: Hello,

: I just finished glassing the deck, which I opted to do first. I understand
: that you achieve a chemical bond if you apply the second coat of resin
: before the first has completely cured and that this is more desirable than
: a mechanical bond. For the sake of timing, I would like to do this asap
: but I'm not sure when that is. I'm using West system with 207 hardener,
: and it is about 60-65F in the basement. Is there a certain minimum time or
: first-coat condition that I should wait for? Will I run into problems if I
: put a heater underneath to speed up the reaction a little?
: I'd post a pic, but I've noticed many people have problems with that. To
: check it out, my site is www.jamesnixon.ca then go to "kayak
: building". I'm not a web designer, just a hack who is using
: powerpoint to put some stuff on there so don't expect much. I haven't yet
: posted the pic's of it glassed since I just did this about an hour ago.
: Any suggestions?

Hey James,

From what others have posted in the past, it may not be a good idea to use the heater at this point. If you need the heater to maintain the temp it may be ok but not to increase the temp. The reason is that any air in the lay-up will expand.

I start the glassing when the temp has reached its "high" for the day. Then as I proceed and the day progresses, the temp is on the decline.

I don't know that increasing the temp will actually cause a problem, but, this was the thoughs of some on the BB, so I didn't take the risk. So far, no problen with air bubbles.

You can apply the next layer of glass or fill coat as soon as the previous coat has skinned over and is no longer tacky. I usually apply every 24hrs till its done.

Happy Building.

Charles.