That's the slang, I guess for the chemical reaction between the resin and the catylist when it "cures". After mixed correctly, within apredetermand length of time it will "gel" then very quickly (another set length of time), it will flash(excelerated reaction)and "Kick off", generate a great deal of heat(exothermic peak) and become asolid harmless substance...plastic. Ta-Da!
If not mixed right it won't "kick off" but may become a sloppy gooy blob of a mess.

It really is amazing that all these beautiful vettes start out as a nasty smelling, two part, toxic, cancer causing liquid that's squirted into a mold and comes out hard and sexy. cooool! oooohh...I'm gettin' hot flashes!

 

Thanks Blueshark.
I'll save your valuable infos on my PC and go for hood ( and other paint cracks to come) when possible. I've seen that my Corvette paint is quite fragile...and when the white come off , I see a flat black-dark grey paint under ( is it the primer?)
I can live now with the hood crack ( it's smaller than as it seems in pic) just by touching up the crack line with a small brush and wiping away the excess paint. But I have to check also if the cracks will continue in the time ( due to hood vibrations and air cleaner sides touching the hood through the insulation). I'm close to the sea , so I think there are some shops that makes boats restoration ( If I'll decide to have the job done by a person more experienced than me)
One day I'll possibly go for new paint , but I'm not very happy to spend 2000-2500 Eu = 3000-3500 USD
thanks again

 

Drycreamer,
I have already checked the movement of my engine and anyway I have the "signs" of the nut hitting the hood . less than 1"
My car has been with this hood problem for years ( before I got her) and seems no big problem at air cleaner, stud , hood ( exception made for that long wings on the edelbrock nut-****!)

So you are going to set upyour car about like mine...
I'm happy with mine.It's not very powerful indeed. some Forum members quoted my engine at about 350hp , which means 300hp at wheels ( 15% power loss). I don't think I will increase power too much because I fear possible failures here and there ( drivetrain, differential, shift) when power starts to reach 400hp. Also , even if I have quite large tires, the Corvette can't handle so much power unless the road is straight ( this is my experience till now). I would like to go for a larger carburetor , but the gas is very expensive here.So I think I'll just replace my Edelbrock 1406 with and AVS650 or holley 650 with mechanical secondaries.
In these days I'm more into the timing setting because I think that a proper timing setting makes more than a carb replacement.
I have made some short video clips of me while driving my car ( my father making them on the side of the road). You can hear the exhaust sound and have an idea of the car ride. I expect better results when I'll have the timing properly tuned. I can't post these clips on the forum- too large...so please give me your email address and I will gladly send them.
Anyway a great source of C3 video clips is youtube : you can see and hear so many nice Vettes
attached a picture of me and my cars ( i have already placed this pic in the gallery too)

[IMG]local://upfiles/6949/FDAADCD74EE048E7B60696242773C614.jpg[/IMG]

 

Hi blueshark, great post. I saved that one, hope not, but I may need that someday.
PS. took a look at your photo gallety, WOW! you sure have a lot of great toys! PG.

 

Thanks PG, I'm of such little help around here that I jump on the opportunity to help with something I have experience with.

I have slopped a lot of that gooey stuff over the years. I'm no expert by any means, unless you ask my loving wife...she often tells me I'm the worlds greatest a$$hole. LOL! Especially when a acquire another car. but I really can't take credit for that. LOL!

As for the "Toy collection", Unfortunately I have to part with some of them. The mtg and grub are more important. The boat business is for**** at the moment. The first one to go is the '87 coupe. It's in the front yard right now with the dreaded "For Sale" sign in the window. Kinda like loosin' a child. Oh well, That's life. I'll still have the '73LS4 to get my "Vette" fix with. LOL! Plus when things turn around I get to play the "simpathy" card and find another one....or two...or...., hehehe,LOL!

Cheers

 

blueshark, you are keeping the right car. Sorry you have to sell the other tho.

While I've got you, do you have any opinions on the correct way to fix seams that have minor cracks?

Also notice on most TV shows that are doing some kind of body work show a rather haphazard way of adding the hardener to the resin. Is it really not that critical?

The few times I've mixed bondo (which usually says add so many drops of hardener to a golf ball size of bondo), it always seemed like I either got something that was a semi-rigid goop or something that hardened so fast, I couldn't use it. So to me, it seemed like it was fairly critical. I will admit having better luck with fiberglass and resin. Maybe it's just bondo that's a critical mix.

 

Well for the seams ..are you wanting to make them disappear? if so it would be exactly the same just about 1.5 -2" out on either side of the seam if you have the room. if it is close to a defined body line just keep it shy of the body line so that gives you a reference to fill to. Look at the hood on my '73. it's a L88 hood glassed into the reciever in the front clip. No seams.

