Temperatures for Epoxy

T

thrash86

Promoted Users
It's still over 70 degrees during the day here in NY, but it'll start to drop below 65 degrees at night soon, and definitely before I completely get the car down to bare metal as I don't have much time to work on it--just doing a little when I can. I'm working in a one car garage, which is not insulated.

I know I shouldn't be spraying epoxy with temps dropping below 65 degrees overnight as it can go dormant. Is there something I can put on the metal until I am able to spray the epoxy to keep it from rusting?

I could look into heaters, but I'm not sure what would be a good one that isn't too costly.
 
The bigger concern is metal temp. I thought most epoxies are good down to 50 degrees, but only if the actual metal temp is brought up. If you are worried about the cold, a 20.00 infrared thermometer with those laser pointer thingys is probably your best investment. Then some lights to warm the metal. Those can be doctored up, you just need a fixture for a 250 watt bulb.
 
anotheridiot said:
The bigger concern is metal temp. I thought most epoxies are good down to 50 degrees, but only if the actual metal temp is brought up. If you are worried about the cold, a 20.00 infrared thermometer with those laser pointer thingys is probably your best investment. Then some lights to warm the metal. Those can be doctored up, you just need a fixture for a 250 watt bulb.
Click to expand...

Thanks. True, metal temp and temp of the epoxy itself... but I figured if it drops to 60 degrees overnight, probably wouldn't be long before metal temp is down too.

Any specific bulb over any other?
 
really depends on the fixture you can find. Mine is a 7 bulb heat lamp that uses those floodlight R40 sized bulbs. Its nice that it has 3 switches on it for one light, middle line and outside 4, that way I can use regular bulbs to see better and still get enough heat. Even if you find them used, the worst thing you might have to do is change some wiring that fried.

They have the individual clamp ons cheap enough, the bulb should be on the bought together section. You just want it to be able to handle the watts of the bulb.

https://www.amazon.com/Woods-Clamp-...light+fixture&qid=1567613896&s=gateway&sr=8-1
 
Epoxy goes dormant below 60 degrees. Temps on the metal and air need to be minimum 65-70 degrees for 24 hours. You can help the process along by letting whatever you are epoxying sit in the Sun. UV light from the Sun helps accelerate the cure.
 
Thanks guys, looks like I'm screwed as It will drop to the mid 60's to mid 50's at night here. Not sure I can surround the car with lights. Maybe I'll stop where I'm at and throw some Ospho on it for the winter, don't have much of a choice.
 
Being this is the SPI User Forum and he is asking about epoxy I gave him the information about SPI Epoxy. The information I gave comes straight from the source, the chemist (and President) of SPI, Barry Kives. Epoxies cure differently than Urethanes which will cure (slowly) in temps lower than 60. True epoxy does not. It goes dormant (Barry's word not mine) Barry could speak to the actual chemistry involved. UV light accelerates the cure of many chemicals including epoxy. That is a fact.
Talking about other products used in different industries only muddies the waters and confuses people who are asking a question.

@Thrash
As for your question and issue. First off if it drops to mid 50's at night how cold does your shop get? If it stays in the lower 60's why not just run a space heater for the night or even a couple of electric heaters. Probably would be enough. Or if you can spray it and get it in the sun for 6-8 hours that would get you almost there. Call or Text Barry on his tech line (404.307.9740 ), tell him your situation, and he'll do his best to walk you through it and find a solution.
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
Being this is the SPI User Forum and he is asking about epoxy I gave him the information about SPI Epoxy. The information I gave comes straight from the source, the chemist (and President) of SPI, Barry Kives. Epoxies cure differently than Urethanes which will cure (slowly) in temps lower than 60. True epoxy does not. It goes dormant (Barry's word not mine) Barry could speak to the actual chemistry involved. UV light accelerates the cure of many chemicals including epoxy. That is a fact.
Talking about other products used in different industries only muddies the waters and confuses people who are asking a question.

@Thrash
As for your question and issue. First off if it drops to mid 50's at night how cold does your shop get? If it stays in the lower 60's why not just run a space heater for the night or even a couple of electric heaters. Probably would be enough. Or if you can spray it and get it in the sun for 6-8 hours that would get you almost there. Call or Text Barry on his tech line (404.307.9740 ), tell him your situation, and he'll do his best to walk you through it and find a solution.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm going by what Barry says for his products, which is why I'm concerned.

I will know for sure when I'm done getting it to bare metal and ready for epoxy--it's more than halfway there. Right now it's 9:30pm and over 70, however, it drops early in the morning. If I could do it right now, space heaters would work for the few hours in drops just under 65, but I have to see where it's at in a few weeks to make the call.
 
If 70 try to do in morning and then you have a full day of good temps, or do in morning and 30 minutes later pull in sun for 3 to 4 hours, depending on color the metal temp will get around a 100 in 30 minutes.
 
