[oldred]

Is it ok to thin fiberglass resin? If so with what? I am trying to repair a wood rimmed steering wheel and I want to tint the resin and use it for both a glue and a filler. Epoxy glues are much to thick and don't tint very well(with the powdered tint I have anyway). I have used this method on gun stocks to repair chips and imperfections but not tight areas like cracks that the epoxy will not easily flow into.

[OneMoreTime]

Oldred,

I am assuming and that gets me in trouble.. that this is polyester resin that you are using..if it is use acetone to thin with. thin it first then mix the catalyst..this will probably slow the cure on it so use no more thinner thatn you absolutely have to...

Warming the material helps to thin it as well..warming will acellerate cure so be ready for that..

OMT

[oldred]

It is epoxy resin, I guess I was a little confusing by mentioning the epoxy glue but what I meant was that regular epoxy glue is even thicker than epoxy fiberglass resin. What I am trying to do is to repair some small age cracks in the wood on this steering wheel and I am open to suggestions here. These really are not cracks in the sense that the wood is broken but are just small separations in the grain.

[OneMoreTime]

Oldred,
Have you a model shop in your area..the kind that has the big R/C airplanes and hydros..if you could get some of the epoxy finishing resin that woudl be good I think..

It is thinner and is clear and will give a nice finish..since it is a clear finish material it shoudl fill those cracks and give a nice finish to the wheel..

Should not take a whole lot of material to do a steering wheel..

I am assuming again here that there is nothing wrong with the structure of the wheel..we are just trying to gat a good finish on it..

OMT

[willys36@aol.com]

Don't use acetone. That is good for cleaning hands and tools but not for thinning resin. All fiberglass suppliers carry styrene monomer which is what is used in all polyester resin as a thinner. In fact, that smell we all know and love when using polyester resin is actually styrene monomer, not the polyester resin. It must be thinned since polyester resin in it's pure state is much too viscous to be practical.

Why do you want to thin the resin? Good resin form the suppliers is usually formulated for optimal wetting, buildup and vertical surface retention characteristics. I think the resin out of the can should do your wheel surfacing just fine. Get a good brand from an online store rather than the hardware store stuff.

Here are a few suppliers I use.

One
Two
Three

[oldred]

The reason I want to thin the resin is that although these cracks are not very wide they are deep(all the way down to the metal ring) and I wanted to get the resin to flow to the bottom.

[willys36@aol.com]

I'm sure quality resin will permeate every crack in your wheel before it sets. Wash it down thoroughly with acetone (great use for the solvent!) to open the pores of the wood and remove any contaminates so the resin will soak in well.

I treated my 60s wooden wheel with several coats of boiled linseed oil. I like that much better than the resin approach since the oil will become part of the wood whereas the resin, no matter how well the wood is prepared, never really does. I have coated wood with resin only to have it separate some time down the road. The linseed oil definitely penetrates then hardens within a few days for permanent, very durable protection.

[302 Z28]

Simply heat the mixture until it flows like you want. Bear in mind that heating the mixture will speed up it's flash time, so make allowances.

Vince