Fiberglass dry time?

[Jlov]

I bought a Bondo fiberglass repair kit at Home Depot today to patch some areas on my UL-1 from hitting a dock ...It said 14 drops of hardener for 1oz of resin which I did. Said cure time was 90 mins then ok to sand. Its 6 hrs later and while it has dried some its still not hard. Ive used this product before with no issues. Will this eventually harden overnight? Or is not going to cure properly at this point? Thx Jeff

[Heaving Earth]

should dry up overnight

[Jlov]

Yes Im in Florida and it was unusally cold here today. Only a high of 54 degrees. Maybe that had something to do with it... Jeff

[rickwess]

If you haven't yet, get it warmer. Even just positioning a 60W bulb 8" from the repair will help.

[Jlov]

I have a small electric heater. Would it help to blow warm air on it while sitting in house overnight tonight? Thx Jeff

[rickwess]

Yes. You need to get it over 70*. The warmer the better at this point.

[Jlov]

Ok Im warming it now. I had it in house which is probably 75 degrees but now have small electric heater blowing on it also. Hopefully its cured by morning. Wanted to do my sanding,priming and painting tommo as its my only day off! Thx for the help

[Jlov]

It has warmed up here in Florida today so I have the boat sitting out back in the sun. Its much harder this morning. I mixed same amount of harderner in this time as always. I think it was just the really cold temps we had here yesterday that led to the long cure time. Also because it took so long to cure it left some low spots . I have a NEW can(lol) of Bondo all-purpose putty can I use this on top of fiberglass once its fully cured so I may even out the low spots? Thx again all for the help Jeff

[Heaving Earth]

do you have pics of the boat? I'm curious why you've chosen bond to repair damage

[Jlov]

Yes Ive done this before with ok results. Its just taking a lot longer to cure this time. I used resin cloth,resin and hardener. Its almost completely hard now finally. Its was just soft for so long it got low spots and I want to putty on top so I can keep the lines of the boat on the sponson. heres a few pics. Thx Heaving

[Jlov]

A few more........

[keithbradley]

I think it was just the really cold temps we had here yesterday

[Heaving Earth]

Fiberglass dry time?

Warmer temps can help yes, but in Florida, it doesn't ever get cold enough to cause issues. Bondo works on a chemical reaction. Heat helps, but it will dry on its own for sure.


Sent from my iPhone

[Jlov]

It was 48 degrees here yesterday when I was doing that. I left the north to get away from this kind of cold..... lol Will I be able to use that putty on top of fiberglass work? Thx Jeff

[rickwess]

Bondo works on a chemical reaction. Heat helps, but it will dry on its own for sure.

Gel is much more sensitive to heat than epoxy. My full size boat builder won't gel a hull in Jan-Feb, because of the resulting heating bill.