questions about smooth on...

[Russell S.]

after my first time using smooth on i have a few questions...

1) is it suposta be almost solid at 50 degrees?

2) what is the pot time at 50-60F  assuming you heat it up enough to mix it prior to starting?

3)I put the cans in the bow oven for about 45 mins temp peaked at about 160, i am sure the smooth on didnt make it much beyond 100,  i put in in disposable "messuring" cups  and it would not settle, so back in the oven (it was still on and about 180 by that time) for about 15 mins about 180,  leveled in cups and was measured about right.  so i wasted the little extra of one. then mixed.  seemed to stay thin enough to work, so the question is how much, and how do you heat your smooth on?

4) how much do you use?, i ended up with about 2.75 oz each.  it was BARLEY enough...  probably went a bit thin in a few spots (glad i did this test run with fake lams.)

6) smooth on is a whole new bread of epoxy to me.  I have used FLEX-A-COAT on a lot of fishing rods, the mix has to be PREFECT (like use a scale prefect) and you have to mix it for 5+ mins.  or you end up with a sticky coat.  so how close does smooth on have to be?  and how long do you mix...  I put a Popsicle stick in the drill and alternated between that and hand scarping the sides and turning for about 5 mins. so far looks like it is going to set fine.

[kennym]

Hi Russel,

1... It will be pretty solid at 50,I like a good 70-80

2...  Not sure on pot time,only once in 90 degree heat did it start to thicken up before the bow was glued up,came out fine!

3...I like to have the cans gently warmed completely thru,at around 70-80

4... Everybody uses different amounts,you now have a good idea how much YOU use!

5... where it go?

6... The mix doesn't have to be exact,I mix 50/50 by volume and have had no glue failure. I probably mix 3-5 min,depending on how it looks. I've waited and not waited for the bubbles to clear out. I think you get rid of em anyway when you spread the glue.

[macbow]

Well I've never tried to use smooth on below about 70 degrees then it was stiff but easy enough to mix.

I've just mixed them by eye ball and never had a problem. Also  I just mix till smooth maybe a minute.
Ron

[OH Longbow]

My last bow was the only time that I had actually used measuring cups.  On my other three bows, I just eyeballed it and it turned out great.  I bring the cans up in the house for a few days before mixing.  That gets it up to 70-75 degrees.

[Apex Predator]

I pretty much eye-ball the mix.  If it's below about 70 deg, it's pretty tough to mix well.  I heat each part in the microwave briefly before mixing, when it's cool in the shop.  Be careful though, because I had it setting up on me once after getting both parts too hot before mixing.

[Russell S.]

Thanks for all the great feed back guys. i think i will warm it up inside next time.  wife is sick so heat is staying at 75F now i have a reason for it to be soo hot inside!

[Holm-Made]

For 15.00-20.00 you can get a cheap, small electric space heater.  We call them milk house heaters.  When it is below 65 degrees or so in the shop, I set mine up on the work bench in the shop and set the cup of epoxy in front of it as I'm glue up a bow.  It keeps the epoxy warmer and easier to work with.  
I only warm it up enough to keep it loose enough to spread readily not too much as to accelerate the set time.  I suppose the epoxy is warmed up to about 80 degrees if I had to guess.  Chad

[BigJim]

It is typically too warm around here for about 10 months of the year so all I have is a wood stove in my shop. During the winter, I would ocasionally glue up without heating the shop on cold to GA days and found that these bows frequently ended up with small air bubbles under glass. I also buy the two gallon kit so it can be difficult to heat both pails and keep them warm while I glue up a couple of bows and handles. I find that it is still best to heat the shop and take glue from warm place.
Spoke to the people at smooth on and they said as long as there is at least and equal to greater amoutn of the white portion of glue than of the tan portion your ok. It actually makes it stronger to use less of the tan, all the way down to 3-1 portions, but it is not cost effective since you can only buy the stuff in equal size kits.
BigJim