Epoxy 102

Un-Gelling the hardener

Before I left for my latest trip, I ran into a problem when I tried to use the E-Z Poxy hardener. It had turned into a big lump of Jell-O, and was basically unusable. 

Looking into the hardener canister

This had me a little concerned since this stuff is not cheap, and it's only 4 months old. 

I had read that this might happen if the container is kept in a cold environment, but this year we have had an unusually warm winter, and my shop never got below 50℉ (10℃), nevertheless... there IT was.

Tracy, at Aircraft Spruce, hinted that heating up the hardener to 120℉ (49℃) would probably return it to usable conditions. 

Still skeptical, and expecting the worst, I decided to give it a try with a small scale test on the little container I employ for ratio testing, itself afflicted by this apparently infectious condition.

Coagulated hardener

You can see the video I took of this experiment below.

UPDATE #1:

I heated up the canister of hardener to 120℉ as directed, and it worked beautifully.

Heating up the hardener to 120℉

Compare the way it looked in the pictures above, to the way it looks now.

UPDATE #2:

CP 29 page 5 states that this temperature should have been between 160℉ to 190℉  (71℃ to 88℃). 

Check out Epoxy 103 for more details



UPDATE #3:

Apparently the resin can crystallize as well. 

Resin solidifying

Solidified resin (later melted back with heat)

Just follow the procedure highlighted above.