On Wed, 10 Oct 2007 20:18:27 -0400, "(PeteCresswell)"
wrote:

I've got a cylindrical cavity about 1.25" in diameter and 1.5"
deep that I plan to plug with a cylinder of styrofoam that's
slightly smaller in diameter.

West System resin and 206 hardener plus a little 403 adhesive
filler and/or some chopped-up fiberglass.

Smear the inside of the cavity with the mix, making sure there's
enough at the bottom to smooth over any irregularities, smear
the plug, pour some of the mix in to the cavity, moosh the plug
down until the mix overflows the edges and the plug won't go down
any further, and let it harden - trimming jelled resin as
possible/convenient.

My concern is that in that confined space, the resin will go off
too hot and melt the plug and/or the surrounding styrofoam.

Is this a legitimate concern? If so, how far can I depart from
5:1 and still be sure the stuff will harden?


As a general statement, do not deviate from the recommended mixing
ratios for epoxy. In the past I did quite a number of tests with
various brands of epoxy, varying the ratio of resin/hardener, and
invariably the strongest bond resulted from using the ratio
recommended by the maker.

If any load at all may be placed on this repair I would strongly
recommend several layers of cloth over the top of the repair as epoxy
is rather brittle and styrofoam crushes very easily.


Bruce in Bangkok
(brucepaigeATgmailDOTcom)