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Hot Stuff - - Exothermic reaction of epoxy adhesive.
I had some twenty-year-old 1:1 epoxy that no longer cured correctly; it remained sticky after it set. Rather than just throw both bottles in the garbage, I decided to mix them beforehand to create a less messy outcome (or so I surmised). There was ~ 3 ounces each of resin & hardener. I mixed them in a nine oz plastic cup. Within a few minutes, the mixture began to produce heat & began to bubble, so I set the cup in the dirt. The cup soon collapsed due to the heat, & the epoxy flowed like lava [a figure of speech - it got very hot, but nowhere near molten]. To my surprise, the mess cured hard as a rock.
Conclusion: Perhaps the concoction set hard, not sticky, due to having mixed the entire contents of both bottles. Some ingredients of one or both bottles may have separated (settled-out), due to having sat for such a long period of time. It’s my supposition, that if I’d mixed each part thoroughly before combining them, smaller portions might have cured satisfactorily. But, now I’ll never know ... HAW !!!
Here’s the pic . . . .
I had some twenty-year-old 1:1 epoxy that no longer cured correctly; it remained sticky after it set. Rather than just throw both bottles in the garbage, I decided to mix them beforehand to create a less messy outcome (or so I surmised). There was ~ 3 ounces each of resin & hardener. I mixed them in a nine oz plastic cup. Within a few minutes, the mixture began to produce heat & began to bubble, so I set the cup in the dirt. The cup soon collapsed due to the heat, & the epoxy flowed like lava [a figure of speech - it got very hot, but nowhere near molten]. To my surprise, the mess cured hard as a rock.
Conclusion: Perhaps the concoction set hard, not sticky, due to having mixed the entire contents of both bottles. Some ingredients of one or both bottles may have separated (settled-out), due to having sat for such a long period of time. It’s my supposition, that if I’d mixed each part thoroughly before combining them, smaller portions might have cured satisfactorily. But, now I’ll never know ... HAW !!!
Here’s the pic . . . .
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