By Pascal Dressler - 7/16/2020 9:51:32 AM
Hi everyone,
my plan is to make a kitchen countertop out of resin and beer bottle cap. Maybe you know these tables from youtube videos, where they submerge the bottle caps in the resin and it creates a nice looking table top.
The problem now comes form the stove or gas burner which will be installed on the kitchen counter. It is recommended by the manufacturer that all surrounding surfaces have at least a temperature resistance over 65°C (150°F). I've found the Glass cast resin through the youtube videos but it doesn't match the temperature criteria.
Do you know any alternative resin? or do you know where i can find the tempering cylce for the glass cast resin to increase the Tg?
I'm looking for a resin which is easy to handle, so best case its self leveling, doesn't produce a lot of bubbles and creates a smooth surface without to much polishing and sanding work.
Thanks in advance and greetings from Germany
Pascal
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By Warren (Staff) - 7/17/2020 2:23:03 PM
A post cure will only help you get to the quoted Tg but not much higher - after 16 hours at 60C you will be getting a Tg of around 58C with the GlassCast 3. That can make a noticable difference compared to the product when it is fairly freshly cured.
The reason a post cure is helpful is that room temperature curing means epoxy resins like these have a very long tail end of the cure. Sure initial hardness is within 24-48 hours depending on resin, but the final hardness and hence related TG can take many weeks or longer. Typically within 7 days you are very close the maximum for general mechanical performance, hardness, heat resistance etc but an elevated temperature post cure will help improve it a) a lot quicker and b) will be fractionally better than a room temperature cured product in the long run.
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