Thrash,

I'm up here in Ma. and had the same issue last fall. I too have a 1 car garage. It was half insulated and sheet rocked when i did this work last fall. I bought two of these heaters and they worked perfectly. I used SPI epoxy.

Comfort Zone 1500 Watt quartz heater

Sadly the prices have gone way up. I only paid $53 each. They do work well though. I kept them on for 24 hours+ . In case you are curious, the metal shell of the heaters get warm, but never approaches hot. The cords don't heat up either. In other words they are very stable and safe in my opinion. I was very concerned about leaving them on overnight unattended the first time I used them. So, I set my alarm and got up every few hours to check on them. They were fine. You do have to make sure you have the power as they draw some amps. I have both a 20 amp and a 15 amp circuit in my garage so I was good.

This type of heater is ideal as they heat objects and not the air. Use the laser temp gun as suggested to keep an eye on the surface temps. I found that they were powerful enough on certain nights that I didn't even have to use the heater on high. To give you some reference, the following picture was taken on 10/21/18.
IMG_4194.JPG


This section was primed the first week of November and I was able to keep the temps at 70 degrees for 24 hours. I probably could have went into early December with these heaters.
IMG_4210.JPG


Good luck with your project.
 
Awesome, thanks guys. I'll see what I can do with Barry's recommendation and the heaters bing98 recommends. I'll buy them and test out how it does overnight on the metal temps before I spray the eopxy. I'm gonna work as much as possible to finish the strip-down quickly.

btw, it's black epoxy, so that good if I can get it out in the sun in the next month or so after spraying.
 
Just been hit too many times on shipping on ebay for the same stuff. Actually ordered a hose reel from Chicago, figured it would get here quickest, ended up shipping from a black hole in nevada somewhere, showed up a week and a half later. Anything IR is gonna heat the surfaces first and the metal heats the area. When the fans go on and its time to spray I just point them at the concrete. You get a slab hot and it retains warmth for a long time.

Lifes short though, buried too many people over the last year and a half, which is only why I suggest other products that work in colder temperatures, not as a means to disrespect. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, let alone waiting for spring.
 
Thrash, do you have an infared thermometer? I spray all the time in temps like you're describing. With nighttime lows in the 50s or low 60s and highs in the mid 70s or low 80s, the temp of parts in my garage doesn't change much overnight. The concrete slab and the structure will hold temperature for quite a while. If you haven't done so already, I would get an infrared thermometer and check some metal objects to see how cold they really get during nighttime.
 
anotheridiot said:
Just been hit too many times on shipping on ebay for the same stuff. Actually ordered a hose reel from Chicago, figured it would get here quickest, ended up shipping from a black hole in nevada somewhere, showed up a week and a half later. Anything IR is gonna heat the surfaces first and the metal heats the area. When the fans go on and its time to spray I just point them at the concrete. You get a slab hot and it retains warmth for a long time.

Lifes short though, buried too many people over the last year and a half, which is only why I suggest other products that work in colder temperatures, not as a means to disrespect. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us, let alone waiting for spring.
Click to expand...

I appreciate all the replies, thanks. I already have a gallon of the SPI epoxy, 700 cleaner and slow reducer so I'm definitely going with that, even if I have to wait until spring.

Life is short, I hear that, but if I do this work with something else and I end of living to where it peels off... I'll be pissed lol. I can sleep better knowing SPI epoxy is on this thing.
 
strum456 said:
Thrash, do you have an infared thermometer? I spray all the time in temps like you're describing. With nighttime lows in the 50s or low 60s and highs in the mid 70s or low 80s, the temp of parts in my garage doesn't change much overnight. The concrete slab and the structure will hold temperature for quite a while. If you haven't done so already, I would get an infrared thermometer and check some metal objects to see how cold they really get during nighttime.
Click to expand...

Nice, that's good to know. Yes, will do. As of right now it's all good, but I'm just worried about in another month or so when I'm ready to spray, things may be different. I will post the results I'm seeing with the thermometer before I spray.
 
I bought one of these from Northern Tool.
Electric Heater.jpg

It works great at keeping the booth temp above 70 even on cold winter nights.
Like Barry suggested above, I try to spray epoxy during the day and then keep the temps steady for 24 hours.
Also, the infrared thermometer is an absolute necessity for knowing the metal temperatures. Ambient air can be toasty warm but metal temps take a while to catch up.
 
Thrash, you can come down to Jacksonville , fl to prime.:rolleyes:. 6:30 pm here it's 88 degrees with the exhaust fans on where I'm at. 80 @ 11:00 pm.
Of course when I get more metalwork ready for primer hopefully soon, it'll probably be a little cold at night here too.
For individual body panels or smaller parts, I may try electric blanket for overnite use.
 
Last edited:
@Barry or anyone else who knows, how much does sunlight actually speed up the cure (to 24 hours)? For example if something sat in the sun for 4, 6, or 8 hours, how much quicker does that get the part to the 24 hours @70 degrees point?(hope that makes sense)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top