I have been following along this ride here. My weld on 40 just arrived today to do a patch on my sump. I have been taking notes from this thread and hope to get an idea of this as well. Thank you guys for posting this lol.wednesday13
Youre instagram page is unbelievable!!! Thats some life youre living! I never saw such cool fish! My 15 y/o son who thinks hes a fisherman because he catches a few small black drum and pufferfish was blown away. What can I say... dad has cool friends! But i thought the carvings were most amazing. You are a talented artist bro! @creekpikerlures
So here is what Im gonna do with the tank. Please correct/ instruct as needed.
Draining the water, fish and rock into an old little tykes plastic baby pool i have and using 2 hang on filters with the media from the tank. Gonna dry and clean the tank. Scuff up old rod, new rod and tank corners. Nitrile gloves and vapor respirator plus fans. Mask tape the tank along where the new rod is going to catch any glue that pushes out when i push in new rod. With a small paint brush Im going to brush glue upthe corners of tank and over old rod. Brush glue on inside of new rod. Put in new rod but dont push too hard. Wipe off excess. How soon can i remove the mask tape and should i remove mask tape before i tape the rod in place? Leave the tape on the new rod?
Ok...the mixing process. 20:1 which is 100:5. You said 50 grams will do it. But lets say 100 grams for easy rounding. 100 grams =100 ml ? 100ml needs 5 ml of hardener. 5ml = 1 tespoon. So, if i can get a cup that measures 100 ml, i just add 1 teaspoon of hardener? Please check my math. Im a teacher. They included a tongue depressor...how long or well do i have to mix it?
Lastly, im attaching a pic of the other seams. Theres existing rod running along entire bottom. Should i just brush over them with glue as a "caulk" or leave well enough alone. Will it just run off or actually harden in place. I know youre going to say to do it. (Im more of a dont eff with it kind of guy).
Youre the best, my man! Cant thank you enough! Rods being picked up end of the week. Feel like this thread is legendary!!!
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Acrylic seam repair/ assessment
- Thread starter Johnpeck1
- Start date
wednesday13
deserves all the credit! He has been unbelievably helpful and cool throughout this journey! I can't thank him enough!
Appreciate all the kind words my man! And for checkin out my current “fish life” on insta. Still have a “day job” but miiiiight just “make it” one of these days haha ?…
1st of all, sounds like ur really “getting it” across the board. Im glad my long rants on info have helped lol… u have a plan now and a thought out way to execute. I think about the only thing i forgot to mention was after u sand the areas to be glued, wipe it down with a very very mild acetone. I like nail polish remover. No good brand either, the cheap stuff with minimal acetone works great. Anything too strong will craze the acrylic. Will give u a nice clean surface for adhesion.
As for the tape, kinda gotta b quick with it. Will def. help u keep everything clean. U almost have to strip it back off right after u glue tho. The glue will set up in 15-30 minutes depending on ur altitude and humidity annnd “pot size”… so it will fuse the tape in there permanently. Good news is 100ml “pots” are small and will actually take longer to set up so u should have a good 20-25 min working time. If u feel the glue getting warm u know its coming so get whatever ur doing done immediately lol…
Ur math and proposed mixing batches sound right. I think the mixing time is 3 minutes. Dont go crazy stirring it, use a figure 8 motion with an old pen or the tongue dipressor until its clear. You are correct on the ml measuring cup and spoon also. Ive never had a problem using the glue/hardener that way. I did the same with google conversions from teaspoon to ml and just always made batches of 100-200-400 and so on to keep it easy lol.
I think thats about everything, lemme re read and make sure i didnt miss any questions ?. U def. sound more confident tho, and thats good. U got this ??
Aye, forgot to comment about the bottom seams… im all for “if it aint broke, dont fix it” aswell… buuuut lol.. since ur gonna b in there itd b a good time to inspect them. If anything looks like ur side seam ur repairing u can brush on some glue like caulk yes. U can build up enough to fix a seal if needed. If they look good/clear leave em be. Anything white is bad, means water got in somewhere. Worst case scenario u can mix up 100-200 ml put it in a squeeze type bottle with a tip and “caulk” around the bottom rim pretty easy and ull have plenty glue left from the corner repair. Def inspect all ur seams while ur in there just for peace of mind. As ive said before a little 40 goes a long way. Any questionable areas just touch up quick the with squeeze bottle like caulk. Vertical even, it will stay where u put it if u use it thin like caulk.
wednesday13
Couldnt have even thought about this without you , bro.
Is there any material (rubber gloves, paint brush, plastic mixing cup, etc) that shouldnt be used with the weldon 40...like will it disintegrate and ruin the batch?
And am I taping the new rod in place or will that tape end up being attached for ever?
