Some of our products for sale here can be an irritant to the skin and Bucks-Composites recommend the use of protective surgical gloves. You should also consider eye protection if a risk of splashing exists. In addition many chemicals should not be inhaled therefore ensure you work in a well ventilated area.
Additive Mixing Tip
When using small quantity of additive and resin, spoon out the required amount of additive into a clean pot and mix the resin with the correct ratio of hardener then add to the additive this way you can control the viscosity of the mix and produce small batches. The resin I would recommend for using with the additives is the L285 epoxy resin and hardener. Thixotropic is a useful additive as this can be added to all the additives in a small quantity and will prevent the mixtures from flowing or sagging.
Epoxy Resin measuring Tip
The L285 resin & hardener can be measured by volume (2 parts resin to 1 part hardener). The L285 resin and hardener can be weighed (2.5 to 1 or 100 parts resin to 40 parts hardener) Weigh out the required amount of resin, divide this by 100, then multiply by the Hardener ratio found on Hardener container (weight) to give you Hardener quantity. Then mix well. Always use the correct Hardener for Epoxy Resin as most of the Hardeners are not interchangeable unlike Polyester Resin. Please refer to the mixing chart below for measuring resin and hardeners by weight.
L285 Epoxy Resin with Hardener
This resin is low viscosity, which makes an ideal resin for use with lightweight glass cloth on model aircraft wings and fuselage. With its long pot life of 50 minutes, this gives you plenty of working time. The resin curing process should be left at room temp for 24 hours.
Usually 1 coat is applied to saturate the glass cloth. This produces a tough and highly durable surface. This surface will accept paints such as high build filler primer, Humbrol enamels, acrylic, and two pack synthetics.
When Laminating, building up layer on the first coat make sure the activated resin & hardener hasn't fully cured to enable a proper bond.
L285 Epoxy Resin with Hardener
This resin is low viscosity and this Resin system is good for making mouldings, the pot life (working time) is 50 minutes if put into a tray and the cure time is 24 hour's at room temp. This resin and hardener is also ideal for excepting fillers such as:- Micro-balloons, Super lightweight fairing compound, Micro-fibres, Thixotropic agent, Aramid / Kevlar® pulp etc.
The epoxy resin in its container may form crystals in cold temperatures, gently warm until the crystals have all gone and now the resin is safe to use.
Important
When the Resin and Hardener is activated always put into a larger area to prevent heat build up.
Mixing Chart
Download our handy printable mixing chart from the link below.