Johnson Floor Wax

[chuck nelson]

Any petroleum base wax used as a release agent for epoxies is going to bleed.

If applied along the water line of the stock or other inlet areas,clean the area to be glassed w/ acetone.

Depending on how "HOT" your epoxy mix is.....shoe polish may not release properly.

I have used neutral kiwi shoe polish on many many bedding jobs. It always works well.

 

[Winz]

Resounding theme of this thread: Just about any paste wax (furniture, footwear, etc) will work as a release agent.

And Kiwi makes crappy low end shoe polish, but decent release agent

 

[Desjard]

I think the reason to select a release agent is to get something that the epoxy won't stick to, and that does so when very, very thin so the epoxy actually sets as very close fit to the metal. Tend to want to select epoxy that does not shrink when it hardens, for same reason. Some stuff will work as release as it does not let epoxy stick, but is "thick" or will stay "greasy" and harder to clean up afterwards or does not give a very snug "fit". Depends how fussy you want to be. I think often is to be able to use something already on hand in the house, rather than buy another thing that will dry out and become useless by the time the next job comes around... I am not familiar with the devcon release agent, but have used the "paint on" stuff that came with the Brownell's Acraglas kits - it dries like a plastic film that needs to be peeled off afterwards.

Devcons release agent is just liquid that you put on the metal, nothing fancy, just wondering why people would use anything else, its not exactly expensive doesn't need heat or any messing with.

 

[HuskyDude]

Another vote for Minwax 78500 Wax.

 

[Potashminer]

Devcons release agent is just liquid that you put on the metal, nothing fancy, just wondering why people would use anything else, its not exactly expensive doesn't need heat or any messing with.

So, does it dry to use it, or do you use it when wet on the metal? How do you clean it off after the epoxy has set - from the metal and from the epoxy? You make it sound like a "no brainer" - I have never heard of it though - why I am asking... From Internet postings, it is silicone based, not wax based, and something in back of my mind wonders if that is a "good thing" or not for common epoxy bedding jobs? The very last bedding that I did was with white Marine Tex epoxy and used MG Chemicals 8329 Epoxy Mold Release - a spray on stuff from Amazon.ca - I think I would use both again for non-visible bedding jobs.

 

[turbo_bird]

I've used shoe polish for a couple bedding jobs with JB weld, haven't managed to glue an action into a stock yet. It was something I had in the house so I didn't have to buy something else for the job, same with the JB weld.
Kristian

 

[Dogleg]

I use Min wax from Home hardware and Devcon 10110. Metal practically falls out of the bedding, and clean up is nil. Who cares if there is some wax left on the metal? Some people use wax as a rust preventative.

 

[Desjard]

So, does it dry to use it, or do you use it when wet on the metal? How do you clean it off after the epoxy has set - from the metal and from the epoxy? You make it sound like a "no brainer" - I have never heard of it though - why I am asking... From Internet postings, it is silicone based, not wax based, and something in back of my mind wonders if that is a "good thing" or not for common epoxy bedding jobs? The very last bedding that I did was with white Marine Tex epoxy and used MG Chemicals 8329 Epoxy Mold Release - a spray on stuff from Amazon.ca - I think I would use both again for non-visible bedding jobs.

Well the one time I used it, which was 3 times cause I had to redo the bedding because I didn't use enough, I painted it on with a brush, let it dry, set the action and a day later pulled it no issues. Thats my experience with it.