I like the squeeze bottle idea. The only seams besides the 2 verticals is the bottom. The front of the rank is a rounded one piece of material. Could i hurt the bottom by running a bead over the bottom seam? Its not a solvent...more of an adhesive, right? So it cant "melt " the existing bond? im trying to convince myself that a bead could only be helpful. Im definitely leaving the top alone or i can see the glue running down the tank and me jumping in a river. Lol.
Btw, I ffitted my baby pool with a leak proof bulkhead only to find out theres a crack on the other side. Glad i figured it out in the yard and not with 100 gallons and fish in my basement. I went to Tractor Supply and picked up a 100 gallon water tank for animals. The kid working there was such a D-bag, that when im done with it , Im returning it. The thing was filthy, but he told me not to worry...i can clean it. 90 bucks and i had to pry them apart, drag it in, annd get to clean it? Lol.
Thanks Russ!
Couldnt have even thought about this without you , bro.
Is there any material (rubber gloves, paint brush, plastic mixing cup, etc) that shouldnt be used with the weldon 40...like will it disintegrate and ruin the batch?
And am I taping the new rod in place or will that tape end up being attached for ever?
I like the squeeze bottle idea. The only seams besides the 2 verticals is the bottom. The front of the rank is a rounded one piece of material. Could i hurt the bottom by running a bead over the bottom seam? Its not a solvent...more of an adhesive, right? So it cant "melt " the existing bond? im trying to convince myself that a bead could only be helpful. Im definitely leaving the top alone or i can see the glue running down the tank and me jumping in a river. Lol.
Btw, I ffitted my baby pool with a leak proof bulkhead only to find out theres a crack on the other side. Glad i figured it out in the yard and not with 100 gallons and fish in my basement. I went to Tractor Supply and picked up a 100 gallon water tank for animals. The kid working there was such a D-bag, that when im done with it , Im returning it. The thing was filthy, but he told me not to worry...i can clean it. 90 bucks and i had to pry them apart, drag it in, annd get to clean it? Lol.
Thanks Russ!
Jumping in a river joke!? I enjoy ur humor lol??… Havent had any ill effects of products used with 40, it actually does not adhere to polypropylene, polyethylene and similar oil based plastics so most cheap stuff u can find/use is more than fine and can sometimes be salvaged/peeled off. Id prob stay away from foam cups or red solo cups is about it… theyll melt when it starts to turn. Paint type mixing cups work well and have masurements on them.
The rod should pretty much stay in place but u can use masking tape to hold it there. If the tape goes over the glue it will peel off after its cured… if the glue covers the tape itell b stuck there if that makes sense. Just use enough to hold it in place if needed.
For the bottom seam, u can’t really do any harm, so if its clean/ready, can always do it for more peace of mind. Like with the rod ur covering theres 2 spots/seams/seals there also. One on the floor then the other right above it to the tank wall. If ur gonna do it may as well hit both ??
Lol… Nice pickup on the stock tank ?, they def. come in handy in these types of situations. Used them many times. Same thing with my area TSC, dirty tubs, no help… Its like they know u really need it and will take it anyway ?…
wednesday13
thank you for all the coaching.J Johnpeck1 thank you for having a much more nerve wracking issue than me (for once lol).
I was able to get my project done today. When you said it gets hot, I was not expecting that much heat. I mixed in an empty soup can. When I noticed it was setting up I went to pick up the soup can and the glue from the can had melted and stuck itself to my finger and it was so hot I couldn’t even pick up the can. ?
sorry for a derail but wanted to thank you for the info.
J Johnpeck1 thank you for having a much more nerve wracking issue than me (for once lol).
I was able to get my project done today. When you said it gets hot, I was not expecting that much heat. I mixed in an empty soup can. When I noticed it was setting up I went to pick up the soup can and the glue from the can had melted and stuck itself to my finger and it was so hot I couldn’t even pick up the can. ?
sorry for a derail but wanted to thank you for the info.
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Damn u mixed alot at once, thatell do it lol, #BeenThere… had to throw a squeeze bottle one time it burnt my hand so badly ??… smaller amounts dont heat up as much buuuut it happens… regardless of gettin burnt ur repair came out super clean! Nice work man ?… glad to see the thread here is already helping multiple people ??
wednesday13
Bro, this is turning into a disaster. You tell me, but it looks like the bottom seams are suspect too. I emptied the tank, moved the fish and when i saw these seams without the substrate covering them, i wanted to puke. Take a look and tell me what you think. Looks to me like theres algae behind the reinforcement rod. But does that mean the actual seam between the two sheets of acrylic is bad?Im not sure i can even reach the bottom all around the tank. To put a bead of weldon around the whole bottom seam i would have to sand it first? And it has to be completely dry? For this to work, the bead would have to be perfect and how could a bead work if the original constructon didnt? Im in way over my head. Im screwd.
