getting away with murder

Barryk;3586 said:
OK guys, no doubt it is suicide for a company to recommend abusing a product but I do know what the product will do, so be nice to me when you read this as it is my favorite example of how great this epoxy is.

A good friend who owns a Restro shop, i was visiting about 4-6 years ago and he was doing a 69 firebird for his brother, the rear window channel was shot after being sand blasted with baby holes all the way through. He asked if I would lead it for him, no thanks, to out of practice, so here is what we did.
Put duct tape on the back side and bend the duct tape up along the edge and shot epoxy, over an hour 5-6 coats, next day pulled the duct tape off, just perfect and smooth as can be, saw the car a few months later and like he said, this is the strongest piece on the whole car, glued in window and he has never had an issue with the channel, saved a lot of hand sanding and labor.

To this day, everytime he calls me, first thing he says to me, the rear glass fell out. LOL

Would I dare say, before anyone calls me a butcher, work smarter not harder. LOL
Click to expand...

I had some black epoxy sitting in a small mixing cup that I forgot about. When I remembered it a few days later it was cured in the cup. I was able to squeeze the cup and the epoxy came out a perfect mold of the cup. Reminded me of those old Super Balls they used to sell when I was a kid that would bounce a mile into the air or so it seemed back then.
Made me realize why this stuff is so chip resistant and tough. I also thought of all the different parts I could now make molds for. LOL
 
I am hardly an expert, but it is my understanding that finishing putty is specifically designed to fill pin holes and small inperfections. Using epoxy in this way sounds risky and time consuming to me. JMO
 
Again, I know less than nothing about painting.... I am just worried about the length of time it would take for epoxy that thick to fully cure and the likleyhood that someone willl read this and put something over uncured epoxy.
 
Less than a week in a paint cup, 2" thick, 2.5" in diameter and although obviously not fully cured I couldn't pull a chunk off or tear it with my hands. Seemed quite resilient and even when poking it with a screw driver I couldn't puncture it. (And this had been reduced.)
 
here's a close up of the pin hole I dabbed last night.
epoxy%252520close%252520up%2525201.jpg


Now from what I've read epoxy likes to have some heat to cure. I don't live in the heat. Hell I only see the sun a few times a week, not days... times! Its a hot day when it reaches more than 70.
So with that as my starting point I'm in no hurry to get something done in a few hours. After using the epoxy as my 'high build primer' for a month or more I have learned it needs at least 12 hrs in my location to begin to be sand-able, I usually give it 24 or more when I spray. I love how it sands when I get there and have found no need for a guide coat to block with. Maybe cause I mixed a pint of black into my gal of grey but when I hit it with sand paper its obvious whats what so I was looking for a way to build up my low spots and feel like I have found it. Using the small brush lets me dab on what amounts to a small 'sag' to specific spots.
I know when I have been to generous spraying I get a sag or run here and there and have yet to find them to soft to sand when I do get to that step the next day, so why not just save myself a cup of paint or a tube of glaze and dab the drippings of a paint stick or two? It's not like epoxy has a hard time adhering to epoxy thats a day or two old.
Now you can see in the pic I still have a bit to dab on the pinner I filled last night (12 hrs) and will go dab again shortly, but the other spots that were not near as 'deep' as whats in the pic are ready to knock down so I'm happy. I can continue sanding with my next grit, knowing I'm just sanding epoxy.
Thanks Shine for that bit about strength comparisons. That was what made me search in the first place. Somewhere I remembered a caution about layering up primers and fillers, and since I am so new to this whole thing I know I'll still be finding places to fill after my next coat goes on. Now when I do find them at least I'll know I'm not just making sandwiches.
 
If you really can sand it in 12 hours, you are definitely getting enough heat into it. I have to wait at least 24+ here in the winter, when I use massive amounts of shop heat to keep my metal surfaces above 60°.

I have never done what Barry describes, but I have dabbed epoxy into small rust pits and weld porosities with epoxy. Weld porosity in particular is an excellent use of this technique, since filler easily provides a channel for corrosion if the tiny cavity inside the porosity is not drenched with epoxy.
 
Well I can semi sand it after 12 hrs but its a bit gummy. I guess it usually does take a good 24 hrs but I just lose track of time watching it dry.
Today I tried to work a fender I shot yesterday... marginal with dry 150 but after I got it cut some, dry 220 was better, wet 400 seemed to work fine. But since the sun is actually out and not just visiting I set them out to bake a bit while I scrounge a chunk of 3 or 4" PVC to work the concave line above the tire well. I can clearly see I need something long and round to get that area cut straight once I get it wet and in the sunlight:mad:
 
NoobDude, just makes sure you give it all a fair amount of cure time before the final sanding is done, don't let the sandability convince you that it's all cured, if you're piling it on that fast between sandings I would definately let it cure up two weeks or better before final sanding and paint. JMO
 
Bob, I'm so slow two weeks will be no problem! I've been months getting to here. This is my first effort (thus the name), but I recognize when someone is giving good info (thus this forum).
What was originally going to be a "panel at a time" quickly became the cab int and ext sans the doors. What was going to be tape the glass and go, became pull the glass, seal the seams, get the inside of the dash, and any where else I could find a way to get to, which gave me time to work on an area while something else cured. Every time I'd think I was about there I'd see something on someone else's project or read something in a thread here and realize I wasn't there after all. So I don't even look at a calendar or think of time unless it's "when did I finish applying that last coat?"
Today spots on the cab cured while I sanded on the fenders. Of course that revealed how poorly I'd gotten the inside curves and how bad I needed some lengths of 2 and 3" pipe in order to block it straight. But I think they're close tonight. Of course what I 'think' tonight and what I 'see' tomorrow are probably two different things.
Still, I truly appreciate all the advice everyone offers here and I do believe it is making a huge difference to the eventual out come, so thanks to all.
 
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