I've been building LOML an interior stained glass door, and I finally have gotten to the point where things need to be "glued up". Taking recent discussions to heart concerning the benefits of Epoxy as an adhesive, I decided that I would use Epoxy for this project.
I have the West System Three Epoxy Kit with the "intermediate" temperature catalyst. I also have the West Sytem metering pumps to measure out the resin and catalyst.
I epoxied some of the smaller parts to get a feel for the process, but I must be doing something wrong, or lack some type of fundamental understanding, because the epoxy is setting up fast. The pot life is supposed to be 25 minutes, but I'm not getting anywhere near that. I'm getting maybe 12-15 minutes.
I would like to use the epoxy to do the entire project, but I have 4 large M&T joints that have to be done, the door pulled into square, and the clamps set. There is no way I'll make it with this pot time.
I've measured the resin and catalyst components seperately, so I'm pretty certain that the ratio is correct. I know that there is another catalyst to extend the cure time of the epoxy, but I don't know if it extends the pot life. I've downloaded the epoxy manual from system three, but I must not be reading it correctly, because I'm not seeing the issue addressed. Can I mix another pot and keep going, or will the epoxy in the joint be setting up just as fast as the pot?
So folks, What am I missing here? any input would be appreciated. I'm initially pretty impressed with this product. I've played around with some scraps and like what I see. I'd like to use this for the entire door joinery, but I need to resolve this issue. TIA