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5 minute epoxy with flox?

AAflyer

Well Known Member
Has anyone tried doing a quick repair with 5-minute epoxy and adding some flox? Results?
 
Only for very small things on the boat I used to have. Mixing time is the critical driver.

Some 5 minute epoxies have relatively poor mechanical properties so evaluate that first.

Dave
 
Only for very small things on the boat I used to have. Mixing time is the critical driver.

Some 5 minute epoxies have relatively poor mechanical properties so evaluate that first.

Dave
Ditto. Mechanical strength is substantially less. Use it only if your task requires quick cure.
 
I use 5-minute epoxy and flox for a lot of small non-structural parts. Lately I've been using it to bond in a bunch of little anchor doodads that I tie-wrap wiring bundles down to in my carbon fiber fuselages. In the past I've used those square nylon thingies, but the double-sided foam tape on them usually only lasts a few years, and I don't want to have to go in and replace them every few inspections.

As others note, a primary driver is how much you can mix and spread in the working time. It isn't much.

Right now I mostly use the Harbor Freight brand; it seems every bit as strong as the Gougeon Bros stuff I've used in the past, and is cheaper and locally available. I mix in a bit of flox for body, then tap in a few grains of carbon black to make it look more like structural adhesive.
 
Resin with fast hardener, and a flock excellent putty for the cracks and some extra holes. Holding tight and not getting enough sleep.
 
Wait, What, go back, Carbon fiber what? pics please!

Not carbon fiber, carbon black. It is essentially powdered carbon. It is widely used as a black pigment; the most common application is in car tires. It is purely an aesthetic addititve, with no structural contribution. We always keep a jar of it on the epoxy mixing table, and add a little whenever we mix flox that is going onto a carbon fiber part. It makes the flox less obvious.

I first learned this trick by examining the corner fills on a Nemesis NXT kit, and I've passed it on to many other composites builders. When they were making Kirby Chambliss's winglets in a nearby shop, we sent over a jar of carbon black so that the flox seams between the skins would be invisible.

Thanks, Bob K.
 
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5 minute epoxy never really sets properly so has really quite poor mechanical qualities, for quick set glue cryano is often better. 30 minute epoxy is better for quick set epoxy and takes fillers (ballons or flox) more easily as it offers enough workable time to mix in and lay on.

Pete
 
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