Hi whats the stuff i need to thicken up epoxy ?

[Niander]

Hi whats the stuff i need to thicken up epoxy
and where to get it?
cheers

 

[TigaWave]

Coloidal silica or talcum powder if you can't find silica.. Thats what the the factory advises for our under water fittings.

Chandlers should have silica or do a google search

 

[exfinnsailor]

Micro Ballons .. Very fine glass beads .. Easy to smooth while wet but once set it goes rock hard ,, You can also use sawdust .. Depends what your doing ..

 

[Skyva_2]

For fairing use microballoons. For adhesive use colloidal silica. Chandlers have both.

See the West System website for a good video:

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/adding-fillers/

also their home page.

 

[Niander]

Hi im laminating ribs....sawdust ok?

interesting vid btw

 

[saxonpirate]

Hi, Although I'd agree with the suggestions of Silica and Balloons, the most common product used within the trade is Microfibres. It really depends on what job you are doing. Silica gives more of a smooth paste while Balloons are more of a bulk filler. Microfibres have the ability to perform both of these options depending on what quantity you add. I earn my living as a yachtbuilder and rarely use anything other than Microfibres. SP Systems do a full product range.

 

[Keith 66]

To thicken epoxy & stop it sagging use silica, problem is it sets so hard it is a pig to sand. Thats where microballons come in makes an easy to sand fairing compound, the microfibres increases strength. by varying the proportions you can tailor the mix to what is needed.

 

[dan9487]

EC Fibreglass Supplies is a good place, they do all sorts of fillers (glass bubbles and powder) for thickening resins, epoxy etc.
Brilliant service as well /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[oldsaltoz]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi im laminating ribs....sawdust ok?

interesting vid btw

[/ QUOTE ]

No, not a good idea to introduce any porous material into epoxy resin any time.

What you need in this application is something that will provide good strength and bonding as wall as finish that can be glassed over without sanding.

Micro-Fibres is what you need, a bugger to sand off so clean up as you go.

Use Micro-Fibres mixed with epoxy resin to glue the ribs into place, don't push too hard you want about 3 mm left under the rib, you can use a small jar or the end off a broom handle to make a neat guset nicley rounded along both sides between the hull and the rib.

This make glassing over easy as there will a smooth transition from rib to hull, not only stronger but easy to roll out and easy to clean later.

As Saxonpirate said, it's all you need and all we use, welcome to the forums by the way Saxonpirate.

I hope this helps.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[Bejasus]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi whats the stuff i need to thicken up epoxy
and where to get it?
cheers

[/ QUOTE ]

we are currently using this. Six10 Epoxy

 

[Niander]

six 10 epoxy

that looks really good
where can i get it in uk?

 

[electrosys]

For ordinary gluing or build-up work I use magsil (Magnesium Silicate) or Tesco's finest talcum powder as a second choice. I prefer to first give both surfaces to be joined a lick of thin epoxy (to ensure maximum penetration), THEN add magsil to the mixing pot until it reaches the required consistency.

 

[Bejasus]

West Systems Six10 Epoxy.................looks like it may not be available in the UK yet. Fairly new product but a surprise if it isn't available.
I would give Wessex Resins a call.