I am trying to put together a muddy bog habitat for a wood duck. I searched the archives on how to do this and I am the fiberglass resin and catalyst method. I mixed the resin and catalyst first, then added my dirt and pieces of dried leaves. I thought I mixed the resin on the hot side so it would kick faster. Well, I put this muddy mixture onto my base (using more then one pour at a time) on SUNDAY night and it still has not kicked. It is as pastey today as it was Monday morning. Am I adding too much dirt to the mix? Does it take many days for this mix to kick. I was thinking of removing all the mud mix and trying the Enviro Tex method next. Can anyone give me some help here please? I need this for a competition piece this August. Thanks for your time!
Andy
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When using the resin method, you have to make sure that the dirt has NO moisture left in it. It must be totally dry. BP
it should set within a couple of hours. I normally use this method myself because it sets a lot faster than elmer's glue. I've also never had it to shrink of crack. BP
Envirotex will give you the look you want with no odor, no cracking, no paint stripping, no problems whatsoever. Its a non-critical 50/50 mix and moisture is not a problem with mud applications.
Don't make things harder than they are.
Thanks Becky!
I didn't dry the dirt first, I just used it straight from the bag! Looks like I have some cleaning up to do tonight!
Thanks again!
Andy
We must have been typing at the same time. I actually did a test pour with the Envirotex this morning to see how fast it kicks. Since I'm at work, I haven't had a chance to check on it yet.
Thanks again Paul!
Andy
If you have the time available.. set the base outside in the heat of the day and it may go ahead and kick. I've had this happen before, Usually they will go ahead and harden, I would give it until Fri to see what happens if you have the time.
Working with resin was always a trial and error escapde with me, and unfortuneately, I'm still in the error stage!
Good Luck,
Jon
Dont bother to wait . If that dirt had any kind of moisture it will stay tacky a long time . Scrap it off and throw it away and try agian with dry dirt . Water and fiberglass resin dont mix . Rick
with Rick. I didn't let my dirt get completely dry (rushed it and thought it was dry), that was over a month ago. I scraped it off, but kept it around to see if it would ever set, so far it hasn't. BP
Did anyone stop to think that maybe he didn't get the ratio correct when mixing? Even a small amount of catlyst will kick resin, it just takes longer...especailly if he lives in one of those strange places that still has cool weather this time of year. Oi.. I hate texas sometimes.
Jon~
I DIDN'T dry the dirt before I mixed it into the resin, I used it straight from the bag. I may not have used enough catalyst so the resin may not kick for awhile, but I did buy two extra tubes of catalyst because I wanted to make sure I had enough on hand so I could mix it on the hot side-(which I thought I did). I had placed this mixed on Sunday night and when checking it last night after work, it was still very much the same pastey texture it was when I placed it Sunday.
Anyway, I removed the resin application and used the Envirotex method last night, as Paul had suggested. This morning when I checked it, it had kicked and was cured over the entire base. It has the the look and texture I was going for, which the resin method will give me too. I do, however, want to be able to use the resin method as well. So I plan to run some small experiments using the resin method, keeping track of how much dirt, resin, and catalyst I use each time so I have a better handle on this method.
Thanks for all the help you guys, it is greatly appreciated!
Andy
I usually mix 36 drops catalyst to three ounces resin. (I'm be afraid to mix it tooooo hot for fear it might ignite.) Then throw in how ever much DRY dirt it will hold, then spread it on my base. If I want a drier look, I pat a little dry dirt on top.
I'll have to try the Envirotex. It would save a little time if the dirt doesn't need to be dried first. BP