Pop Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 I am ready to make my first resin fiberglass mold but after reading the tutorial a dozen times, it finally sank in that under 70 degrees don't pour the mold and pour in a well ventilated area. Planned on doing it on the kitchen counter when my wife wasn't home but if I ventilate the area it will become below 70 degrees. I live in the mountains in PA and it won't be until July before we get to 70 degrees (ok maybe thats an exaggeration) but the point is, does that mean I can't pour molds of resin fiberglass until it warms up outside? Is making molds a seasonal thing? Is this stuff that toxic? As usual, thanks for your help, Pop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nova Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 Pop; don't worry about it. I do mine in my basement and it's about55-60 degrees. You just have to increase the amount of hardner. I make large molds which take the whole liter and I use all of the hardner that comes with it. If you do it in the kitchen; make sure your wife is out for the day or you might be out for the count. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuMMeRBaits Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 I've done several in my shed, at around 30-40 Degrees, just add a little more hardner to it and let it sit for about a day before you try to pull it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsac Posted March 13, 2005 Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 You can definately mix when it's colder, but it's a learning curve. I say that just to help people avoid stress cracks when they're new to resin. I had a mold that I had to make last winter. It was only about 50 in the garage. Like normal, I added a little extra hardener. But to my surprise, the first mold cracked almost completely in half Added less hardener for the 2nd mold, cracked almost in half again The 3rd mold, I only added 5 drops of catalyst per ounce of resin. Perfect mold : I think the problem was the fact that my resin was just shy of being frozen inside the metal gallon container. But by the time I mixed the 3rd batch, the can had been sitting near the little floor heater and had warmed up. I think because it was so cold (the resin) that the rapid heat increase caused the mold to flex and break. You'll find you get better results when it's warmer, but you can mix (pretty safely) down to about 60* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delw Posted March 13, 2005 Report Share Posted March 13, 2005 fiberglass will crack over time if the fiberglass resin is to thick, try putting some fiberglass matting in there. example. put down a thick coat of resin, then matting then resin again. fiberglass isnt suppose to be more than a 1/8" thick with out matting or it will crack from the heat and cold. I re fiberglassed my old ranger the complete hull both top deck and bottom in 45?-60?, I had to do all kinds of patching to it. Delw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
