heat gun question

83glt · Post by **83glt** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 11:16 am

Hi all,
I thought I had read somewhere on the forum that a heat gun can be used to release humidity or air from cured epoxy or to clear up milky/white spots in the epoxy. Now I can't seem to find that post. Does anyone have any advice/input/experience on this topic?

There is a fairly large area on the inside of my hull where the epoxy is cloudy and in some spots pretty milky. Strangely, the rest of the inside is fine even though I did the glassing at the same time and under the same conditions. The area is hard though and it appears that the epoxy is fully cured (it's been several months since applied). Given these symptoms could a heat gun be used to eliminate/reduce the cloudy area? If my only recourse is to remove the glass entirely then I'll choose to live with it as this is my first canoe and I'm definately planning on building another and avoiding the many mistakes and misteps encountered on this one.

Thanks for your replies.
J

Glen Smith · Post by **Glen Smith** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:01 pm

Actually, getting trapped humidity out of an epoxy coat can be done with a hot-air gun but it should be done about 24 to 48 hours after applying the epoxy. I doubt it will work in your case but you have nothing to lose in trying it.

83glt · Post by **83glt** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 9:08 am

Thanks for your reply Glen. I'm starting to think that the area in question is the result of a batch of poorly mixed epoxy as the rest of the inside was glassed at the same time and under the same conditions (i.e. humidity/temperature) and it turned out fine. At this point I think I'll save that energy for my next canoe. But, who knows. Maybe I'll feel different about it and give it a try once I'm done installing the trim??? Thanks again.
j