Thinning Epoxy?
 

How can you Thin Epoxy in order to use it like a paint to coat firewalls, etc; I heard a little bit of Rubbing Alcohol will work?

RE: Thinning Epoxy?
 

Use denatured alcohol. I've tried rubbing alcohol and it seems to make the epoxy gummy.

RE: Thinning Epoxy?
 

The best way to thin out the epoxy to coat the engine area is to use heat. Put a little bit of epoxy on the area and use your heatgun to thin it and spread it with a disposable epoxy brush. The heat will speed up the cure time of the epoxy, so make sure you use 30 minute (or higher) epoxy for this.

Ken

RE: Thinning Epoxy?
 

I use denatured alcohol. I pay less than $3 a quart for it at WalMart. Rubbing alcohol can be as much as 70% water, which can be detrimental to the epoxy.

RE: Thinning Epoxy?
 

The 91% alcohol works fine. It takes a very small amount - like a few drops - to thin the epoxy to a spreadable consistency. Don't overdo the alcohol or you will have the gummy mess mentioned earlier.

RE: Thinning Epoxy?
 

The heat method Rodney posted works very well, but may take a bit of practice to get the hang of it. You should try it on a test piece first. Apply just enough heat to flow the epoxy. Don't over heat or you may blister the epoxy. I do recommend you try this to see if the heating method works for you.

As for solvents, the rubbing alcohols work, but other solvents are much superior for thinning epoxy. The best one is probably MEK, but it can be hard to find and is nasty stuff. Auto body paint stores will carry MEK and sometimes it can be found at hardware stores. Next, I'd select acetone, which is easy to find. Then 100% methanol, also easy to find. Then denatured ethanol, no water. An lastly any alcohol with water, which will basically be every alcohol found in the drug isle.

If you locate the MEK, a plus side is that it will effortlessly clean covering adhesive off of anything, irons, smears on the covering, etc. But regardless of which solvent you use, it should go without saying that you need to take proper precautions, gloves, filters, ventilation, etc.

Edit - Another solution is to use a laminating or finishing epoxy. This type of epoxy is inherently very thin. It has the viscosity of very warm cheap syrup. It will easily brush on. No need to mess with heat or any solvents.

RE: Thinning Epoxy?
 

Here's a link to thread where this topic got kicked around pretty well...

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_36...tm.htm#3605805