No good deed goes unpunished…
I’m doing a favor for a friend that involves sealing a crack in a terrazzo shower base. A friend who’s a mason with a company that does a lot of similar work gave me some epoxy to use. He said “if you need to thicken it, just throw some “we call it flour” in it”. At the time I didn’t think I’d need to thicken it, but I do and of course he’s away, unreachable… Stopped in the local masonary supply house and asked them if they knew what he meant by “flour” and they were clueless. Maybe white portland? I need to thicken it, and dye it. Straight cement dye works but I have to use so much that the color is way too dark so I need something I can add a small amount of dye to that will also thicken the epoxy.
Any ideas?
TIA
PaulB
Replies
I have used ground marble,and ,or ground limestone
to add to epoxy both were available at organic garden
supply stores / farm supply. Sneak up on addeing it in,
as a little goes a long way. DW
Real interesting idea... thanks!
dedubya's idea might give you a better "look" to the patch if you could find the ground material in a color similiar to the shower base.
So far, four places tried...NG on marble or limestone dust. Any opinions on adding white portland cement as a thickener?
PaulB
I built a couple RC boats in my youth and when mixing the epoxy I added "Micro Ballons" to the epoxy to thicken it. I'm not sure if that is what your friend was talking about but a local hobby shop would have them and could explain their use and purpose better then I could.
I don't know what they are nor what they are made of, it did kinda/sorta have a "flourery" texture.
Paul,
Microballoons will work but give the mix a dark colour I don't think I have a name for, not purple, not pink, but somewhere in there.
Any place that sells WEST epoxy or anything comparable will also have a thickener for epoxy that looks like white dust and is a very low density fibre. A mix with that stuff will be a light cream or greyish and can probably be tinted much easier than the microballoon mix.
Keep epoxy away from your skin.
Ron
Yep. Colloidal Silica powder. Wear a mask, it's ultra-fine stuff, and you don't want it in your lungs. A bee fart will blow it around.did<!---->Cure Diabetes - Death Valley 2006!<!---->
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baby sht brown is the name of the color you are looking for.
what exactly are they?
You mean microballoons? It's powder sized particles of glass which are supposed to be hollow.
I didn't mean baby stuff, though. That's more yellowy-greeny-browny. You wanna keep that off your skin, too.
Ron
Elrey has what you want....
Stiucco materials outlet...
the stuff looks like flour...
DIICR what it is called.. (CRAFTS at work here)
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I've used thixotrop and cab-o-sil to thicken epoxy on industrial jobs.
I can't find thixotrop on the web but was able to find cab-o-sil at this site.
http://www.redfishkayak.com/epoxy.htm
I get my epoxy products from Construction Materials or Contractors Supply, not sure if you have one close by you. If not try looking for companies that supply materials for industrial or chemical plant jobs.
busta
I've used thixotrop and cab-o-sil to thicken epoxy on industrial jobs.
I was thinking of thixatropic also. I've used it in the past for the same thing. Anyway, try googling this spelling (a instead of o): thixatropic"...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain
He may have meant some powder of the material you were patching. I have used sanding dust from wood to mix in with various bonders to blend. Find you a scrap and hit it with a grinder.
May be way off base but worked for me.
Bob
I've also used wood sanding dust as an additive to epoxy. It works well for wood repairs.
For the original poster's situation, I like your idea about dust from whatever material he's repairing. I also think the marble dust suggestion is good. The white portland idea is probably fine, too. The epoxy would completely encapsulate it.
When I saw the thread title, I thought it was about adding actual flour to masonry mortar. The Great Wall of China was built with lime mortar that included rice flour. I think the gluten (sp?) made it more moisture resistant, or allowed it to cure more slowly or completely. ??? It was recently suggested to me to add Elmers White Glue to lime mortar, I think because of similar proteins and properties. ???
Allen
Edited 8/11/2006 4:44 pm ET by WNYguy
Real flour is too obvious, but Durhams rockhard is mixable w/ lots of adhesives. Mica dust ( reloading lube) is shiney..epox can be filled with almost anything.
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colloidal silica is the right product, find at marine repair supply or auto body shop or online from West System epoxy or System Three epoxy.
Catherine
This link takes you to West Systems page describing the various types of fillers and uses.
http://www.westsystem.com/frames/tier1/productinfo.htm
T
Thanks guys for all the suggestions! I couldn't find anything local, and had no time so FWIW I used white Portland and a pinch of cement colorant. It worked out very well, but next time I'll plan on getting the silica.
Thanks again!
PaulB
Stop by McDonalds and ask for a handful of the stuff they thicken their 'mill' shakes with. Real similar to microballoons.
Scary... truly scary...
When I was doing some epoxy work, the supplier recommended I use talcum powder as the thickener. It is a common cheap general thickener. It is certainly white and "floury" - and about $5 for a 50lb bag I think.
Rebuilding my home in Cypress, CA
Also a CRX fanatic!
Shoot...nowwwwwwwww I remember reading that somewhere else...
ah well, there's bound to be a next time ;)
PaulB