Is there any way to extend the life of the hardener? A few
years ago, ProBed2000 hardener went bad on me. Last year, the
Devcon hardener went bad on me. They were stored in a cool
basement. I do not use a lot at a time, but it seems every
year to 2 years I am bedding a stock and hardener has gone
bad while the other is still fine.

Would it hurt/help to put the stuff in a freezer?

Oddly, I've had the opposite problem with Brownell ' s Acraglas gel. The resin will go all dry and crystalline in less than a year but the hardener seems to last well beyond that.
I guess where epoxy is concerned, when it's time is up, it's up.

In my experience Devcon gets pretty hard to mix if you don't initially mix the resin liquid into the base mixture, at times when I was rushed I grabbed what ever was on the top and later ended up with a pretty dry resin and no visible liquid on top so it is a good practice to mix well before using. The Brownells Acraglass Gell gave me problems only once and it was with the resin right out of the box, the resin was cristalized and I called Brownlells about that since it was new and no expiry dates were present on the packaging, they said it was OK to use it and all is good, I proceeded to mix a batch but was not happy with the consistency, I warmed up the remainder in warm water and it got very nice and smooth I used it warm without any problem, I have warmed up Devcon resin also without any ill effects but you should pay attention to the Devcon expiry dates.
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Ok, here is the real answer to the issues here; put it into the micro wave oven for a few seconds. That will take the crystalline stuff and turn it back into a smooth liquid like originally.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Ok, here is the real answer to the issues here; put it into the micro wave oven for a few seconds. That will take the crystalline stuff and turn it back into a smooth liquid like originally.

Yes, that has been my experience, too.
Have used many different types of epoxy resins building model boat hulls with fibreglass cloth, kevlar and carbon fibre, they all require differing temps to help 'flow' the resin through the cloth. Carbon fibre is the easiest to get flowing through.
Warm water or the microwave are good ways to smooth either the resin or hardener.

Cheers.

Devcon has had some issues with their "new" hardener going bad. If you call them they will replace it for you.

A microwave is like a dremmel; works fast but easy to go too far. I recommend slow stirring while partially submerged in pot of hot water. I've had success on crystallized accraglass gel doing this.

quote:

Originally posted by clowdis:
Devcon has had some issues with their "new" hardener going bad. If you call them they will replace it for you.

Thank-you. I wondered about that. Along with the lot number,
there is a date which states to use before 12/12/2018.

I've used Acraglass for a very long time and have experienced these issues with the hardener only, but my shop often get in the lower forties in the winter and I have to keep many of my chems in the house. Acra glass hardner will go cloudy and sometimes harden some on the bottom third of the bottle at those temps and the previous poster do just what I do with the microwave. Until the daytime temps reach the seventies I will fill a pan with a few inches of really hot tap water and place the container in it for ten minutes or so before mixing. They mix better and kick over more readily.

Yes heat is the answer to returning it...

As a matter of fact when I glass bed, I put the glass in the barrel channel, action area or whatever, then I heat it a bit with a hair dryer until it changes to a shiny slick look, by doing this you will have on gaps, bubbles or voids the the finished job..

I never tried the microwave oven.
Have you guys ever experienced a problem with the metal filled epoxies like Devcon Steel or Acrglass steel products in the microwave?
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