Problem with epoxy

dropshipbob

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I have a project that I've been working on for months and I was ready to wrap it up last night. I had to glue some parts together so I was using 2 part, 1 minute epoxy by JB Weld...the type that comes in a syringe. Anyway, I must not have had enough of both parts as it is still semi liquid even after sitting over night (yes, I mixed it thoroughly). Is there a way to remove uncured epoxy without damaging the paint? Or is there something I can do to force it to cure? In all the years I've been using 2 part epoxy I've never had this happen!
 
The key here, like any solvent problem, is to find what solvent best affects the material to be removed, while hopefully not attacking the base material. Like keys for a lock, each key is specific to the lock. In the case of epoxy, lacquer thinner, acetone or alcohol will affect it. Depending on the paint used, the first two will attack the paint, but alcohol may not.
 
Alcohol swabs are great for cleaning off wet epoxy.

I never use those syringe applicators, I can never get the plunger to go down straight. I only use epoxy that allows me to dispense each part separately.
 
Imgill, the paint is standard Krylon.

robn1, after this, I think I'll be switching to something I can control better..
 
Try with water first! Some epoxies can be cleaned off with water but it is not the norm and it is not as effective as with alcohol.
 
What is the ambient room temperature? Epoxies love heat. If the room is too cold, it can retard the curing.

A twin pack 5min cure should go off regardless as that stuff is designed to be applied thin and still kick.
 
Depending on the brand and how long it sat on the shelf, some epoxy stays pliable for days. I used some locktite brand epoxy "5 minute" epoxy, and it still left finger prints after 5 days. Took about 2 weeks to fully set. Was not in the cold either...
 
cavx, the temp is around 76-77 degrees.

FON, it's made by JB Weld, one minute set time. I checked it last night, and it seems to still have the same consistency.
 
Yeah, I loved the gray and black two part JB Weld stuff, but it seemed that one of the tubes would always go bad fairly quickly if you didn't use it.
 
Imgill, the paint is standard Krylon.

robn1, after this, I think I'll be switching to something I can control better..

That is an issue, in my experience, Krylon is susceptible to alcohol depending on how long it's cured for and what type it is. (Newer "California safe" Krylon seems to be the most susceptible.
 
This *might* no longer be an issue. I keep checking it and it looks like it's slowly starting to cure. Now my problem is that it's curing, but the part is drooping and I think it's to late to fix it without tearing the whole thing apart, removing the epoxy with a power tool, repainting and doing it all over again! :facepalm
 
Yeah... Epoxy is very unpredictable. I was making a prop gun and after watching videos I found that everybody recommended epoxy. For the life of me I cannot understand why? The same thing happened to me with the saggy droopy spots. Even if you don't use a lot it seems to want to build up as gravity does its thing. Best of luck man
 
Thanks! I think I fixed it though. I was able to bend the part back to where it needed to be and there was a gap between the two parts even with the epoxy being present. So I mixed up some two part putty and stuffed the gap full with it. I made sure the parts were going to stay in the right pose and after three hours the putty had set-up and locked it all in place. The guy who made the kit REALLY should have made keys on both parts so there was something to help place them in the right position AND so you had a platform to glue off of.
 
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