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Filler wont set
tegwin - 21/10/08 at 09:36 PM

This is a pain in the backside...

Bought some filler from a well known parts shop..

Mixed it as per the instructions on the tin....

Filled the hole...

And now 30 hours later....its still not totaly hard...It has a rubbery texture to it...which will make sanding almost impossible... It says on the pot that you can sand it within 20 mins... Will it cure eventually or am I going to have to hack it all out and start again?


I am 100% sure the mixture was correct...I tripple checked my measures to stop exactly this happening...GRR!!!


tomgregory2000 - 21/10/08 at 09:43 PM

weather to cold?
try applying some heat.
is it epoxy or polyester resin?


blakep82 - 21/10/08 at 10:14 PM

wierd. my understanding was with these things, that as long as hardener was mixed in properly, that technically you don't have to use as much as it says, but it will harden, it'll just take a very long time? as a result, i've never actually mixed as per instructions,and never had a problem. always worked alright.

how much hardener did you put in? which one is it?


thunderace - 21/10/08 at 10:56 PM

add some heat had some p40 not seting last week as it was 6deg in the garage and had to use the infered heater on it after waiting all day to see if it would go hard.


stevebubs - 21/10/08 at 11:36 PM

It's pretty chilly outside. I'd give it a few more days....


Danozeman - 22/10/08 at 06:37 AM

What is it isopon?? Try a heat gun on it. As said normally you dont need as much hardner as the tin says.


Fred W B - 22/10/08 at 06:45 AM

I've been there.

In my case it's not putting enough hardner in - if it doesn't go off in half an hour or so it's not going to. I scrape it off with a chisel and start again.

I do usually use about half the hardner thay reccomend, but it's a fine line then before you don't put enough in.

That said I have heard of people saving this suituation (too little hardner) by wiping the filler with carbon tetrachloride

Maybe you got a duff batch of hardner?

Cheers

Fred w b

[Edited on 22/10/08 by Fred W B]


smart51 - 22/10/08 at 07:00 AM

If it has started to cure then the problem is too little catalyst, catalyst not mixed in well, or too low a temperature. A bit of heat will speed it up.

Another thing you could try is to mix a small amount of filler with a slightly large amount of catalyst, then spread a thin film of it over the part set stuff. The extra catalyst may help it all to set. It helps with GRP anyway.


loggyboy - 22/10/08 at 08:22 AM

As mentioned above, its chiefly dependent on mix and temperature, but its also depends on thickness, if its plenty thick it will take longer to dry out.


Mr Whippy - 22/10/08 at 09:17 AM

you must heat it, use a hair dryer till its too hard to touch. No need to scrape it off it will go hard. This will happen in the winter just make sure the area that you are working on is reasonably warm, have a convection heater and some large cardboard sheets to make a cover to keep the heat in


maartenromijn - 22/10/08 at 09:33 AM

To check if the materials are faulty, you could mix some more in the same ratio and place it in living room temperature to cure. The result speaks for itself.

[Edited on 22/10/08 by maartenromijn]


indykid - 22/10/08 at 02:59 PM

not IN the living room though. you'll just make the people that live with you very unhappy!

tom


MikeRJ - 22/10/08 at 03:41 PM

Wouldn't make me unhappy, I love the smell of body filler


twybrow - 22/10/08 at 04:18 PM

quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
As mentioned above, its chiefly dependent on mix and temperature, but its also depends on thickness, if its plenty thick it will take longer to dry out.


Incorrect I'm afraid - if it is thick, it should actually go off faster....


RK - 22/10/08 at 04:53 PM

I have had this problem with body filler from a tube, which is premixed. It comes off in chunks when sanded with 240 grit. Waste of time. And the epoxy I have put over to smooth it just sands off too once hardened properly.

What is that fibreglass resin stuff you can mix with powder? I don't know what the name is but it is for smoothing over grp. I think that's what Leepu uses. Anything is better than the brown stuff from the tube (not at home so don't have the name of that either).


maartenromijn - 22/10/08 at 05:22 PM

quote:

Wouldn't make me unhappy, I love the smell of body filler



@MikeRJ: The same goes for me!


Vindi_andy - 23/10/08 at 11:25 AM

quote:
Originally posted by twybrow
quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
As mentioned above, its chiefly dependent on mix and temperature, but its also depends on thickness, if its plenty thick it will take longer to dry out.


Incorrect I'm afraid - if it is thick, it should actually go off faster....


Is that thick as in consistency or depth of fill


Vindi_andy - 23/10/08 at 11:26 AM

quote:
Originally posted by MikeRJ
Wouldn't make me unhappy, I love the smell of body filler


To misquote a classic film " I love the smell of filler in the morning. Smells like victory"


twybrow - 24/10/08 at 09:06 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Vindi_andy
quote:
Originally posted by twybrow
quote:
Originally posted by loggyboy
As mentioned above, its chiefly dependent on mix and temperature, but its also depends on thickness, if its plenty thick it will take longer to dry out.


Incorrect I'm afraid - if it is thick, it should actually go off faster....


Is that thick as in consistency or depth of fill


Depth of fill..... Body filler is essentially polyester resin with chalk added. With polyester (and expoxy for that matter), the greater the thickness (volume) of the material, the faster and hotter the reaction will be. This is why it is inadvisable to mix up large buckets of resin - you are better off with the same volume split between smaller buckets.


rusty nuts - 24/10/08 at 05:56 PM

Has it gone off yet? Reminds me of some "bargain" floor paint I bought years ago 3 weeks and it still hadn't gone off