to use and what amounts to purchase as well. Thanks!

Matt

[vupilot]

I found the epoxy kit for the fiberglassing was quite adequate for its intended job. I still wound up buying more for other use as I didnt anticipate how much gets used in encapsulating and other small jobs.

What you stated sounds like a good amount to start, you can always buy more later if needed. All epoxy is expensive so I would rather pay to ship more than have a quart go unused. The good thing is youll find it works great to fix many things around the house too if you do have some extra.

Water works just as well for removing the blush. It just takes more than one cleaning to get it all so no matter what you use just make sure you get it all removed. Sometimes with stubborn areas of amine blush you might want to sand it lightly just to check and make sure it was all gone. If your sandpaper turns gummy quickly its not all gone.

[polarisman14]

That sounds good. The other reason I was asking what solvent to use is for prepping for additional layers of fiberglass after sanding or preparing a barren wood surface for glass or paint as well. I know water will work for the blush based on your advice but I come from an automotive background and you generally have to use some sort of alcohol-based solvent to thoroughly clean the surface. I just want to make sure that whatever I buy as a solvent can be used on epoxy, paint, and wood with no ill effects and be 100% effective. Will denatured alcohol do that, or should I use isopropyl, or is there some sort of marine-specific prep I should invest in?

Thanks for the quick reply, and happy new year!

Matt

[jamundsen]

I used alchohol for everything.

[polarisman14]

What kind? Just normal 70-80% isopropyl rubbing alcohol or denatured?

[Bill Edmundson]

I used Natural Light for everything.

Bill

[Bill CNC]

Buy more than you think you'll need as there will be waste until you can consistently get the correct amount mixed that you can handle in a setting for that particular job. Also as noted, you'll have other uses that wont come to mind until your there.

I'd say 15-20% extra would be a safe call.

Bill

[polarisman14]

Yeah, I think I have somewhere in that range budgeted out based on Glen-L's suggestions.

I've decided to go with Interlux Fiberglass Surface Prep for a solvent as it can be used to prep bare wood for epoxy or fiberglass, prepare in between coats of either of those, and to prep various surfaces for primer and paint. It also works to get rid of amine blush which it seems the Glen-L line of epoxies is known for more than the System 3 ones. It might just be glorified isopropyl or denatured alcohol, but for the amount of money I'll be spending on paint, primer, epoxy, and fiberglass, an extra 40 bucks for a couple quarts of this seems well worth it.

Thank you all for your input!

[pauloman]

guessing the amount of epoxy is really hard. Some folks want the texture of any fiberglass used with epoxy to be buried with additional coats of epoxy. That could take 2-3 more coats. Other folks think the fiberglass weave adds non slip texture and don't worry about it.
Also, most folks mix up more epoxy than they need because it is a pain to stop and make another batch. So epoxy waste varies a lot from user to user.

Some folks seal all the wood surfaces with solvent thinned epoxy primer to the real epoxy building work. That uses up some epoxy.

Yes alcohol will work as a solvent thinner but need in mind most alcohol purchased is 70%-90% pure. The remainder is water, something you really don't want to add to your epoxy....

adding solvent to your epoxy technically puts you above the VOC air quality levels for most places - making you a law breaker. Acetone however is considered an exempt solvent so probably keeps you legal. That said, I don't like to use acetone as it is so fast acting that it will generally dissolve the very cheap plastic containers I often mix my epoxy in before I can grab a tongue depressor to stir it in.