Petrel
Member
I am making West System epoxy repairs to an ABS covered foam boat - mostly to bond the cracked ABS at the stern gunwale (and a bit down to the transom) back onto the polystyrene core. (The manufacturer says that 2-part epoxy is okay with the for this purpose and won't dissolve the polystyrene foam.) I also plan to bond a few 2 ft long areas at the gunwale on either side of the hull as well as seal over a few 1/16th inch cracks in the ABS at the bottom. I'll mend a few indented areas with the same epoxy with a bit of filler added.
The solid cure time (for thin coat) says 6-8 hrs at room temp (70 deg F). On the stern area mentioned above, I'll use a bit more epoxy (not as thin, so should dry faster) and the temperature is between 80 to 85 deg F outside.
Perhaps if I use a hair dryer to speed it up a little if necessary since I don't care about any outgasing bubbles in this instance.
My question is this: How long after the epoxy hardens (so that a fingernail cannot dent it) can I actually put the boat in water?
Thanks.
The solid cure time (for thin coat) says 6-8 hrs at room temp (70 deg F). On the stern area mentioned above, I'll use a bit more epoxy (not as thin, so should dry faster) and the temperature is between 80 to 85 deg F outside.
Perhaps if I use a hair dryer to speed it up a little if necessary since I don't care about any outgasing bubbles in this instance.
My question is this: How long after the epoxy hardens (so that a fingernail cannot dent it) can I actually put the boat in water?
Thanks.