I just got my shipment of Raka epoxy to continue with building my latest scratch built CH17lt that I started with suplies left over from my first kit built CH17lt. I got a gallon of Raka 127 resin and a quart each of 350 slow-non blush and 610 fast hardener. I first tried using the resin mixed with a 50/50 mix of both hardener types to cover the interior cockpit area of my hull with 5oz glass. The fast hardener caused the cup of epoxy I made to kick and harden MUCH faster than I was expecting. Compared to the slow hardener supplied with my CLC kit, the mix with fast Raka hardener was VERY fast. I also made the mistake of leaving about half of the mixed epoxy in my pot while I was applying the first half and the pot became exothermicaly hot, probably further speeding the hardening. I did not get the glass wet-out and got the entire mess squeeged and smoothed out before it started to harden (maybe 10 minutes) and it made a real mess of my cockpit. Be very cautious using "fast" hardener on any large surface!
-Jason

: Folks,

: I just ordered my epoxy and fiberglass from Raka and wanted a little feed
: back on my glassing plan as well as on the use of their 5oz cloth.

: Questions on Epoxy Schedule

: I am working in an unheated basement that stays at a constant 65 in the
: winter and early spring so I bought a combination of slow and fast
: hardener. My plan is to mix the two types of hardeners to speed up the
: curing process a bit for steps that are not time critical. On my last boat
: I sometimes had to wait 2 days to get a decent cure before moving on to
: the next steps. Any advice on ratios to use. I had planned the following.

: Seal coat - half fast and half slow
: Glassing – All slow or maybe 70/30 mix to give me more working time
: Fill coats – All fast hardener
: Hatches and coaming – 50/50 fast slow mix

: Do I have to be more concerned with blushing when I use the fast hardener

: Questions on the use of the 5oz glass

: I was told to do a seal coat first and to be careful in my hand lay-up to not
: float the glass. Any tips on how not to float a lighter weight glass. I
: have some experience with 6oz so I assume it is not much different. I try
: to minimize the amount of epoxy in the wet out and then go back and touch
: up any sections that look in danger of starving the glass. This along with
: the seal coat seems to get a complete wet out without excess epoxy

: Any other tips on using this glass. My plan is to use one layer inside and
: out and to do some strategic reinforcing around the cockpit with carbon
: tape.

: Many Thanks,

: Jack