Andy,
Gotcha. The hardeners in all epoxies are amines so they will smell kinda like ammonia (more fishy than ammonia). Because they're strong bases they will absorb water and carbon dioxide (combined=carbonic acid) from the atmosphere which definitely affects their performance. So the chemical crosslinking/polymerization doesn't happen so well; hence a soft, tacky, feel to it that never really hardens.
Resin is best cleaned from the pumps with acetone or methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) available at Lowes. The amine hardener is water soluble so soap and warm water will work (a little vinegar in that mix will improve its water solubility).
Here's what I received from the West technical folks:
Jeff:
Shelf life on 105 Resin and 205 Fast Hardener are indefinite for most applications short of building airplanes. For that we say three years on the resin and two years on the hardener. Having said that, I spoke to an old customer who says his 20 year old 105/205 is still curing fine.
We usually leave the pumps in the cans between uses- even if it is months or more before you need more epoxy. I’ve got resin/hardener containers with pumps in my home shop that are 5-6 years old and the pumps only come out when I’m adding resin or hardener or changing out the cans. You will want to put the containers on a drip tray like a plastic coffee can lid in the event that the pumps dips slightly over time. That way your shelves do not get sticky.
If you choose to clean the pumps and store them, the resin cleans best with lacquer thinner or acetone while 205 Hardener cleans up with warm soapy water.
Best regards,
Tom Pawlak
Technical Service
jscharver@verizon.net
Gotcha. The hardeners in all epoxies are amines so they will smell kinda like ammonia (more fishy than ammonia). Because they're strong bases they will absorb water and carbon dioxide (combined=carbonic acid) from the atmosphere which definitely affects their performance. So the chemical crosslinking/polymerization doesn't happen so well; hence a soft, tacky, feel to it that never really hardens.
Resin is best cleaned from the pumps with acetone or methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) available at Lowes. The amine hardener is water soluble so soap and warm water will work (a little vinegar in that mix will improve its water solubility).
Here's what I received from the West technical folks:
Jeff:
Shelf life on 105 Resin and 205 Fast Hardener are indefinite for most applications short of building airplanes. For that we say three years on the resin and two years on the hardener. Having said that, I spoke to an old customer who says his 20 year old 105/205 is still curing fine.
We usually leave the pumps in the cans between uses- even if it is months or more before you need more epoxy. I’ve got resin/hardener containers with pumps in my home shop that are 5-6 years old and the pumps only come out when I’m adding resin or hardener or changing out the cans. You will want to put the containers on a drip tray like a plastic coffee can lid in the event that the pumps dips slightly over time. That way your shelves do not get sticky.
If you choose to clean the pumps and store them, the resin cleans best with lacquer thinner or acetone while 205 Hardener cleans up with warm soapy water.
Best regards,
Tom Pawlak
Technical Service
jscharver@verizon.net