Thinning Epoxy

Thinning West System Epoxy by Brian Knight
http://www.seqair.com/skunkworks/Glues/WestSystem/Thinning/Thinning.html

"This article appeared in the Fall 1999 issue of Epoxyworks, published by Gougeon Brothers, manufacturers of the West System epoxies." Brian Knight thanks Gougeon for permission to publish this in the December 1999 Falco Builders Letter. "

Here are key excerpts for your review and discussion:

"With wood, the best method of thinning epoxy with heat is to warm the wood and have the resin and hardener at room temperature. Mix the components and apply the mixture to the warm wood surface. Remove the heat source just before the epoxy is applied. When the epoxy mixture comes in contact with the warm wood, it gets warm and its viscosity becomes lower. As the temperature of the wood falls, the thin epoxy is drawn in deeply before it begins to gel. By heating the substrate instead of the components, you get the best of both worlds-low viscosity epoxy on the work surface and longer working time in the mixing pot."

Thinning epoxy with solvent
Adding solvent is a quick, simple method of thinning epoxy, but unlike using heat to thin it, the strength and moisture resistance of the cured epoxy are drastically affected. Below are some of the effects adding solvent has on West System epoxy. While there are a large number of chemicals available to thin epoxy, we selected acetone, lacquer thinner and denatured alcohol for this discussion because they are commonly available and do a good job of reducing viscosity. Additionally, these solvents evaporate quickly and are less likely to be trapped in the cured epoxy-an important characteristic. For a variety of reasons, fast evaporating lacquer thinner appears to be more appropriate for thinning purposes than acetone or alcohol.