Hi folks, As the winter is here now what is the lowest recommended curing temp for EL2 & IN2.
It is currently dropping down to 6degC here in my shed and I was wondering if the resin will eventually cure at this temp?
Kind regards,
aran01

You MUST keep it around 20C if you want a successful cure. if you are lucky you might get away with it at 15C with easily double the cure time.

Below that it may not cure for days if at all.

At low temperatures, the extended cure time leaves the resin vulnerable to absorbing moisture which will mean the resin won't fully cure at all and could be a rubbery blob or if you're lucky just tacky which can be overcoated.

Problems with resins not curing at low temperatures is one of the most common problems our customers encounter.

Warren Penalver
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Support Assistant

What unused to do before getting my workshop sorted was infuse outside in the cold, then clamp the lines, cut them off as close to the clamps as possible and then put it in the airing cupboard under a duvet with the hot water on for an hour.

Can you heat the shed? How can you work in 6 degrees anyway? Alternatively, find a place to work inside the house.

cheers

Build a warm box for your resin and cloth, doesn't need to be much just an MDF box with a low wattage tungsten light to warm the air in the box and hence keep the resin at the right temp. For safety it's probably best to have a temp monitoring kit on it with a thermal shut off something like a PID temp control module, a thermocouple or two and relays to switch the light on an off.

Thanks guys for the feedback. I am working with a heater but I am moving the parts indoors once made. For the bigger parts it will be a Saturday job with the shed stove lit!

Last winter I made some parts that latterly 1mth later still hadn't cured... I found if it didn't cure in the first 4 days it never did.

Like everyone says, don't make parts under 15°C or I would even say 20°C