AcraGlas Thinner?

TangoKilo

TangoKilo

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I find myself in the process of repairing a laminate stock with a hairline crack in the wrist. I read somewhere that Thinned Acraglas was an excellent adhesive to make this repair with.

What do I use to thin Acraglas?

Any suggestions on a better product to repair a small crack where getting the glue to penetrate is the key?

thanks,

TK
 
TangoKilo said:
I find myself in the process of repairing a laminate stock with a hairline crack in the wrist. I read somewhere that Thinned Acraglas was an excellent adhesive to make this repair with.

What do I use to thin Acraglas?

Any suggestions on a better product to repair a small crack where getting the glue to penetrate is the key?

thanks,

TK
Click to expand...

Superglue.
 
I have done this before with regular acraglass.
Just make sure you protect the areas you dont want acraglass on then apply acraglass with a plastic spatula like those used to do fiberglass/resin work
 
You can thin acraglas or any other epoxy with acetone, but it will weaken the bond. Best bet is a good quality cyanoctylate glue (crazy glue).
In some cases you can spread the crack open to get more adhesive into the joint.

Bob
 
You can thin epoxy with acetone and similar solvents but the catch is that these solvents must evaporate before the epoxy hardens. In other words this is for surface coat use. If you squirt the stuff into a crack there is little hope that the solvent will evaporate before hardening, leaving it rubbery with the solvent trapped in the epoxy. Super glue is good for cracks but it must be allowed to harden properly with time. It is not all that super!
 
What you might be looking for is "Styrene Thinner". We use it around our shop to thin out epoxies and polyester resins and it doesn't affect the bond or evaporate out like acetone does. Should be able to find it at any fibreglass/epoxy dealer.

Either way, I would personally do a test first to make sure the resin cures the way you'd expect...
 
Styrene is the stuff that makes polyester resin stink so bad. Just another solvent, just like acetone only different. Any solvent that is trapped in epoxy affects the physical properties of epoxy, polyester as well. When you cut into polyester and it still smells of styrene after years it proves that it is still trapped inside. You do want it to evaporate out before it hardens.
 
If using an epoxy based glue , then Varsol works. Resin type glue, you could probably find one liquid enough to use without thinning, but as I said a superglue would be the best option and my pick for the kind of crack you're describing.
 
Mmmm, like I said, any solvent that does not evaporate will degrade the physical properties of epoxy, the longer it takes to evaporate the worse it is. Varsol would be one of the worst. I don't claim to be a world expert on epoxy but if you would like to buy a drum or two I can fix you up.
 
I would simply have the wood very warm and the AcraGlas very warm... it will run all over the place... if mixed correctly you still have 20 minutes of runny...

I use a light bulb or two to warm the wood and epoxy. Wood first... keep forcing it in with a finger and if you can flex the stock so the crack opens up it is even better...
 
Gorilla Glue has been my friend for years. It can be thinned with water and stands up to any weather I've put it through, I even had a rifle that was submerged in the Prophet River for a couple of days that had a repair made with Gorilla Glue. That Model 70 is still in the same stock and you still can't find the repair.
 
guntech said:
I would simply have the wood very warm and the AcraGlas very warm... it will run all over the place... if mixed correctly you still have 20 minutes of runny...

I use a light bulb or two to warm the wood and epoxy. Wood first... keep forcing it in with a finger and if you can flex the stock so the crack opens up it is even better...
Click to expand...

This^^^^! Adding a third part, to any two part adhesive, is generally asking for more misery than you started out with. Heat will make epoxy a little more liquid, and allow it to flow a little better. It'll make it set up quicker too.

If the wood is clean and close fitting, I'd probably try thin CA (super) glue, wicking it into the joint and allowing it to sit for a while between applications (overnight).

Check the model airplane places for CA glue. Different types available, and way way cheaper than the crappy little tubes at the supermarket.

Cheers
Trev
 
Guntech's advice is right on the mark, in my experience. Heat the wood to draw the liquid into the crack and warm up the mix to make it runny as possible. Clamp the crack closed tight and leave it 24 hours.
 
A reasonable amount of heat can really help with epoxy. You need to be careful with cyano glues. Some of them can be very low quality and age will have an eventual effect. You may want to look at industrial names for this instead of hobby stuff.
 
Ian Robertson said:
You can thin epoxy with acetone and similar solvents but the catch is that these solvents must evaporate before the epoxy hardens. In other words this is for surface coat use. If you squirt the stuff into a crack there is little hope that the solvent will evaporate before hardening, leaving it rubbery with the solvent trapped in the epoxy. Super glue is good for cracks but it must be allowed to harden properly with time. It is not all that super!
Click to expand...

As Ian said if you add a solvent to any 2 part epoxy, polyester, or vynilester resin you will mess with it's chemical composition. Epoxy resin is the most seceptible to this. In a open mold aplication all solvents are released to the air dureing the cure. The wood of the stock is going to want to absorb the solvents creating a solvent pocket between your epoxy and the wood preventing a bond.

Quality super glue is the way to go.


East and west system epoxy are quite runny and are made to laminate wood boats. You might want to give that a try although I am not sure is it is worth the expence to buy that much epoxy. If you get to edmonton I could set you up with some.
 
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