Blakes Diamond Varnish Curing Agent

[Jim@sea]

Around 18 years ago when In Jersey there was a Chandlers which was closing down and I bought a 500mm tin of Blakes Diamond Varnish.
It cost £5. but did not come with the Curing Agent.
Now that I have a use for it I need the curing agent.
It does not say on the tin what the Curing Agent is, perhaps Isonante, data sheets are available which mention a curing agent bust still dont say what it is.

Can anyone give me an idea as to what the curing agent will be please.

I presume though I could still brush it on and it would take a lot longer to dry?

All replies gratefully received.

 

[justanothersailboat]

The way to find what the working ingredients are in proprietary anything is usually to google (name of product) + "MSDS" to get the obligatory Materials Safety Data Sheet, I found this
https://www.boatpaint.co.uk/acatalog/datasheets/Blakes/Diamond_Varnish_Curing_AgentMSDS.pdf
and it suggests the majority of it is "prepolymer isocyanate HDI" ... I'm a bit confused as I thought HDI was hexamethylene diisocyanate but they list that separately... strong stuff anyway. You may be able to find another product with the same MSDS ingredients and it will usually work. I am not sure you can swap for other isocyanates without risking it not aging well or something.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I'm guessing from extremely ancient chemical knowledge, but there's a fair chance it WON'T dry without the curing agent. I note that the principal constituent of the varnish is used as a solvent, so I presume it won't dry without a catalyst. See https://www.boatpaint.co.uk/acatalog/datasheets/Blakes/Diamond_VarnishMSDS.pdf

 

[justanothersailboat]

This is a 2-pack polyurethane isn't it? It's possible it will eventually dry out without the hardener (as the solvents evaporate etc), but I wouldn't expect it to reach the same end state ie not having reacted, it won't have the properties you wanted it for. I'm almost sure of that.

 

[lusitano]

Awlgrip "Awlbrite" 2 pack varnish is a similar product but comes as a kit so I doubt if you can get catalyst separately.