How much epoxy to mix

M

MaStuart

I'm getting the roof on my wagon stripped and ready for epoxy. I am a first time user of SPI epoxy.
So how much will I have to mix to put 2 good coats on. Roof is about 9 1/2 long by 5 foot wide or about 48 square foot. I don't want to waste material by mixing way too much. So guys with experience what do you think.

Mark
 
I usually mix more than I think I will need for first coat, then pour leftover back into cup and see how many ounces it took. I usually wait 30 minutes between coats so if I need a few more ounces I mix it then and spray after 30 minute induction time. Alot of how much to mix varies with how you spray. SPI epoxy should be sprayed like a base coat so it won't be too thick. If you see craters in it film is too thick and fluid needs to be cranked in some. It is really a trial/error thing. If I were spraying this I would start with a mix of 12-18 oz for first coat, see what's left, then mix enough for second coat. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks elwood. With an old school gun I would of mixed up about a quart for the first coat. This will be my first time using a new style gun. Just to be sure I will prep some more parts to use any extra on.


Mark
 
Preping extra parts is always a good plan. I always lean in the direction of mixing too much opposed to coming up short. I also always have extra parts prepped, ready for primer, and hanging on my rack in case I have epoxy left in the gun.
 
I usually write down how much material I use for reference later on. Especially if I have to respray something it comes in handy. I have looked back as far as 3 years for info. Sometimes second and third coats don't take as much. Alot depends on air/fluid adjustments.
 
You do have a 72 to 120 hour pot life for mixed epoxy resealed so you can pour it into a mixing cup & tape up the top or other suitable airtight container. Just add a little reducer before respraying. A little extra already mixed up & reduced is handy when doing metalwork a little at a time or hitting metal when sanding. You still have multiple gun cleanings to contend with, but still less overall time when useful.
 
I haven't gotten it epoxied yet. I got the roof striped , drip rails blasted top and bottom . By the way the old seam sealer was a real pain to get it all out. When I blasted I found some pin holes in the drip rail and the drivers side front corner had a small hole in the roof skin. I tried to extend the tungsten but could not get a straight shot at the area and just melted the hole bigger. So I made two cuts in the drip rail and bent it down and welded the hole shut. Bent the drip rail back up welded it back in place ground down and ready to go. I welded up some thin areas in a half a dozen places. I have to blast again in a few places as rust has crept back out of the metal pours. Tomorrow I will re-blast clean with 700 and spray. I am not sure what the temp is going to do tomorrow night so I got 2 heat lamps to try to keep the temp at 65 or better.

Mark

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Haven't looked into the possibility yet, but a friend mentioned the thought of electric blankets for overnite to keep the surface w itself warm.
 
Is it possible that my heat lamps could get the roof too hot?

Mark
 
Possible to get too hot immediately near a light depending on many factors. Haven't got one myself yet, but I've heard here that you can find infared thermometers for 20 bucks these days..
 
Thought I would give an update. I got it sprayed a little over a week ago. After I got all the areas that needed some welding done and ground down I re-blasted where I blasted and went over everything with 80 grit on a da. Cleaned everything twice with 700 grease and wax remover and sprayed it with 2 coats. For the first coat I mixed up 28 0z and only had about 1 oz left. Second coat I mixed 32 oz to have some left to brush down into the drip rail to make sure I had good coverage. I sprayed it outside the garage. Lots leaves falling off the trees. I did not get any leaves in it but about the time I started spraying the farmer behind my place stated to pick his bean field so lots of dirt in the air. That's ok because I have some dings to fix that I didn't know were there. I will sand and respray the roof and prime. After it dried for 2 days I used some Eastwood 2k epoxy self leveling seam sealer in the drip rail. This is some runny stuff until it starts to set up. Its going to take some work to clean the mess up and make it look good. Three tubes at over one hundred buck total for the sealer I hope it seals it up good. I still have to seal the seams under the drip rail with some urethane calk but I is well past the 72 hours for the epoxy. Can I just skuf with red scotch brite pad and seam seal?

Mark
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