17 replies to this topic

[CheapTrix]

I finished a bunch of lures this past weekend and went to topcoat with etex, but found that my etex resin had settled/seperated. According to the directions....if the resin becomes cloudy, you should place in warm water until it becomes clear again. When I do this, the settling breaks down somewhat, but I have to shake it to get it to remix. My problem is that it never gets clear and there appears to be small flakes in the resin. Is there a cure to this, will this affect topcoat, or is the resin just junk? Any help is appreciated.

CheapTrix

[nedyarb]

I bought a 32 oz kit last year, and mine has done the same thing. The hardener has turned yello, and the resin has white clumps that sank to the bottom. I used it to coat 50 or so baits like that and never noticed a differece. I di just buy some new etex this weekend, and was surprised at how yellow the old hardener had actually gotten.

[BobP]

Epoxy resin tends to crystalize during long storage in cold weather. I've zapped it in the microwave to put it back into a liquid state. I would try heating it more to see if the flakes disappear. I don't know any fix for yellowing/browning hardener.

BTW, if you heat resin and hardener in a microwave, the resin absorbs microwave energy faster and can become almost as liquid as water and very hot while the hardener heats much more gradually. Trying to eyeball equal size pools of resin/hardener then becomes impossible until you let them both cool down until they again similar viscosities again.

[Wolfmanbean]

huh. I recently bought a 32oz kit off of ebay. I didnt know any better, because Im new to e-tex, but my hardener is yellow. An i just checked the resin and I do see were some off it has settled. I thought thats the ways it was suppose to be. That might be the problem Im having with this stuff getting to lay down right.

[crankpaint]

if you warm up the two parts and mix it while its warm it should mix just fine and after you apply it if its starting to thicken hit it with a heat gun or blow dryer and it will thin out like water and smooth out as it turns on the lure turner if you get a drip on it hit it with the brush to take away the drip and hit it again with the blow dryer/heat gun just to smooth it out and let it finish curing(about 4 hours to the touch so it wont run)that should help also it takes out the air bubbles when you hit it with the blow dryer

[CheapTrix]

Thanks for the help. Bob, question on heating in the microwave....do you heat the entire bottle of resin or just the small batch you will be using? I am assuming that you mean the entire bottle, but wasn't clear to me.

Thanks,
CheapTrix

[BobP]

Yeah, I meant whatever's in the bottle BUT I'm not recommending that anyone do that because of the different way the resin and hardener absorb m/w energy. In a microwave, one second the resin seems average in viscosity, the next second it's as thin as water and hot as heck. I'd probably do it to get the resin back in a liquid state, but that's all. Oh, and take the top off before you zap it.

[nedyarb]

Wolfmanbean, on 31 January 2012 - 06:29 PM, said:

huh. I recently bought a 32oz kit off of ebay. I didnt know any better, because Im new to e-tex, but my hardener is yellow. An i just checked the resin and I do see were some off it has settled. I thought thats the ways it was suppose to be. That might be the problem Im having with this stuff getting to lay down right.

I am no etex expert. But I read a post on here about a year ago, that said the hardener would yellow after it sat for a long time. I had my old bottle for a year and didn't notice how yellow it really was until I went out and bought a new bottle. The new etex hardener, is only slighty darker than the resin. Also, I went to walmart and bought 2 clear ketchup or mustard bottles with caps. They are super easy to dispense the proper amount of the hardner and the resin. I found trying to pour the exact amount sout of the original bottles to be difficult and really messy! Plus they only cost .97 cents.

[crankpaint]

if you get a small scale from harbor fright(about ten bucks) you can weigh both parts equily and then mix it so you dont have any prob. with trhe top coat being sticky becouse of a less then perfect mix

[mark poulson]

I mix my D2T by eye, but I use Flexcoat Syringes to measure out my Etex. Since I started using them, I haven't had a bad batch. Etex is really meant to be mixed by equal volume, not by weight.
When they're not in use, they sit in tight fitting holes in the tops of the two bottles, so I just have to hold them when I turn each bottle over, load the syringe with as much as I need, and then turn the bottle back over and remove the loaded syringe.
Here's where I got them:

http://www.mudhole.c...ringes-Set-of-2

Edited by mark poulson, 01 February 2012 - 09:18 PM.

[nedyarb]

When I bought the new bottles I measured them on my harbor freight scale. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was about 264 grams of hardner and 230 grams of resin. So when I weigh them to coat a lure I use 1.1 grams of hardnr to 1.0 grams of resin. And it works really well, even when I was using the yellowed hardner it worked fine.

[CheapTrix]

Thanks everyone! Make sure that if you are measuring Etex by weight that you figure out the proportion based on volume first. Then you can measure by weight. Remember, the density of the resin and the hardener are not the same, therefore the weight will vary. Etex, as most epoxy, is intended to be measured/mixed in equal volumes, not weight.

At least this is my understanding of epoxies.

CheapTrix

[nedyarb]

nedyarb, on 01 February 2012 - 09:42 PM, said:

When I bought the new bottles I measured them on my harbor freight scale. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it was about 264 grams of hardner and 230 grams of resin. So when I weigh them to coat a lure I use 1.1 grams of hardnr to 1.0 grams of resin. And it works really well, even when I was using the yellowed hardner it worked fine.

I meant to say 1.1 grams of resin for every 1.0 gram of hardner

[littleriver]

After much trial and error, the best solution I came up with for mixing one to one epoxies like Etex is to reuse and refill a Devcon 2ton or similar epoxy dispencer. Just clean it up with alcohol and fill with your favorite tabletop. A perfect one to one mix by volume every time.

littleriver

[nedyarb]

nedyarb, on 04 February 2012 - 12:53 PM, said:

I meant to say 1.1 grams of resin for every 1.0 gram of hardner

I take it back 1.1 grams hardner to 1.0 grams resin. Either way I havenever had aproble when using a scale.

[woodieb8]

we use dollar store 1 ounce plastic shooter cups. we de-bubble with a dollar store barbecue lighter.
i use a gallon of the sticky stuff a month. never had issues as long as you mix it very well.

[Rowhunter]

Earth to Ned, Hello,,, Volume not weight,,, hello. All kidding aside, whenever in doubt, read the instructions.

Douglas

[nedyarb]

Rowhunter, on 04 February 2012 - 05:56 PM, said:

Earth to Ned, Hello,,, Volume not weight,,, hello. All kidding aside, whenever in doubt, read the instructions.

Douglas

I read ya loud and clear. However the scale works better for me. I started using it 8 months ago and have not had one batch of bad baits. Even when I was using the settled resin and the yellowed hardner. I tried the syringes and medicine cups. But the scale is hands down the easiest!