About the Fiberglass Resin Hardner

I have always found that the instructions on the can are usually the most precise for the application of the contents, ergo hearsay is often misleading. In this case for small amounts the instructions called for 12 drops of hardner  for 30ml (ounce) of resin. I rummaged through the recycling bin and found and cleaned out a small cat food tin that held just over100ml of resin which required about 40 drops of hardner. Schuyler poured it all into a maragarine tub and mixed it. This gave just the right amount of product for one application before it hardened.

We followed these instructions exactly and found that the resin carmelized quite quickly and became quite hot. Funny how one only remembers by doing. I now recall that I used much less hardner on previous boat work than the container instructions called for. In fact I even remember now how with too much hardner, the final application became very brittle and that I always used about a quarter to a third of the required hardner and ended up with a rather nice supple application. The latter would not shatter when impacted by a rock while the the original brittle recipe would.

In the end we used about 10 drops of hardner with 100 ml (3 oz.) of resin. And that is hearsay.