How do I work with Epoxy in warm/hot climates and temperatures?

Here are 5 Tips & Tricks to use to Maximize Epoxy Resin Summertime Performance:

1. Keep it cool – keep your materials cool and out of the sun – work in the shade whenever possible and in the early morning or later evening when it’s cooler
2. Test mix a small amount – you’ll get a good feel for the amount of working time/pot life you have if you test mix a small batch first
3. Substrate temps matter too – the temperature of the material to which you’re applying epoxy matters too as it will heat up the polymer
4. Your temp matters too! Keep yourself as cool as possible and hydrated when working in the summer heat – and take breaks as needed
5. And for those of you addressing boating or other nautical applications using marine grade epoxy resin, use slow hardener for warm weather as it cures best at 80 degrees F

Epoxy resin functions best in cooler temperatures of about 75 degrees F (~22 degrees C) – so if you can work in a climate-controlled environment – you’ll get better results. Significant increases in temperature of 15-20 degrees F (~10 degrees C) can easily halve the working and application times of the polymer. Another quick tip when working in sunlight – be sure to mix your resin in plastic containers and not metal – as these will help keep the materials cooler.