My experience and tips on using Hysol...for what it's worth

I just had my first experience with
Hysol using it to bond the ribs for the vertical stabilizer.
Here's some thoughts and suggestions, again for what it's worth, perhaps others will chime in and add their suggestions.
First, a little goes a long ways. Mix very little. I mixed 15oz of each for a total of 30 oz's and then added a little Flox, this was plenty to do all the ribs.
A little flox goes a long ways too. I think I added less then a teaspoon.
Use a very small container to mix in, using a larger can or cup and you're constantly wiping the sides trying to get it to the bottom to mix. A small tuna can would be plenty big in my opinion. Make sure it's a sturdy container, I tried a plastic dixie cup at first, but the sides would wrinkle when I tried to scrape the hysol off when mixing, just didn't work for me.
A little makes a mess. If you get a drop of it on wood where your don't want it, and you wipe it off it will still leave a little stain on the wood. So be careful.
I used masking tape to help keep the hysol where I didn't want it.
You can use denatured alcohol to wipe off hysol.
I kept a small shallow bowl with denatured alcohol next to where I was working so I could dip my finger tip in to help smooth the Hysol.
I also keep paper towels nearby, used a piece folded about 2 inch square so I had a good sharp rigid edge, I'd dip this into the alcohol, then used to smooth, and wipe up excess Hysol.
Don't get in a big hurry. My mixture stayed workable for 45-60 minutes at temperature of around 90 degrees. Besides, you can always mix more.
I used a syringe, pop sickle stick, screw driver, and my fingers to apply the hysol. Which worked best? they all served a purpose in a particular application. Personally, a pop sickle stick and a finger dipped in alcohol worked good for me.
Besides using the tip of my finger dipped into alcohol to smooth the Hysol, I also found out in corners it helped to use the tip of my finger to push in and fill corner areas so there wouldn't be any void area.
Hysol is strong stuff, I found that out having to dismantle some things on the project I'd bought. So in my opinion, a little goes a long ways. No need to gob on an area 2 inches by 2 inches to hold a little piece of plywood.
There it is, my 2 cents on Hysol, Hope this helps someone in the future.

My suggestions: I cut the bottoms off 1 gallon milk jugs to mix the hysol on. No sides to scrape. Then use a plastic putty knife to scoop it into a 1 quart heavy duty ziplock bag with a little bit of one corner cut off. Use it like a cake decorator to squeeze a bead of hysol along/into the joint to be bonded. Use a short piece of 1 inch PVC pipe like a rolling pin to roll the hysol in the bag into the cut off corner of the bag to use all the hysol in the bag.

Funny story: The builder's manual in 1994 suggested using a large veterinarian's syringe to apply the hysol. I bought a big one at the vet's office and was surprised at the high cost...about $25.00. I mixed up some hysol then pulled the plunger out of the syringe to load it and discovered the reason it was so expensive. It was pre loaded with some kind of horse medicine:eek:.

By far the easiest way to dispense this product is by using the system designed to dispense it. The gun, cartridges and mixing nozzles.


Gun

Tips

Totally agree. Next time I will be emptying one side of the syringe, mixing flox or microbeads in and refilling it. Then inserting the plunger and mixing tip. That would have been so sweet had I known.
Eddie

I've been using irrigation or medicine syringes you can get at the local pharmacy for free. What I would do is cut the bottom off of one syringe and use that one to load the other syringe. The syringe I'd use to apply the Hysol I would drill out the tip to the size of the Hysol bead I was looking to achieve.

I use cheap paper plates ( non coated) to mix on

you can get the large syringes via mail at wal-mart

do not pitch the mix plate till you make sure your batch cured

David Kelm