gregoryshock

I was looking for a thread section dealing with just glue. If there is one on this site please point me in the right direction. If not then I guess I'll just use "Question And Answers" I already emailed towerhobbies about this issue but I was wondering if there is anything that can done about restoring this. Please forgive me that I don't know the exact term for what I'm going to try and describe. I bought some great planes pro 30 minute epoxy, and the resin looked like it had turned to crystal gel. Back then I thought I just got a bad batch, so I ordered some more. This time after sitting on my shelf for about a year it too turned to crystal gel. Is there anyway to restore this? I'm not new to epoxy and I've had other brands that have set on my selves for years, and I have never seen this happen.

Ralph White

Gregory, One of our club members, Steve Eperson, discovered that you can put the geled epoxy in the mico-wave for about 5 to 7 seconds and it will return to the original condition. If you leave it in to long it will thin down to water consistency. If the epoxy is still to thick after 5 seconds you can put it in for another 3 or 4 seconds to thin it more. I have done this several times with the bottle of epoxy I am using. Works for 5 minute, 30 minute and 1 hour epoxy. Have not tried it with epoxies with longer cure times or any other brands than Tower Hobbies, but I think it would work on them also.
Try it but do not leave in micro-wave more than 5 seconds at a time. Also I only needed to do it to the resin as my hardener was not geled. I dug an old bottle out of the trash and restored it.

Ralph White
Neoga, IL

AMA 74894

My Feedback: (1)

+1 ... personally I've done ALMOST the same thing... but I've used hot tap water. (it takes longer)

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

+2 Works fine and heat is the answer. It will not affect the quality or effectiveness of the epoxy. Be very careful with the microwave as either the resin or the hardener will (can,t remember which) heat twice as fast as the other and if you are checking manually the feel of the heat and it happens to be the cool one its possible to start melting container of the other. These days I usually have a little electric heater going and I just set the bottles in front of that and makes it so much easier to mix.

John

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

Yes, ,this has be a discussion for a couple years.. seams whoever supplied tower/great planes/hobbico with epoxy had some bad batches,, but from what I've read Tower isn't refunding or replacing it,, Luckily a litlle heat fixes it.

I've been buying DevCon from home Depot or Lowes,, haven't had any of that brand go crystal on me ever

52larry52

My Feedback: (1)

For "domestic tranquility" hot water is a lot safer than an exploded epoxy bottle in the little lady's microwave!!!

bikerbc

I have done both micro wave and hot water .. It usually just one of the containers that crystalizes but heat is the cure ..The micro wave is faster but for some reason I like the hot water way better . As John says keeping it warm helps ,it mixes much easier too but be careful because it will go off faster too ..

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

2 things, store you epoxy in an area that is 60 degrees or better and buy good quality epoxy. For years I had been using Tap Plastics Marine grade laminating epoxy. If I needed to thicken it up some I would just add cabosil. These days I am given a different brand of laminating epoxy but use the same method. IMO any 1:1 ratio hobby epoxy is junk, there are far better options that are not all that more expensive and most are actually cheaper in the long run.

Rodney

Best to use hot water than the microwave. One mistake on that microwave (to long a time) and you have a mess almost impossible to clean up.

bikerbc

I use very little regular epoxy anymore .. I started using Epo grip Because I like the Vaseline like consistency . I have never had it crystalizes so far .. My old epoxy has crystalized twice from sitting too long and not being used .. I have two new ones that have done the same thing .. As I said in my last thread I usually just use hot water ..It takes a while for it to warm up but it works .. I don't really care for the micro wave although I have used it and it works .. I am worried that if I am not careful enough I might have and accident and end up with a real mess in the microwave.. The microwave melts the crystals in a few seconds so if for some reason I am in a big hurry I might consider using it.. As I say though I mostly use Epo grip . Once you try that stuff you will never go back ..

WILDCRASHWILLY

I was seeing this with several of the Great Planes epoxies. As a result i havent bought any in years and no longer see the issue. I have used Hanger Nine, Z brand, and BSI for years now. All with good results and no clouding. My favorite is the BSI (Bob Smith Industries), but the others work good as well. I use Epoxy from Chief also but it is or used to be simply the BSI repackaged.

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

Same idea as with honey. Over time a jar of honey will turn opaque and "crystallize". Put the jar in hot water for a few minutes and shake it up and it is clear again. Repeat as necessary.

And I agree, heating epoxy in the microwave is more risky than placing it in a pan of hot water. The microwave doesn't heat evenly. Areas of the epoxy container where there is a thin film of epoxy (like the stem of the bottle) will heat faster.

BTW, epoxy is sort of a generic term. There are a thousand different formulations of epoxy. It may be that some types of epoxy crystallize and some do not.

acdii

I have 3 different brands of epoxy, all bought around the same time, the BSI and Z brands are still smooth and clear, but the tower, turned to gel. The best of them so far appears to be the Z, its consistency has remained the same, the BSI has thickened a bit, but still flows well, a soak in hot water fixes that. I also tend to get the Epoxy temps up to at least 70* before mixing it. I bought a Top Flite Corsair kit that came with the 6 minute TH glue. It turned dark yellow and thickened something fierce, but after a good soak in hot water, was still usable.

One other thing I found about epoxy, if you use it in 60* temps, it takes far longer to cure and stays tacky for quite a while. This is were a heat gun comes in real handy.

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

A common way to preserve mixed epoxy for later use is to freeze it before it cures. This is standard practice at my work. I was skeptical at first but the materials science specialists say it is OK.

kwblake

Hey gregory. Don't mean to hijack your thread, but there could be others that will benefit from this. Ken, is there a Canadian distributor for Epo grip, or do you order online from the States?