MAS epoxy ratio

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Ran out of West yesterday. I have the pump set up so its easy. I have some old MAS but I know all epoxies' have different ratios. Anyone have the info on MAS before I go down to the barn.

Also for floorboards should I do that sugar varnish trick for a little tread ?

[hikingchrs]

2:1
Chris

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

I'm assuming 2 parts resin 1 part hardener. ;)

Thanks

[JimD]

Have the pumps already been used with West? You might end up with a West/Mas concoction. I never use pumps. Find them annoying.

[hikingchrs]

I was answering in a hurry so you could go out to the barn smile.gif

[Matt J.]

Careful, Joe, once you use MAS, you won't go back... But, what's the eopxy for? Dove doesn't look like she has epoxy in her.

[essaunders]

Joe takes his computer with him....

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Originally posted by Matt J.:
Careful, Joe, once you use MAS, you won't go back... But, what's the eopxy for? Dove doesn't look like she has epoxy in her.Matt it's not for Dove its for the floorboards on the skiff.

Hmmmmm having a bit o trouble with the MAS I did 2 to 1 using small dixie cups. the stuff has not Kicked. :( I have worked with epoxy long enough to be VERY careful measuring & mixing. I'm using the slow hardener, but it has been a couple of hrs and its still WET :(

Question does sealed epoxy go bad ?? I have had this MAS stuff a LONG time sitting unused. Does it have a shelf life??

Arrrrg I checked with the MAS website just in case and ayup it's 2:1 ratio otherwise I was gonna give hikingchrs hell ;)

So whats the deal ???

[ 06-07-2005, 01:03 PM: Message edited by: Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson ) ]

[Scott Rosen]

How old was the stuff?

MAS slow hardner gives you a very long working time. It could take a few hours or more to notice any cure.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Originally posted by Scott Rosen:
How old was the stuff?.At least 5 years or so. but it was sealed.

Im used to working with West System and I know how long that usually takes. If I had know this would take this long I would not have worked so fast to wet it all out.

[ 06-07-2005, 01:20 PM: Message edited by: Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson ) ]

[Figment]

Sure it was sealed the whole 5 years, but was it warm the whole five years, or is there a chance that it froze over one of those winters?

Is there cloudy stuff in the bottom of the container? if so, do a little double-boiling to bring it back up to 140 or 150 degrees and those crystals will re-dissolve and you'll be good as new.

Patience, grasshopper. Let it sit overnight, and if that fails break out the heat lamps.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Originally posted by Figment:
Patience, grasshopper. Let it sit overnight,.Ayup it worked :D . Now I just have to flip it and do the other side. :rolleyes: Then wait until tomorrow to go sailing and try them out. This slow hardening is a bit of a PITA :(

Another question I did not thin the epoxy at all and just applied it with a foam brush. The plywood soaked it up good and now it has that first coat little bumps you get when you apply epoxy or varnish to fresh sanded wood. I kinda like the little bumps as a non skid surface is it OK to leave them? Or should I sand them down and apply another coat of epoxy then do the varnish with sugar in the varnish trick? Is one coat of epoxy each side good enough for floorboards?

[ 06-08-2005, 09:56 AM: Message edited by: Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson ) ]

[Scott Rosen]

I don't think those bumps are rough enough to give you much traction--the coating kind of rounds them over. They're just big enough to look ugly, but serve no useful purpose.

[Matt J.]

1 coat is more than I'd use, so IMOO it's plenty.

I wonder where Ian OTR is, when I need someone to jump in with "Epoxy is Crap (TM)"? I hope he's having fun 'out there'.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Matt what would you use on marine ply floorboards with the lam edge exposed to bilge water? Just curious.

By the way unless absolutely crucial Dove will not have a speck of goop in her. She will hopefully be a totally traditional restoration from her canvas and white lead deck to her cotton caulked garboard ;) Thats why it is taken so much longer ;)

The Skiff, interestingly enough made by Lowell boats in Amesbury Mass. one of the oldest boat builders in America. And they use epoxy. The entire bottom is glassed and sheathed in it, AND THEN they poor a good amount inside the boat to make the floor.

[Jim Mathieson]

Any ply edge exposed to water needs three coats of epoxy,or one thin and one thick followed by Varnish etc..Thats what I'd do.

[Seth Wood]

I'd keep ply, marine or otherwise, out of bilgewater altogether.

If you're forced into it, I'd sponge dry after every use. Why take chances?

p.s. I trailer-sail a 15.5' marine ply Windmill. And sponge out after every sail (and every rainstorm). My mast step is solid locust, since it's one of the persistently wet parts of the boat.

Joe, I admit I've not been following your work on this boat. For all I know you may have a good reason for using marine ply for floorboards.

[Bruce Hooke]

I am not a big fan of thinning epoxy. From what I've read the chemists who make the stuff do not recommend it and I tend to believe they know what they are talking about. Furthermore, I have never had epoxy peal off or otherwise fail in a way that suggested it did not soak into the wood enough, and I have never thinned the first coat of epoxy.

I would however agree that to protect plywood edges three coats are called for. You can hot coat -- meaning roll on a second coat when the first coat is tacky. This is an especially good way to go for the second two coats -- as you've seen the first coat often needs some sanding and it is best to get this out of the way before you apply more coats.

[Matt J.]

Joe, If I had a gun held to my head and used ply ( tongue.gif ), I'd probably do a couple or three coats of epoxy if I didn't think I could keep them out of the bilge water for long periods of time ;) .

Otherwise, a good varnish surface buildup would do pretty good on it's own, especially if it was on solid wood.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

Originally posted by Seth Wood:
I'd keep ply, marine or otherwise, out of bilgewater altogether.

If you're forced into it, I'd sponge dry after every use. Why take chances?

p.s. I trailer-sail a 15.5' marine ply Windmill. And sponge out after every sail (and every rainstorm). My mast step is solid locust, since it's one of the persistently wet parts of the boat.

Joe, I admit I've not been following your work on this boat. For all I know you may have a good reason for using marine ply for floorboards.Seth this is a trailered sailing dory. It is kept in my barn when not in use. I used the marine ply because it is what I had on hand, you know how it is ;) After every sail the boat is trailered home hosed out with drain plugs and floorboards removed. I think it will last a good long time epoxy encapsulated.

[Scott Rosen]

Plywood is where CPES really shines. I'd coat all plywood, especially endgrain, with CPES, saturating it until the grain will take no more.

With plywood endgrain, unthinned epoxy will mostly sit on top and act as a coating. CPES, on the other hand, soaks very deeply into the endgrain.

[Wayne Jeffers]

Originally posted by Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson ):
. . . It is kept in my barn when not in use. . . After every sail the boat is trailered home hosed out with drain plugs and floorboards removed. I think it will last a good long time epoxy encapsulated.Joe,

Given that kind of care, it will last forever with nothing more than varnish or paint to protect the plywood.

Wayne