Epoxy "Envirotex" lifting problems

[juansolo]

Are you filling the holes or letting it flow through?

[chromesphere]

There was a film over each hole which i poked with a toothpick (so it dripped through)

[pickdropper]

I always drill first then either tape the bottom or (more commonly) cover the holes with the artwork sticker and cut everything away after it dries.

[muddyfox]

why would you have it drip through?

[chromesphere]

I thought this would be easier to clean up and have less stress on the surface of the front of the enclosure while cutting :| Am I mistaken?  First attempt here, so you know...lots the learn ;-)

[Apocalypto]

I just tried ET for the first time today as well.  I tested it on the bottom plate of a 1590B that I had painted with Liquitex paint and placed some stickers and dry transfer decals on.  I mixed a plastic spoonful of the ET and the hardener.  That worked out to be a very good amount for the test.  Although there were a ton of bubbles after I poured it on, after a few minutes I blew on it and magically all the bubbles disappeared beautifully.  I had spread the material around with a craft stick (basically a long thin popsicle stick) and I got it evened out nicely, except for a spot in one corner.  The whole thing looked beautiful except for that one corner.  Out of frustration I picked up the wife's hair dryer and started to blow on it.  Unfortunately that brought in a ton of new bubbles that didn't go away after blowing on it again!  Kind of frustrating.  But this is all testing, and it's exactly why I decided to start with the bottom plate of the pedal.  Overall I find ET interesting to work with, and I can already understand why people like using it.  After a few more tries I should have the hang of it.

[chromesphere]

Apocalypto, I used a cigarette lighter to remove bubbles from the surface of my pedal.  I know what your thinking, not the 'candle flame' type.  A blue flame cigarette lighter which I can only guess is a butane cigarette lighter.  This worked EXCEPTIONALLY well at not only removing bubbles (removed 100% of all bubbles) but also flattening blobby surfaces, as it tends to melt the plastic a bit.  Give it a go next time, you will be like "O...M....G..." ;-)

Or just use a butane torch   cig lighter is like 2 bucks though and will last 50 pedals probably...

[m-Kresol]

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.

I generally let it dry overnight/one day. Then I started putting it in an oven at 70°C for 3h and then let it stand over night. Never had problems.

Just to bring in a little science: The epoxy here consists of the prepolymer (white capped bottle) which is a long chained molecule with epoxy groups at the end and the hardener which should be an amine (you can see it getting a yellow tone after a few month due to oxidation). The amine will start a ring-opening addition reaction with the epoxy end of up to 2 prepolymer molecules. Thus, you get a cross-linking of the prepolymer chains giving you a dense network, which is your final solid product.
So, what I want to say is, that the thickness of the film should not matter as much as the reaction is between the two components and not with air like others (silicone for example). It is more important to get the correct ration of the two components to get it the way you wanted.

Just give it another try, this stuff is pretty awesome.

[juansolo]

Filling the holes gives you a very solid/rigid chunk of the stuff to drill through. We always cut the decal before and tape underneath so you get a nice plug of E-tex to go at. Never had a single life with this method and we've tried every way imaginable.

[muddyfox]

ditto!

and Felix, that sounds more like sorcery to me...

[chromesphere]

Filling the holes gives you a very solid/rigid chunk of the stuff to drill through. We always cut the decal before and tape underneath so you get a nice plug of E-tex to go at. Never had a single life with this method and we've tried every way imaginable.

Thanks John im going to try this next time i use a decal!

It is more important to get the correct ration of the two components to get it the way you wanted.

I actually measured the quantities on a digital scale, 10g's of each which i think worked very well.  Pretty sure that was a tip that John spoke about in a thread i dug up when i was researching on the weekend. 

Just give it another try, this stuff is pretty awesome.

I agree and thanks for the chemical explanation!  This is the best finish i have had since i started building pedals 7-8 years ago.  Better then powder coat clear coat.  And DEAD FLAT.  No particulars sticking up all over the place or uneven surface!  The powdercoat underneath was actually uneven (there was an error when i baked it) but thats pretty well totally fixed and flattened thanks to the epoxy...im converted...this stuff kicks ass!

So while we are on the topic, does anyone attempt the sides?  I did and they are a bit drippy / uneven, but i would like to try again with a paintbrush.

[jimilee]

There was a film over each hole which i poked with a toothpick (so it dripped through)

this is particularly handed when using 9mm pots, but usually I don't let it drop through,  the effect is very nice.


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[TNblueshawk]

Paul, below is my tutorial I did a few years back. It's long so if you can stomach pouring through it I've got all my follies in there.

With respect to the tex popping up a bit maybe because I wait a few days or more I haven't had that issue. Or maybe I did and didn't notice per se because it was so tiny and the knobs cover it all up but I know I've cranked down those pots before and don't recall any issues certainly not to where a knob wouldn't cover it up.


http://byocelectronics.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=37541&hilit=envirotex+tutorial&start=0

The first couple links in that thread are dead due to some SQL meltdown. But the last one showing the jig I use is still good.

[chromesphere]

Thanks John, read the...are...article There was definitely some good tips that I never even thought of!  My first attempt was rough but, I guess its a bit like powder coating; even a rough job looks stellar compared to <past method>. Hoping to improve, I'm really impressed with it and due to some issues I was having with dual coating powder coat, now opens up a whole new world of pedal decorating!!  I'm quite enthusiastic to have another go at it.

[TNblueshawk]

Thanks John, read the...are...article There was definitely some good tips that I never even thought of!  My first attempt was rough but, I guess its a bit like powder coating; even a rough job looks stellar compared to <past method>. Hoping to improve, I'm really impressed with it and due to some issues I was having with dual coating powder coat, now opens up a whole new world of pedal decorating!!  I'm quite enthusiastic to have another go at it.

You know, I always meant to add pics to that thread...you know...just to make it even longer  but I never did.

Forget this epoxy, my first pedal build/decal/lacquer was rough!