For anyone who may have particular experience using Ecopoxy's Liquid Plastic (1:1 ratio), have you ever encountered a situation in which your mixed and poured batch didn't cure completely, and if so what did you do? No, I haven't reached out to the manufacturer yet, because I fear that I'll get the answer I don't want to hear.
I was careful with the mix ratio and the mixing process. The temperatures were somewhat below the optimal 72-degree range, but close enough that there shouldn't have been an issue. But in general here's what seems to have happened...
The pour, made in two steps, was intended to fill a void created by routing out a design into a 1-1/2" thick western cedar sign, made by spline joining several 2x6 boards together. The first step was to route out the design onto one side of the sign to a depth of approximately 5/8", and then fill that void to the top with Ecopoxy Liquid Plastic resin (approximately 2-Liters). Everything went pretty well for that portion, except perhaps the cure didn't turn out to be as solid as I was expecting after waiting nearly 3-weeks. For the second step, I flipped the sign over and routed out a cavity behind the initial routing, now containing the cured first pour, then mixed up and poured approximately 1-Liter of the resin to a depth of just under 1/4". The end result: the second pour never completely cured, it's slightly tacky to the touch and gives like a semi-solid gel. What's worse, however, is that the original pour seems to have softened.
I suspect one of two things, assuming (yes, I know about that word) that my mix ratio of hardener to resin was good and the mixing was thorough. Either the temperature needed for initiating a proper curing process was never achieved (Ecopoxy's own instructions caution against pouring to a depth less than 1/4" because too little material can't generate the thermal change needed to initiate a full cure...something I didn't learn until after I'd completed the pour). Or possibly, I was using an old batch that had stability issues to begin with.
What I'm wondering is, can I add an additional pour on top of the second semi-cured pour in hopes that the hole thing might somehow work out? Or, am I just going to have to face facts and scrap the work and go back to the drawing board?
Thanks in advance for your input.
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