Epoxy "Envirotex" lifting problems

[chromesphere]

Hey guys,

First attempt at expoy, going to be doing it again!  Makes the colors so vivid and love that gloss luster.

Had one problem.  Some minor lifting around the nuts (probably form the pressure of the nut while tightening). Im hoping that it doesn't keep spreading!

Any tips on minimising that?

Attached a photo i uploaded to my facebook page of the arcadiator.  You can see a little bit of the lifting around the 'rate' knob.

https://www.facebook.com/diyguitarpedalscomau

Cheers
Paul

[Willybomb]

I dunno about envirotex or even if it's the same situation - but when I tighten my nuts (haha) I find that the washers will squeeze what was previously thought to have been properly cured clearcoat out the edges, leaving a raised ring of clear around the washer.

I've only had this NOT happen once or twice, when the finished enclosure had been sitting there for a month, at least, before boxing anything.

[chromesphere]

Good point willy...well it FEELS rock solid, but i only let it dry for 24 hours.  I scraped off some large blogs on the inside of the enclosure where it had dripped, they were much thicker then the top coat, and they were 100% dry...my be a chemical reaction thing...I'll leave the next one for a week next time and see if it makes any difference. 

I dont mind a little bit of a ring around it, just hoping it doesnt get any worse.

[juansolo]

Too soon

We let it cure for 4 days.

[chromesphere]

it was rock hard but yeah..might take some time to adhere to the enclosure i guess

[muddyfox]

i find that no matter how long it cures, if i overtighten the nuts the ET lifts a bit as you've noticed. its not really a lift, more of a wobble but still an aberration and hence visible.

i also found that if you put in the hardware quickly (24 h) and not tighten too much, the washer sticks to ET so retightening the nuts after couple of days doesnt mess up the surface.

worth a try for you Paul, since you seem as impatient as I am ))
good thing with ET is if you mess up, it pulls off in one piece and very little (if at all) cleanup sanding is necessary before giving it another go.

[chromesphere]

Thanks Muddy, ill try that next time.  And you are quite correct.  Im impatient.  Thats why i had to move to powder coating to avoid screwing up enamel paintwork

[muddyfox]

with ET, as with anything pedal related, there seems to be a thousand ways to skin a cat. just look at all the variations in toner transfer process folks are getting. some get amazing results, others (myself included) cant get the damned thing to stick properly literally to save their lives. ET is a whole lot more forgiving (which is why use it exclusively these days) but there are still variations that make if impossible to make one perfect tutorial that would make it a nobrainer (however much does John and Cleggy's come close to that).
you just need to find out what makes it work for you.

[Jefe]

it was rock hard but yeah..might take some time to adhere to the enclosure i guess

I've never used Envirotex, but I've used plenty of other epoxies and paints. There's something you need to keep in mind - there's a difference between something being "dry", and something being "cured". Just because something feels dry to the touch and hard doesn't mean it's ready to be handled roughly, scrubbed, etc. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but curing is the process where the all of the gasses have finished evaporating out of the chemical solution, and the paint/glue/whatever is truly hard.

[billstein]

Too soon

We let it cure for 4 days.

This. I usually give it a week which is probably overly cautious. I have left fingerprints when I thought it was rock hard.

Also did you use a step drill bit or a regular drill bit? A regular drill bit will lift the envirotex.

[jimilee]

Juan had a tutorial, but  72 hours is the sweet spot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[juansolo]

Too soon

We let it cure for 4 days.

This. I usually give it a week which is probably overly cautious. I have left fingerprints when I thought it was rock hard.

Also did you use a step drill bit or a regular drill bit? A regular drill bit will lift the envirotex.

Yeah 4 days is a minimum for us. Most enclosures stand at least week before they get Rain-X'd and then drilled. We've never had a single one lift using the procedure detailed in the tutorial. Correct about the drill bits also. You need to use a stepper as a regular drill bit will lift it.

[pickdropper]

I've had good luck with an exacto used 24 hours or so after application.  After a few days, it's too hard for a razor and needs a drill.

[chromesphere]

Hmm, maybe its my process.  I drilled FIRST.  I cut off the drips around the drill holes with a sharp knife.  (carefully downwards).  There was no ringing at this point only when i tightened the nuts. Is this the wrong way to do it?

[muddyfox]

that's what i do. drill, et, redrill. always with a step drill. never a problem. do you tape the holes from the inside before pouring et?