Could anyone give me a ball park estimate of the cabosil to resin ratio. Im working in 100 degree heat so Im forced to work with small amounts of resin at a time and i need to get a uniform coat over the entire bottom of the hull. The shop i bought it from had no idea but stressed that i needed to have a consistent mixture. Any tips/tricks to cabosil would also be appreciated.
SX/SXi/SXi Pro cabosil
- Thread starter kawi kid
- Start date
- Location
- Red Bluff CA
mix it till it gets how you want it. There is no set mixture. Your not going to compromise the resin by adding too much, you will just make it extremely tacky.
- Location
- Red Bluff CA
Your not understanding. You do not need an exact amount, just make it like peanut butter. Perhaps make a small batch, like a half cup size, just to see what I am talking about. You add it to get a consistency you want. Its a thickener. No one is going to be able to tell you the exact amount you need to get the epoxy a consistency you like.
if your using it to fill small scrapes on the bottom, dont use cabosil IMO. It is very hard to sand and get looking nice. Id use glass bubbles or microbaloons.
If you do use cabosil, perhaps it may go on better for that application if its a bit more liquid than peanut butter, so you can apply it with a paint brush.
i work in 100 plus all the time, and my resin still allows me to work with it for over an hr
if your using it to fill small scrapes on the bottom, dont use cabosil IMO. It is very hard to sand and get looking nice. Id use glass bubbles or microbaloons.
If you do use cabosil, perhaps it may go on better for that application if its a bit more liquid than peanut butter, so you can apply it with a paint brush.
i work in 100 plus all the time, and my resin still allows me to work with it for over an hr
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- Location
- Red Bluff CA
- Location
- Red Bluff CA
No. It doesnt add strength to the resin. All it does is THICKEN it. Thats it. Its a filler to add substance to the resin so it doesnt just run all over the place. It will dry pretty much the same wheter it is full of cabosil or only has a little. Both will be very hard surfaces and hard to sand. You should be able to mix a batch and do the entire bottom of your hull in 1 shot. Like I said, its been 105-115 here for weeks, and my resin allows me to work for over an hour. Im speaking from personal experience, although i do not claim at all to be a composites guru
edit; it does add some strength to the resin, but very little
edit; it does add some strength to the resin, but very little
- Location
- Red Bluff CA
Both. It will dry with small inconsistencies in the pattern, unless your a natural at it. Those need to be sanded off, and it dries sorta slippery, and rock hard, so sandpaper doesnt work well. Its not impossible to sand by any means. Its justa pain in the ass, and from my exp doesnt hold onto paint as well. But Im a newb to painting also, so that could be why.
- Location
- Fort myers
Spark plug is right on the money. I will add that while cabosil is definitely hard to sand, microbubbles are very easy to sand, but not nearly as scratch resistant. That quality of the cabosil that makes it hard to sand is a good thing if you think of it as also having the ability to resist some beaching damage. I recommend a mixture of both cabosil and microbubbles. Experiment a bit, especially since your working in hot temps and your resin sets quickly its not hard to make a few test batches and try both sanding them, and how strong they are. Take notes of the cabosil to bubble ratio so you can refer back later. Start at 50/50 and go from there. Also, have you considered searching for an epoxy resin that activates a bit slower? Last thing, some people have tried laying peel ply over cabosil mixtures to get a smooth finish then peeling it off afterwards. Never tried it personally but the concept is interesting, of course this would only be affective for you with increased working times. Im in FL and I use US composites THIN 3:1 resin (medium) and rarely if ever run into working time issues, even with stuff like you are saying. I only use thin because I use it for infusion also, but its a great product.
I apologize but i dont see any other posts.
Thats my plan for the center of the hull but where my problem lies is on the strakes, I need to fill a lot of gouges on the points and resin isnt very workable.
Thanks for the info, mixing both cobosil and micro balloons is an idea ive never heard so ill have to give it a try. Im using a resin called west systems or other and when i sampled other resins they had less work time. I think i get about 10 minutes out of a normal batch with a little less hardener then they recommend just to compensate for the heat.
- Location
- Fort myers
Less hardner isnt a great idea with epoxy. You can get away with it with polyester buy epoxy is pretty exact stuff. Try cooling your resin down before using it