Veneer is not drying

[Sailmar]

Hi

I am repairing some wood parts of my boot, 1 day after I gave one hand of epoxy resin, I gave one hand of veneer, although after 5 days the veneer is not dry.

The temperature is around 15 degrees and with some raining, the woods are in my garage without having much sun light.

Do you think the reason could be the missing of sun light?

Thanks in advance

Pedro

 

[Rigger Mortice]

Hi

I am repairing some wood parts of my boot, 1 day after I gave one hand of epoxy resin, I gave one hand of veneer, although after 5 days the veneer is not dry.

The temperature is around 15 degrees and with some raining, the woods are in my garage without having much sun light.

Do you think the reason could be the missing of sun light?

Thanks in advance

Pedro

No, to the sunlight.
My guess is that either the temperature is just too low or that you didn't make up the epoxy correctly.

 

[Sailmar]

What should I do now?

Clean it with spirit or leave it to dry?

 

[TQA]

Some brands of epoxy are pretty sensitive about the mix ratio. Also if the epoxy is old or has been contaminated in some way esp. by moisture it can be reluctant to set.

You can try heat, say about 50 C to try and 'kick' the epoxy into setting.

Also you might try mixing a small amount of the epoxy being carefull to get the correct ration and see if it sets. I use disposable syringes for this.

If that sets then a second coat may kick the first coat into setting.

Acetone will remove the unset epoxy but I suspect it will not do the veneer much good.

 

[monkfish24]

I recently did some veneer, 10 oC temp, using west systems. It took a few days to set properly. I always mix using the pumps. No problems in the end.

If it has moisture in it, it will go a milky colour.

It might be worth trying to clear the old epoxy off and mix up a new batch with a bit more hardener. The hardener will help set the epoxy that has already set and the new stuff should set sooner.

 

[Sailmar]

I will clean with acetone, no progress on drying.

Thanks

 

[Babylon]

Use Cascamite for veneering

I know you've done it now, but, generally speaking, epoxy is never used for veneering (except perhaps repairing the edges of old veneer which has lifted a little).

For small components, like lippings, you can use PVA.

For larger areas you can use Cascamite (or Extramite as its sometimes now known), which is a powder that you mix with water. You will need even pressure over the whole surface while the glue dries. I use a vacuum-press, although you can use clamps with cauls if you don't have access to a press.

 

[Blue5]

Looking at the weather in Portugal over the last week I would think there is fair chance it is due to the humidity in the air.

I was doing some joinery over a wet period and a couple of doors that had been glued up using PVA and clamped had still not set after 24hrs............

 

[Babylon]

Looking at the weather in Portugal over the last week I would think there is fair chance it is due to the humidity in the air.

I was doing some joinery over a wet period and a couple of doors that had been glued up using PVA and clamped had still not set after 24hrs............

Epoxy curing is temperature-sensitive, so humidity shouldn't have any effect.

PVA curing would be effected by humidity, but you'd have to be working outdoors in very damp weather with wood that itself is too 'wet' (ie hasn't been properly seasoned) for PVA not to have dried by now!

 

[oldsaltoz]

Epoxy curing is temperature-sensitive, so humidity shouldn't have any effect.

PVA curing would be effected by humidity, but you'd have to be working outdoors in very damp weather with wood that itself is too 'wet' (ie hasn't been properly seasoned) for PVA not to have dried by now!

Most epoxy resins need less that 75% humidity to avoid blushing, this can be reduced by heating.

Good luck.

 

[macd]

Most epoxy resins need less that 75% humidity to avoid blushing

...but , as I'm sure you know, they'll still cure unless something is very wrong. It would help if the OP could tell us the brand/type of epoxy. Given his part of the world, it's likely that predominantly slower-curing resins are sold locally. Yet I've been using locally-bought stuff not very far from him and have had no problems.

NDH: the damp peformance of PVA is irrelevant. And if you want to use a wood glue in damp conditions or on damp timber, use a thixotropic polyurethane. It loves moisture.