Shelf life, is my activator any good?

A

Ash

Unfortunately my SPI epoxy and 2k primer have been sitting on the shelf since I brought them roughly 3 years ago. Life got in the way, as it does and my marriage and kids took priority meaning my car sat and sat and sat.
It's finally come to the cars turn and I'm at the point where I'm about to put new metal on but wish to epoxy first. I knew there would be a big question mark over the activator and since this is my first time using it, I'm not sure what to expect.

2 days ago I put 15ml in a cup and this is it's colour. Is this what it should look like? All of my tins have never been opened.



I had opened the epoxy and it had settled. I stirred it thoroughly for about 20 minutes until it became a consistent fluid again.
I put 15ml of epoxy in to mix 1:1.



I cut a piece of scrap and sanded it



After letting it induce for 30mins I brushed a coat on. It didn't go down the best as I brushed in on pretty thick.



After another 30min I brushed the 2nd coat



The following day, yesterday, I gave it a sand to one side and it still felt a little soft.





I was able to make an impression with my thumb nail



I let it sit out int he sun again for the remainder of the day. I went back to it this morning, now 48 hours after mixing the epoxy, and it appears to have hardened further. It's sanding nicer and also harder to make a nail impression in. Here you can see yesterdays nail impression to the left and todays attempt to the right of it.



Temperature has been around 15-20 degrees Celsius during the day



How is it looking? Do you think it is usable? My main goal at the moment is to get epoxy on the underside of parts, inside the frame rails and etc. Will it be ok for this? I plan to buy more epoxy to use later when it comes time for body work but for now I just need to continue on with the floor and rust repairs. Will I be ok to use it for that?

It takes about 2-3 months to get it sent here so I am really hoping I can continue on with what I have so I can continue progress.
 
I was told from Barry that it will turn on the yellow side with age but is nothing to be worried about and will still work as it should. As for it being alittle soft?, you are putting it on thicker brushing it then if you sprayed it so I wouldn't be too worried about that either, I sprayed 6-7 coats on a truck frame and a week later when I lifted it with a nylon strap it dented and Barry said as long as it didn't chip or fall off there was nothing to worry about, now the frame is bullet proof. I have had mine turn colors (like yours) after it was opened and resealed after a week or two. I think your good to go.
 
Thanks Datec, that is such a relief to hear. That's very reassuring to know. Means I can power on with my project. I really appreciate the feedback, thanks!
 
When it comes to sanding it I like wet sanding it a day or 2 after, it sands like butter, when I drysand it in that time it feels kinda rubbery or something so I just wetsand with 400grt or what ever is needed, I like wetsanding better anyhow.
 
I think I will probably get through this gallon just in concealing the inners of everything along with the engine block and a heap of other bits and pieces. So probably not a great deal of sanding to do but thanks for the tip.

I did have a second gallon of epoxy but have shared it with a mate as he too is at the same point in his project. We'll place another order to get some more on its way over to Aus soon. I also plan to order the SS black.
 
I have kept and used epoxy primer for over a year before. The activator turns dark but doesn't seem to matter. I have also found the clear activator lasts a very long time if you put the cap on immediately after each use.
 
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