You actually touched on a subject I have been working on for the last couple of weeks. The products you can buy in the hardware store are a lot thicker in viscosity than what I would consider good for penetration into wood or in your case for use in making micarta. Most of those products are a mix of polyester and styrene monomer with a little stabilizer and sensitizer thrown in for usability. The monomer is actually a thinning agent and can be added to get whatever viscosity you like. The fiberglass kit manufacturers prefer to have it thicker for some reason, but there are a lot of other options. I found a source for MMA monomer, and add it to the polyester/styrene to thin it out. Works like a charm. MMA monomer is like water, so it doesn't take much to thin the styrene down. The same MEK peroxide catalyst will polymerize MMA, so I just use the thinner stuff the same way. If I hadn't already bought the MMA, I would have just purchased plain styrene monomer to thin it with, because it's ALOT cheaper. The one thing I have found out with the thinner stuff is if you use too much catalyst, it gets really hot and will crack. Other than that, it's working extremely well, and I'm getting great results. I'll post a summary when I have more.
-Dave
|