Fiberglass resin

[Jim Rehrer]

Ive looked online and cant find what im looking for..so does anyone know if you can thin fiberglass resin? Say to the point to be able to use it in a sprayer...anyone have any thought/expierence?

 

[JCaswell]

Yes, you can.
You can get epoxy laminating resins very thin too.

 

[Jim Rehrer]

Yes, you can.
You can get epoxy laminating resins very thin too.

What would I use if i wanted to thin it?

 

[JCaswell]

Answers to the question of thinning epoxy or polyester resin systems are highly dependent upon application. There are different ways of doing things depending upon what you wish to achieve. For instance, it's preferred to select an epoxy system with the desired viscosity from the get go. You can buy 'penetrating epoxy' that is extremely thin--designed to capillary down the sap tubes of wood.
When certain products are required for maximum structural performance, sometimes they heat the required thicker epoxy system to get it to handle differently. Thinning epoxy resin can be done, but changes to these systems will have ramifications upon performance.
Polyester resins can be thinned as well.

Try googling "thinning epoxy resin" or thinning polyester resin" and look a the numerous sites on the subject.
Here's an example of the sorts of FAQ pages you will find, any one of which might give you what you need:

http://www.tapplastics.com/aboutus/faq.php

Good luck.

 

[EDM_Fixer]

if its petrol based ... add laquer thinner stir and spray ... o but then things happen like these string things come out the gun ... clog ... grrr ... clean ... mix spray .... runs ... like i run to the out house last year at the fair... oooooo clean me and the gun ... think mix use dryers (short story) extenders , diff. thinners .tempretures , heck if you arent in a constant enviroment the humidity will get ya ... but if ya get it right ya got IT!

 

[nivejuncky]

Seems like I read a post awhile back that said to use denatured alcohol. Try this link. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4033488#post4033488

 

[cgdavid]

Don't know about polyester resin but most epoxy can be thinned with pure acetone. Make sure it's not that recycled stuff.

Instead of taking the chance of resin catylizing in your gun, call West systems or System three and get expert advice and the proper resin/hardener/thinner for spray applications.

I thought about spraying resin on the last couple boats I built but decided that the extra sandout time was worth not having a sticky residue (overspray) and acetone fumes to deal with.

Let us know what you finall fnd out...

Curt

An afterthought....

If you do decide to spray, do it in as cold of conditions as possible to delay the 'kick'. If you spray multiple coats, be sure to remove the 'blush' if present, between coats.