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Devcon issues?
- Thread starter dustbag
- Start date
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Bob Wright
Well-Known Member
My Devcon steel material went bad just like that. At work we would store in the freezer. Have no idea if this material is the same. Too expensive to waste.
All of the epoxies we use at work have a DOM, date of manufacture and a DOE, date of expiration. They are 6mo and 1yr respectively, it rarely expires because of the sheer volume we use daily. Heck, even our tapes, both release(teflon) and masking, we use have expiration dates. It's all controlled and heavily monitored and a huge pain in the keester.
I buy the smallest kit I can. I am lucky though, I live and work in an area with two major aviation manufacturing companies, a broader area with a half dozen more major aviation manufacturers and dozens of mom and pop certified repair facilities. There are several local companies that supply adhesive to these aviation companies and to automotive and marine repair shops , a couple of these carry both the Devcon and MarineTex. I can walk in a buy a kit that is fresh and the stock has been rotated. I have purchased several kits of Devcon that were expired or would not properly set up. I did learn a trick to get the heavier base materials to become more pliable. I use a homemade T-pin with a 6" shank. Put it in a cordless drill and begin remixing the base epoxy, you will be surprised that it becomes more pliable, but one thing I have noticed is with that process, the pot time, the time you have from the minute you mix up the kit is relatively shorter and the product begins the exothermic process faster. If you really want to speed it up, add in the catalyst and use the T-pin to fully mix the adhesive, you best be ready to apply and get everything together, because you will not have much time to dilly dally. I don't know why when thoroughly mixed like this the process begins so quickly. We generally use the tongue depressor method and the pot time is usually about 30 minutes, some 60 minutes, you can extend it slightly with a good stir or two during the application.
I buy the smallest kit I can. I am lucky though, I live and work in an area with two major aviation manufacturing companies, a broader area with a half dozen more major aviation manufacturers and dozens of mom and pop certified repair facilities. There are several local companies that supply adhesive to these aviation companies and to automotive and marine repair shops , a couple of these carry both the Devcon and MarineTex. I can walk in a buy a kit that is fresh and the stock has been rotated. I have purchased several kits of Devcon that were expired or would not properly set up. I did learn a trick to get the heavier base materials to become more pliable. I use a homemade T-pin with a 6" shank. Put it in a cordless drill and begin remixing the base epoxy, you will be surprised that it becomes more pliable, but one thing I have noticed is with that process, the pot time, the time you have from the minute you mix up the kit is relatively shorter and the product begins the exothermic process faster. If you really want to speed it up, add in the catalyst and use the T-pin to fully mix the adhesive, you best be ready to apply and get everything together, because you will not have much time to dilly dally. I don't know why when thoroughly mixed like this the process begins so quickly. We generally use the tongue depressor method and the pot time is usually about 30 minutes, some 60 minutes, you can extend it slightly with a good stir or two during the application.
I used a little torch and a screwdriver to get the base stuff moving this am. I had to reapply where the liquid dripped out. Will see how it turns out.
Sit the tub in some REALLY hot from the tap water. Do this for about 20 minutes. May have to change the water for more hot a couple of times. You may have to put a weight on the tub to keep it fully submerged. You can also use a heat gun or hair dryer if you are careful not to over do it. It will get peanut butter soft. DO NOT add anything like alcohol etc to try and soften it.
Devcon 5 years old still works great if you heat it before trying to use it.
like they have said. warm it up some. I've been trying JB Weld the last two I've done. I like it so far.
