fibre glass not setting

[jack&mle]

I did some fibre glass this weekend and for some reason the resin did not set.
(I have checked it this morning and it's still tacky.) It did not set on the car, but it did on my jeans!

I believe the might be 2 reason why it has not set:
The weather, it was rather cold yesterday
The age of resin/hardener. They have been stored in my garage for a bit more than a year.

I am now pondering what should be my next move, the weather is going to get colder in th next few days so:

Should I clean everything a start again, If yes what is the best way to clean the resin of the body (hidden panel)?
Or
Should I wait a bit longer for it to set?

Can some one could enlighten me on what I may have done wrong?

Thanks again for your help/advice

Jack

[grahambell]

Neither the old resin/hardner nor the cold will help.

However, if the stuff on your jeans set then you might be OK. Heat acts as a catalyst to the reaction between the resin and hardner, so suggest you try warming the area with a hot air gun, and with luck that should do it.

[jack&mle]

Cheers

I will try that later on

Jack

[limegreennutter]

Old trick we used at the track when doing composite repairs was to make a warm air tent.

Some gaffa tape, polythene & a hairdrier will do. Mak e a tent like structure enclosing the area being cured & just leave the hairdryer on for a couple of hourm cheacking at regular intervals.

[teamHOLDENracing]

As you've said, it could be the cold, age of hardener/resin - or because you didn't mix it in the right quantities given the above.

I use 4% catalyst to resin at the moment in an unheated workshop. Occasionally I give the stuff a helping hand with a heat gun to get the reaction going. I'd use 2% in the summer.

As has been suggested, to get it to harden try a heat gun/hairdryer. If that fails you could mix up some 'rocket mix' - i.e. a small amount of resin with ~ 6% hardener - ansd brush it over the top - that may be enough to get it to harden - or to be able to pull it off in one go.

Otherwise you need to scrape it off and clean the area with acetone.

Good luck!

[teamHOLDENracing]

Composite supplies available here: www.cfsnet.co.uk/

Buying acetone in 5 litre tins is a bit cheaper than nicking the missus' nail varnish remover!

[jack&mle]

I have removed the fibre mating with a long noise plier yesterday!
Some part did set properly.

I just need to clean everything now!

Jack