Soooo, I got the epoxy in and it seemed to go well. Waited 72 hours.
I must not have mixed the last cup of epoxy quite well enough and i’ve got a few areas that are “doughy.” They’re very sticky and I can dig my figernail into it a bit. Other areas look great, glassy, hard.
Am I screwed? Is there a way to fix it? Can I float another layer over it? I’m worried this will just collect chips and never give them up.
Yes, depending on how sticky it is, you’ll likely need to scuff up the surface. Get a paint mixer attachment for your drill and mix the two parts until you can’t mix it anymore. Also, use the same brand; don’t switch to a different one.
If you’re not comfortable with that, get out a scraper and get it over with.
Good luck
Chipping out wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I had issue when it wasn’t warm enough for the epoxy to mix/cure correctly. I had spots that were still sticky and would not harden at all. I had to completely chip out, remix, and pour. Added a heater to the garage and kept temps up for second round and it worked as expected. Good Luck.
Thanks guys. Looks like I know what my Saturday looks like now. Sigh.
People often don’t realize that if the cure period passes and it’s not cured, it never will. Epoxy is a chemical reaction and curing is not the same as drying. Failure to mix properly, and scraping the sides of the mixing container to make sure everything is mixed in well is the biggest mistake folks make with epoxy projects. You can speed up or slow down cures by altering the room temp but once it’s cured sticky is going to stay sticky. Sucking it up and cutting out the uncured parts or even removing everything and doing it over is the only fix.
The few time I have mixed epoxy which has not been many so I am not a expert. When I mix the epoxy at the point that I believe it is mixed. I will pour it into a separate container and continue to mix. I do that to help ensure there isn’t any unmixed epoxy on the sides of the container.
Good call on the two container suggestions. I’ll do that for sure.
Spent the morning chipping / scraping out the problem areas. I think a little sanding and cleanup and I’ll be ready to re-pour.
I do understand how epoxy works, just me first foray into a larger scale project with it. Previously only worked with epoxy as a chemical bonding agent, very small amounts.