Building in Minnesota

[gowen6301]

I am considering purchasing a kit now but am wondering if I can build it in my garage in the winter in Minnesota.  Do I need to heat the garage while curing the fiberglass or am okay working in the colder space?  If anyone has any insight on this I would appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[ArtisticAdam]

I’d recommend a space heater and thermometer for your garage.  The epoxy that came with my kit was MAS LV w/ Slow Hardener.

look here for the manufactures FAQ https://masepoxies.com/faq/

Pay close attention to the MAS epoxy cure schedule on the FAQ, they do not recommend using the product in temperatures below 41°F and for every 18°F the temperature falls below 77°F, the pot life will double for the mixture.

[faithie999]

I live in Indiana and I started my build in march when it was still cold.  my workshop  (20′ x 20′) has a ceiling-mounted Dayton electric space heater (5000 watts, and 220 volts) and a wall-mounted line voltage thermostat.

the resin and hardener are really viscous below about 65F.  I started out with the shop heated to about 60F and I kept the resin and epoxy in the house so they would flow better out of the pumps.  however, once the epoxy was mixed and spread on the cold surfaces that I was fiberglassing, it became more viscous and a bit harder to spread.

after a few days of that drill, I raised the temp in the shop to 70 a few hours before I started a work session, and then lowered it to 60 when I was done for the day.

I’m afraid that working in the winter in a minimally-heated space won’t work for you.

my 2 cents worth.

 

ken

[Boardwalk]

I live in MN and plan to finish my epoxy in the Spring.  I am opening a DIY studio – so I had to postpone the finish until 2018.  If you don’t have a heated space – I would wait to epoxy until it gets warmer.

[Author]

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