IN2 Epoxy Infusion Resin

As with many post-cure cycles for resins, the post-cure cycle for our EL2 and IN2 Epoxy Resins is not too sensitive and a range of different post-cure cycles will produce good results, specifically improved mechanical performance and elevated HDT/operating temperature. Post-curing parts that will be used at or exposed to elevated operating temperatures (such as vehicle bonnets/hoods in direct sunlight, engine-bay parts, car interior parts etc.) is strongly recommended to prevent distortion of the parts when they are put into service and experience these higher temperatures.

Where possible, parts should be post-cured still inside the mould to reduce distortion and improve surface finish (i.e. reduce 'print-through'). When post-curing parts in the mould, it is important to post-cure them without demoulding at all (i.e. don’t demould and then put them back into the mould) otherwise you can get some strange patterns on the surface where some areas are post cured in direct contact with the mould surface and others are not.

A simple and very effective post-cure cycle with the IN2 Infusion Resin (or EL2 Epoxy Laminating Resin) is as follows:

CYCLE #1 SUITABLE FOR MOST SITUATIONS

1. 24hrs at room temperature
2. 6hrs at 60°C

If you’re encountering any surface finish issues (faint print-through) then you can experiment with a slower 'ramp rate' which sometimes improves things:

CYCLE #2 SUGGESTED FOR SUBTLE IMPROVEMENTS TO SURFACE FINISH

1. 24hrs at room temperature
2. 2hrs at 40°C
3. 2hrs at 50°C
4. 5hrs at 60°C

If you need to push the HDT of the finished part higher then you could increase post-cure up to a maximum of 80°C as follows:

CYCLE #3 SUGGESTED FOR HIGHEST POSSIBLE HDT/OPERATING TEMPERATURE

1. 24hrs at room temperature
2. 2hrs at 40°C
3. 2hrs at 50°C
4. 2hrs at 60°C
5. 2hrs at 70°C
6. 4hrs at 80°C

These are all just suggestions. Most situations just call for option #1; 6hrs at 60°C. Many customers also find that they can dispense with the 24hrs cure at ambient and simply load newly infused parts into the oven to begin the cure however this is something that you would need to experiment with yourself. A cure at ambient temperature before post-cure is generally favoured with most resin systems.

Yes, but it's highly recommended to use specialist 'powder bound' chopped strand matt. This is because conventional chopped strand matt is 'emulsion bound' which relies on styrene and solvents in the resin to break the binding down. Epoxy does not have these solvents. As a result, specialist 'powder bound' chopped strand matt is needed as the powder binding is broken down by the liquid itself.

Most cured epoxy resins have self-extinguishing properties however none of our epoxies have formal 'fire rating' data because they're not designed as intumescent or fire retardant resins. The reinforcement you use will also have an impact on the fire retardancy of the finished product.

If you're specifically setting out to make fire-retardant parts I would suggest using a specialist intumescent resin - however, bear in mind that generally these resins will contain inert fillers which compromise their mechanical performance to some extent.

No, we wouldn’t suggest Epoxy Resins for lining a fuel tank. In general, epoxies have good resistance to petrol and many of the chemicals and additives found within pump fuel however the ethanol in fuel is known to cause problems over time and so specialist tank lining resins (often novalac vinylester based) should be used instead. One such product is GTS 1750 which is sold by Caswell Europe.

No, this epoxy in common with other epoxies does not attack expanded polystyrene

We have not specifically saught FDA (or similar) approval for this resin system so if you were to make these plates commercially then you would either need to make a plate using this resin system and then have it tested and approved safe for food use or use a different resin system that has specifically been approved for food use. Mixed and cured fully and properly the resulting plastic should be stable and non-toxic but testing would be required to prove this. Regarding being dishwasher safe; a dishwasher is a very harsh environment (abrasive, high temperatures, caustic) and so I think it would be quite hard on any resin system. By all means conduct your own tests but I would strongly recommend that a carbon fibre plate was not marketed as 'dishwasher safe'.

