epoxy questions, weather and sealer

B

bmxpegan411

Hi Guys,

I've never sprayed epoxy, base or clear before recently starting to work on my 96 Del Sol. I sprayed epoxy 1:1 on my roof, a fender and hood in about 65 degree weather and so far it seems fine on the roof and fender but I tried to dry sand the hood about 48 hours after spraying and it seems to not feather, rather it seemed to come off like it didn't adhere to the hood.

My question is what are the exact consequences of spraying epoxy when it's too cold? And how can I determine if the fender and roof are OK? I saw the thread about epoxy and cold weather but it didn't really answer this question.

Also, I plan on using the epoxy as a sealer so my question is what do you do if the sealer doesn't go on like glass? Do you HAVE to get the sealer to lay down nice and flat before hitting it with base?

I read that alot of guys seem to sand it down smooth then reapply the sealer, but I'm nervous since I don't have much experience getting paint to lay that flat that I'll reapply and it won't go on smooth the second time. Any advice is appreciated!
 
If it was 65, then the metal temp was somewhere between 55 and 58, yest hat will slow down the epoxy, roll truck out in sun for one day and that should bring it up to speed, even if 55 out, the epoxy will get to about the 100 degree mark pretty fast.

Epoxy sprays just like base, so we need to work on distance, air pressure and gun adjustment, feel free to call next time with gun in hand.
 
Also get a non-contact thermometer something like this:

http://www.foxruntools.com/inftempgun.aspx

Don't spray when surface temps are 60° or below. Preferably 65+, with 70-80° being optimal.

Note that air temps do not correlate well with surface temps. They can be up to 10° cooler as Barry says, or even a bit more than that if it's a part near the floor, like a rocker panel. Also they can obviously be a lot hotter if there is direct sun, which is also a no-no during spraying.
 
Barry;27854 said:
If it was 65, then the metal temp was somewhere between 55 and 58, yest hat will slow down the epoxy, roll truck out in sun for one day and that should bring it up to speed, even if 55 out, the epoxy will get to about the 100 degree mark pretty fast.

Epoxy sprays just like base, so we need to work on distance, air pressure and gun adjustment, feel free to call next time with gun in hand.

Thanks for the quick replies, and will do! another question, if the epoxy has been on the panel for about 4 days and I finally get it to set in the sun should it be good to go?

another way to ask that is if the air/metal temps are too low is the only side effect super slow dry times, and no adhesion issues?
 
Depends, in your case temp was warm enough may not be an issue, now one day in sun with epoxy is not as effective as it is with clear but all you can do is test and may need a second day.

If cold enough, even though epoxy has alcohol in it, in the curing process there is a chance if to cold it could "form" its own alcohol, if that happens, it will never be a 100%, this is rare but the potential is something we must be conscious of. That is why so many warnings.
 
thanks again guys. The next time I Shoot epoxy I'm going to aim for 70+ weather, and I'll run a heater inside of my homemade paint booth with the peices inside to insure they are up to temp.

As an update I let the parts in the sun for an evening, then a day later sanded again and the epoxy seemed to feather out a little better. I'll hit those again with some epoxy and see how it goes.
 
first epoxy shoot ever

here are the first few parts I ever shot epoxy on: IMAG1179.jpg

IMAG1176.jpg

IMAG1175.jpg
 
bmxpegan411;27892 said:
thanks again guys. The next time I Shoot epoxy I'm going to aim for 70+ weather, and I'll run a heater inside of my homemade paint booth with the peices inside to insure they are up to temp.

As an update I let the parts in the sun for an evening, then a day later sanded again and the epoxy seemed to feather out a little better. I'll hit those again with some epoxy and see how it goes.

NO! It needs a full day in sun before you apply more, if an evening made a difference, a day will correct the problem.
More on top to soon will just delay the curing.
 
Barry;27894 said:
NO! It needs a full day in sun before you apply more, if an evening made a difference, a day will correct the problem.
More on top to soon will just delay the curing.

Thanks again, Barry. A question, is the main concern with epoxy and cold weather JUST cure times, or are there adhesion issues with the cold weather as well?
 
If it's not cured, it's not gonna stick. If it got too cold, it may never cure, which means it may never stick. But this is RARE, most of the time some good heat will kick off the reaction and everything will be fine.
 
You won't have full adhesion untill the cure is done, just like glue....
 
Bob Hollinshead;27931 said:
You won't have full adhesion untill the cure is done, just like glue....

Thanks! that's exactly the answer I was looking for. I haven't touched it since I sprayed and left it in the sun for a few nice warm days. Thanks again.
 
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