Extending the life of liquid poly resin?

[Darren Nemeth]

Okay. A few days ago the weather has dropped to the point where I can no longer glass the boat until spring. Happened over night.

Meanwhile, I have 3/4 a gallon of poly resin sitting here that probably won't survive that long.

Can I keep this outside in the cold to slow the chemical process and extend its life or should I just have "fun" and pour all of my MEK in the can and see how fast it solidifies?

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Extending the life of liquid poly resin?

It may last.

Retail resin is normally formulated or chosen for a long shelf life and if kept cold it will last even longer, that doesn't mean it'll be the same as it is now though. As resin ages the gel time tends to get longer and the viscosity will drop, the rate of these changes can be tough to predict, so until it's opened in the spring you won't know.

 

[Darren Nemeth]

Re: Extending the life of liquid poly resin?

Okay. It'll go out on the porch.

This is the 404 resin from US Composits. Here are the specs http://www.shopmaninc.com/specs/spec404.html

It shelf life is a minumum 3 months. I have 9 months 'til June, that is when weather usually breaks in Michgan.

I can probably use a quart this week if glassing the transom I cut out using twice the ammount of MEK but overnight temps here are currently in the 35 degrees range. Perhaps I can let it cure in the house for 1/2 a day then put it in the shed at night.[???]