Although generally cured epoxies are non-hazardous, none of the products we have are certified food safe and thus we cannot recommend their use with food products.

We recommend Acetone. The brushes must be cleaned before the resin has cured. If you can’t get hold of acetone it’s also possible to use methylated spirits or neat alcohol.

In really simple terms you can think of 1kg of the Epoxy Resin as being 1L. If you want to be really exact (for example if you want to mix the resin and the hardener by volume and not by weight (which we don't recommend because it's unnecessarily complicated) then the relative density of the resin and the hardener, and the mixed product, can be found on the technical datasheet.

We can send any quantity of resin to Portugal. We would use a TNT Road service. To find the shipping cost for any item, simply add it to your basket and then click the 'Estimate Shipping' button on the basket page. The price will then be shown once you chose your shipping country (Portugal).

Unlike other resin systems such as polyester or vinylester, it's very important to get the mix ratios accurate with epoxies. If you get the mix ratio wrong by a small amount (let's say a couple of grams on a small mix) then the resin will still cure but the mechanical properties won't be quite as good as they would have been if the mix ratio had been exactly right. However, if you were to be out by anything more than a few grams then you might find that the resin would not be properly hard when cured and/or may have a tackiness to the finish. This would result in a much weaker repair and needs to be avoided by careful measurements.

Above the HDT of a resin system it will soften slightly and its mechanical properties will start to fall away however a thermosetting plastic (like epoxy) is NOT a thermoformable plastic so it will not start to flow again such that you could melt it out of your part. It's more likely to become slightly soft and then possible more brittle again before eventually starting to burn if you too the temperature high enough. It sounds to me like you need a thermoformable plastic (aka a thermoplastic) with a relatively low melting point. I'd suggest something like PCL.

An elevated temperature post-cure is not required for parts made with epoxy resin however, post curing parts will improve the mechanical properties of the resin (and therefore the part) and so if you have the means to do it then it's certainly recommended. One major advantage to post-curing epoxy is that you will raise the HDT (heat distortion temperature) of the part meaning that it's less likely to soften or distort in higher temperatures. This can be particularly important for parts like a vehicle panel (i.e. hood/bonnet) which could get very hot in the sun. Without a post-cure there is a good chance that the part would effectively post-cure itself 'in situe' when it's in direct sunlight which can cause the resin to soften, sink and then re-harden. When this happens to a fitted part it's likely to distort the surface finish. A part that had been post-cured prior to installation would not have this problem.

Epoxy resins have very little odour and so it's quite viable to use them indoors (i.e. in your house) without upsetting anyone. The resin is almost completely odourless and the hardener has an amonia smell which doesn't really carry or linger.

In this respect epoxies are very different to polyester and vinylester resin which has a very strong smell and cannot realistically be used indoors. As always, you should still follow safety precautions and ensure adequate ventilation of your work area.

Uncured resins are classed as dangerous goods and would need to be disposed of correctly. For domestic users, usually your local council recycling centre will have a disposal service for such chemicals or containers.

Because cured resins are inert and safe for disposal it's often easiest to mix un-needed or out-of-date resin and hardener together to cure them. Once cured they can be disposed of with general waste.

Epoxy is sensitive to low temperatures so we would not attempt to try and cure the resin at very low temperatures such as below 15 °:C. At those temperatures, the cure time will be lengthened considerably.

One of the most significant problems caused by low temperatures (much below 20°C) is that the resin will be considerably thicker which affects its ability to self-degas after pouring.

Also, curing epoxies are hydroscopic so the low temperature environment may well leave the resin vulnerable to absorbing moisture, especially if the environment is relatively damp or high in humidity as can be found in some outdoor workshops or home garages.

As a result, for best results we always recommend working in an environment that is 20°C or above.

The B stage of the cure is when the resin has cured enough to be firm but still tacky. When touching with a gloved finger, the resin should feel tacky but not leave any residue on the glove.

Yes, it is. The max temperature would be 60°:C. At this temperature the resin will cure very quickly; see the datasheet for more information on cure times and post-curing.

