Hi again.
I've been in the lab today testing Hexion EPON 813 resin with EPIKURE 3046 hardener. The low viscosity is amazing. I think that this pair is a much better match to the application than Reichhold 37-127 resin and 37-606 hardener.
I made my sample mold out of UHMW Polyethylene but there was a 0.5mm gap at the bottom with a depth of about 15mm and a length of about 50mm. The Reichhold resin from my original resin tests mostly stayed in the mold.
The resin viscosity of this new Hexion stuff was so low that about a third of the resin ran out this gap before the epoxy gelled after a few hours. Room temperature was 30 degrees C. Every drop would have run out if the epoxy hadn't gelled.
I had poured the mixture and gone home. I came back a few hours later to find a small pool of epoxy on the floor that had run out of the mold, wet the paper I protect my lab bench with and ended up on the floor. Seeing this and the fact that the gelled epoxy had sealed the mold, I made a small batch and refilled the empty section of the mold.
It sure is easy to get air bubbles in the stuff. I suppose I'll have to get a sample of the BYK A525 that was mentioned a long time ago.
As an interesting aside, it must be pointed out that the Amine number of a hardener cannot be used to derive the Amine Hydrogen Equivalent Weight.
Regards all,
Cameron