Okay, ...here goes.....I'll do my best....

Most of those guys on that show are just in a rush, doing a one time job and will not have to work the parts they are doing for any length of time, Ya know...can't see it from my house, or they have a lot of experience and can mix by sight.Most areposers, or they'd measure it out the right way.LOL!I've been doing it for 34 years and I can do it by eye but I still prefer to use a calibrated vessel(nyquil cup works)to measure the catalyst. Fiberglass sucks bad enough as it is so why take the chance on screwing it up and having to do it twice. I like to watch American Hot Rod and those guys do bondo the same way. mix up a big gob of it and smear it all over everything with big a$$ GOOBERS everywhere. that's just wasting material and lots more sanding.

As for mixing resin it is kinda critical to get the mix right. You do need to adjust the amount of catalyst(MEKP) for temp. and humidity. If it's not mixed real close to right it could be way hot and catch on fire or be crystallized and brittle at the least, with too much and just a sloppy gooey mess if not enough. All fiberglass resins are factory test at 77* F with 2% cat. (80 cc -gal)you never want to go over that or below 1.25% (50cc-gal)mix. It also depends on the factory mix time. All resins are mixed to do their thing in a specified time frame suited to the job they will be used for,GP resins are around @20-25min. gel time and maybe 8-12 min. to peak exotherm(kicked off hard), with an hour or so cool down/cure time. It will actually take about 35-48 hours to cure fully but you can get back on it after about 1-2 hours after it cools to room temp.It also depends on the type of catalyst you are using and the amount of Peroxide it containes. Some(HP90) are much more reactive than others(DDM9). Best to follow manufacturers recommendations for the adjustments and do a little testing before jumping in with both feet. It could really cause problems including health problems.
I remember once at Chaparahl Boats way back when they were in Miami. One of the brain dead laminaters tossed a hot mixed pint of resin into the dumpster and burned the entire plant to the ground in a matter of minutes. I must say it was cool seeing the 55gal. drums of resin and acetone shooting off and exploding like rockets, hehehe. The building was TOAST. So just do a little testing in an open area with small amounts and you'll be fine.

Bondo or any plastic filler that is catalyzed with cream hardener is kinda the same but a little different. The active ingredient in the cream hardener is the same MEKP that catalyzes resin. The fillers are all poly or vinyl-ester resins with filler(thix) like talc, mica dust, pot ash, volcanic ash., glass bubbles, etc. mixed in to thicken them up. They react just like regular resin as far as not enough cat. being used but there are different reactions to too much. At a little too much it will harden extremely fast and shorten your working time. And if you really go over board with it, it could also catch on fire or at least cure fast and be very soft, rubberyand tacky with poor finish qualities. I've used literally tons (5 gal pans at a time)of plastic fillers and some are better than others but all are relatively the same unless you get in to types like Gorilla hair and durra glass. these have less thix in them with the addition of small glass fibers. Again follow the manufacturers recommendations and do a little testing and you will be fine. it's relatively the same as resin at 1.5 -2% mix. and just a little tip when mixing it...you need to mix it like folding dough. Never stir or chop the catalyst in because it will create air pockets. and they are a pain to get out. Always fold it back over on itself with the normally provided squeegee or a flexible putty knife or wide spatula. I guess a reference for mixing it would be like a blob of filler about 5" round , 1/4" deep use a ribbon of hardener about 1/4" wide and 1.5-2" long in like 65 -80* weather. Even if the weather is cold with a good mix it will still kick off and if too slow for you, you can use a blow dryer to help it along. Plastic fillers, like resin will cure faster while in a mass than they will when spread thin. If I have a hot batch of filler I'll spread it thin on my mixing board as i'm mixing it so I get a longer workig time.

Sorry it's so long and hope my blathering is understandable and that it helps. Ask as many questions as you want and I'll do my best to answer them.

Cheers

 

let's see.....roundtrip airfare to Italia............................................ ................$500.00
paint and sand paper............................................. ....................$300.00
a garage floor to sleep on and one light meal a day for 2 weeks.........$200.00
A great paint job and a trip to the old country.................................pricless

 

Blueshark,
your offer is interesting...
Anyway great italian food and fun here ( in summer)
Aldo

 

let's see.....roundtrip airfare to Italia............................................ ................$500.00
paint and sand paper............................................. ....................$300.00
a garage floor to sleep on and one light meal a day for 2 weeks.........$200.00
A great paint job and a trip to the old country.................................pricless


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