Assuming your plan is to resin infuse the moulds (hence choosing IN2 as the main resin) then it would be theoretically possible to use GC50 as gelcoat surface for a mould, however, there would be quite a few disadvantages to GC50 compared to the UG1 Uni-Mould Tooling Gelcoat such as it being unpigmented (you would normally want a pigment on a mould), inability to double-gelcoat (you often want a thicker gelcoat on a mould to allow for re-flatting and polishing, less hard-wearing (vinylester is much tougher than polyester) and less reliable release of epoxy (vinylesters are much more reliable as a mould surface when making epoxy components.

Also, after saying all this, GC50 also has a relatively short shelf-life of 5 months, compared to 3 months for the UG1. Given the relatively small gain in shelf life, I'd strongly suggest UG1 for tooling applications over GC50.

In terms of its mechanical integrity, the UV stability of IN2 would be perfectly fine for regular temporary outdoor use. The only affect on the resin of such use might be a slight discoloration, although I have seen components made using this resin still looking virtually the same after many years of regular outdoor use (but not permanently outdoors, which isn't recommended).

The main consideration for your project however would actually be the UV stability of the Kevlar itself. Kevlar is extremely sensitive to UV and will discolour (to a darker shade of yellow) very quickly in direct sunlight. Although the effect is mainly visual, some slight mechanical degradation will also occur with UV exposure. Therefore, for outdoor use, it would be highly recommended to protect the Kevlar from the UV light with - at least - a UV protective clearcoat or better still, an opaque paint or gelcoat.

Yes, certainly. There are a number of established snowboard companies who use these resin systems for all their boards. IN2 and EL2 have similar cured mechanical properties meaning that the IN2 will be just as good in use for making a snowboard as the EL2 laminating resin.

Although you could hand laminate using IN2, it is primarily designed as a infusion resin, hence its very low viscosity. A better resin for wet lay laminating is our EL2 Epoxy Laminating Resin which has a slightly higher viscosity making it less prone to draining off vertical mould surfaces (pooling) in open layup.

Epoxy does normally release ok from Pattern Coat Primer and High Gloss. However, for slightly more aggressive processes such as resin infusion, we would recommend taking extra care with release agent application and to consider the double release agent system. This would mean applying the typical 5 coats of Easy-Lease Chemical Release Agent followed up by a couple of extra layers of Mirror Glaze Mould Release Wax for good measure. You should then get a good release.

Yes, a heated blanket can be used to fully cure/post cure resin infused components whilst still in their mould. It would be important to ensure that the distribution of temperature is even (no areas which are particularly hot or cold) but given good temperature distribution then a heated blanket is a good way of fully curing off the IN2 resin.

Our IN2 is a good choice for many marine applications such as kayaks and small watercraft. The resin combined with the infusion technique will produce a light and strong hull.

Yes our Infusion Resin will work for wet lay up, however being designed for infusion, it has a lower viscosity than a typical laminating resin. This means it is likely to run off more compared to a typical laminating resin and will not build as thick coats as quickly.

Generally for wet lay lamination, our EL2 Epoxy Laminating Resin is a superior choice of resin due to its characteristics, including slightly higher viscosity, which can make it easier to use during wet lay processes.

Yes, this epoxy infusion resin is suitable for use with just about any reinforcement. In fact, it is approved for marine use and we supply many customers who are using this resin for carbon, kevlar, diolen and glass boat hulls.

Yes, it is. In fact we have quite a few customers who use our IN2, because of its very low viscosity and clear appearance, for stabilising wood and other natural materials. To do this properly you need to drive the resin deep into the wood which is usually done using a pressure pot. Under normal pressure the resin will soak into the wood to some effect but it won't be driven in as well as it would under positive pressure.

IN2 Epoxy Infusion Resin will coat over Styrofoam (blue expanded polystyrene foam) with no problems. It is, however, a low viscosity resin and you may find our slightly thicker EL2 Epoxy Laminating Resin more suitable for a brush application onto Styrofoam.