Evercoat Disaster

T

tpbruce

Junior Member
Bought a gallon of Evercoat and hardener about 6 months ago. Pulled them off the shelf last Saturday to fill some low spots in my 29 PU cab. Mixed it as usual, applied it and when to eat lunch. Came back an hour later and it was still soft butter. Spent hours scraping it off with a razor blade. Called Evercoat and discovered both where over 18 months old, 6 months beyond it's shelf life. SO lesson learned: The numbers on the bottom of the can; 1st digit is the year; second two are the month.

Tom
 
tpbruce said:
Bought a gallon of Evercoat and hardener about 6 months ago. Pulled them off the shelf last Saturday to fill some low spots in my 29 PU cab. Mixed it as usual, applied it and when to eat lunch. Came back an hour later and it was still soft butter. Spent hours scraping it off with a razor blade. Called Evercoat and discovered both where over 18 months old, 6 months beyond it's shelf life. SO lesson learned: The numbers on the bottom of the can; 1st digit is the year; second two are the month.

Tom
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I do not use as much filler as I used to but any more, when I need to use some filler, I will almost always buy some fresh stuff. This also applies to Fiberglas Resin which I used to use a lot of.

I never really paid attention to the Date Codes but now knowing what they mean is helpful.

Chris
 
hmm, I use stuff that can be 5 years old and it's still OK.

Did you knead the hardener in tube?

The liquid in it can settle out , and what you think is hardener....isn't.
 
The oil really separates more than you think,and in a shorter time than you think also.I dig to the bottom of the can with a piece of steel,(paint sticks are not strong enough)and get every bit unstuck from the bottom.Then I put it on the paint shaker,upside down.Many years ago some body rep told us shaking would create air bubbles in it,then another told us shaking would eliminate them.I shake it until it is creamy and smooth,sometimes I will shake it a few minutes at a time over a day or two.I have had zero problems doing it.If you don't get every bit off the bottom and mixed,what you do manage to mix up will have too much oil in it.I have had some that was just too far gone,but you can tell right off.The chunks will not even start to dissolve.
 
I just checked my Rage Gold can. It has a 004411 on the bottom. That doesn't seem to be the year and month code like Tom wrote. What could that mean?
 
I use filler till it's gone, 4-5 years with no problem. I do mix things up well before using. I never let it freeze so don't know if that would be a problem. What temperature were you working in?
 
Are you using the right hardener? I have some Evercoat Rage that uses a different hardener, it is also mixed at a of 10:1 ratio. The Rage product I have I bought at a trade show and is not shown on their web site. I was told it by the Evercoat rep that it was the same as their Quantum1
 
I treated myself to my first can of Rage Gold last weekend date code on the bottom is 005216. Hope to use it on subrail & firewall pits tomorrow. :)
wrndln said:
I just checked my Rage Gold can. It has a 004411 on the bottom. That doesn't seem to be the year and month code like Tom wrote. What could that mean?
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I have been using the same can of Rage Gold for at least 3 years, and it is still fine. But I don't keep the little tubes of hardener (liquid or cream) for more than a year or so. When in doubt, mix up a little test batch.

Doug
 
I'm wondering if you just need a fresh tube of hardener?
I've used polyester glazing putty and body filler at least 5 yrs old & think the last can was closer to 10 with no troubles except the hardeners usually won't last that long. As you likely know there also comes a point where it's too d*m cold for the hardener to take effect.
(A heat lamp will solve this).
PS ... Last time I looked they sold 2 different hardeners for body filler & glazing putty.
 
I have also used filler 5 to 10 years old. If the filler you are using is called Rage1 part# 900294 regular hardener won't work. Rage1 requires a special catalyst and is mixed 10:1
 
I Had the the same problem, questioned the manufacturer regarding the hardener and found it should not be used if more than a year old. Using a new tube of hardener solved the problem and putty is well over 3 years old.
 
I forget the manufacturer, but emailed them once for the Rage Gold. They said 2 years shelf life on the filler, but no longer than 1 year on the hardener. Naturally, they would be on the conservative side.
 
The hardener starts a chemical reaction which creates heat. The heat is what cures the filler. If it isn't hardening you probably didn't use enough hardener or it is old. Put a heating lamp on it or play a heat gun over it and you may get the hardening process started. It has worked for me.
 
I am new here, and have yet to see a debate on bondo over epoxy primer or bondo over bare metal.

I am an advocate of ...over bare metal only and always have been.

Just be aware, that when I studied each method for its merits, and got 3M factsheets, they state that their base (cheaper) filler is NOT designed to adhere to epoxy primer.

Their premium product has adhesion promoters to adhere to epoxy primer.

So, to all that are using any filler over epoxy , check the specifications.

No filler is designed to go directly over etch primer either.
 
pooch said:
No filler is designed to go directly over etch primer either.
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I think the residual acidity of the etch primer keeps the catalyst from working. I have also seen this warning on polyester resin:
NOTE: Cannot be used with aluminum, redwood and/or close-grained woods like oak or cedar.
​
A couple of times I have tried using polyester resin or filler to repair non-automotive things (for example, a piece of masonite-like material), only to find that the stuff did not set up at all, even though the polyester and hardener were perfectly good. I guess that residual acidity on the substrate prevented the reaction from occurring.

Doug
 
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