Epoxy cleanup

J

jolson

Joined
Mar 15, 2018
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29
I wrapped the blade up tight against the front of the handle with painter's tape to protect it from getting epoxy on it but the epoxy squeezed out a little onto the tape when I clamped it. When it hardened it melted right into the tape and I had a heck of a time trying to chip / carve it away from the handle and even scratched the blade trying to do so. Does anyone have a tip for how to keep that area clean of the epoxy?
 
I use 24 hour T88 epoxy and don't put any tape in the area.
After clamping everything together, I use a baby-wipe or two to clean it carefully.
You can put a single layer of wipe over a popsicle stick and wipe the guard junction pretty nicely.
I even come back in an hour to make sure that nothing has seeped out and needs another wipe.
 
Actually keep the ricasso section uncovered so you have room to work. I put some shop paper towel (not the normal 'fluffier' stuff, more like newspaper. Doesn't shred as easy as normal when working with thicker epoxy.) on the end of a sharpened popsicle stick. Works much better than qtips for me.
 
I always let the epoxy ooze where ever, and whatever won’t grind off when I shape my handle can usually be picked off fairly easily with a little brass pick/scraper I made. A little acetone will also help loosen any stubborn spots, though I try not to go crazy with it.
 
WD 40, clean shop rag and wooden swizzle sticks swiped from the condiments bar at Starbucks. :D
 
After I butter up the handle scales, mount them with Loveless bolts. I put the knives to harden tip up, if any expoxy sneaks out the front, I have a clean shop rag and a can of Acetone ready. I wipe the area clean of any unwanted epoxy..
 
I wish I could find the thread, but I thought I read somewhere on here denatured alcohol was a preferred chemical over acetone as it wont break down epoxy as fast and doesn't have as much of a capillary action when cleaning unfully cured epoxy. Short of that, I do the same things as suggested.

Edit: Pretty sure this is the thread I am referring to. It has one comment on it you may want to see about using too much acetone while cleaning up the area in which you are trying to clean and the OP of the thread had a failure at the ricasso area because of too much acetone eating away the epoxy. Or that is what they think may have caused his failure. Anyway it's def a good read for this subject.

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/a-gap-showed-up-between-the-scale-and-tang.1402979/
 
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The solvent for uncured epoxy is denatured alcohol. Cheap rubbing alcohol will work Ok, and things like WD-40 will also work. The denatured alcohol will clean the rsin and leave the surface free of oil and epoxy.

For cured epoxy resin, acetone is the solvent. Remove as much as possible before it cures, but any found later can be rubbed away with a cotton cloth wet with acetone. If the drip is large, try to trim the bulk away with a sharp blade ( X-atct, etc.). The resin will slowly dissolve as you work the acetone back and forth over it. Remember that it is also dissolving any other resins it is in contact with, so expect homemade MyCarta to get dulled.

Wear nitrile gloves when doing epoxy work both for cleaness reasons as well as to protect your skin from de-oiling by the solvents. Alcohol won't hurt you, but it will dry the heck out of your skin and lead to chapping and cracked skin. Acetone isn't good to get in contact with in the first place.
Wear a respirator or have good air movement and ventilation.

The biggest way to avoid getting epoxy all over the knife is to keep as much off the blade and handle as possible.
Use only the amount of epoxy as needed. use 24 HOUR CURE resin. You don't have to rush, and can take your time applying resin to tangs and down hidden tang holes.
Use nitrile gloves on both hands, use one hand only for applying the epoxy and such ( the right in my case), and the other for holding the clean parts of knife ( left in my case).
Peel off any glove with epoxy all over it, or when the left glove gets any real amount of epoxy on it.
When the epoxy has been applied and the tang is in place or the rivets are inserted and clamped, peel the gloves off and put on clean ones for the clean-up steps.
By buying the gloves in boxes of 100, I consider them the same as Kleenex .... I use one and toss it as often as I need. No need to try and get extra life at the expense of cleanliness.

TIP:
If pouring resin down a tang hole is the bane of your life, try this - Slip a hollow coffee stirr down the hole. Pour in the resin slowly. The trapped air will escape up the straw and the resin won't back up and pour all over the handle. I like the thin hard red stirs, and cut the end at a slight angle to ensure good air flow.
 
Wipes, rags, Q-Tips....all good. As mentioned, don't try to mask the area. Just know you will be cleaning up that area. I use alcohol immediately after glue up with Q-Tips and blue shop towels cut into quarters for the initial clean up. I take my time and make sure it is as clean as possible. Don't over saturate the Q-Tip or towel. Squeeze out the excess to avoid wicking into the seams. After clean up, check back every half hour or so for a few hours to make sure no new epoxy has worked its way out. I leave the mixing cup with any excess epoxy on a scrap of paper next to the knife with the date and time of glue-up. This way I can keep track of how the epoxy is curing. If you notice a spot you missed after it has cured a little scrubbing with a Q-Tip and acetone will remove it.
 
I don't remember who wrote it but not to long ago someone mentioned using coffeefilters instead of q-tips or cloth.
Works for me.
Folded up a few times you can get a pretty precise point to whipe with using acetone or alcohol
 
i4Marc said:
Wipes, rags, Q-Tips....all good. As mentioned, don't try to mask the area. Just know you will be cleaning up that area. I use alcohol immediately after glue up with Q-Tips and blue shop towels cut into quarters for the initial clean up. I take my time and make sure it is as clean as possible. Don't over saturate the Q-Tip or towel. Squeeze out the excess to avoid wicking into the seams. After clean up, check back every half hour or so for a few hours to make sure no new epoxy has worked its way out. I leave the mixing cup with any excess epoxy on a scrap of paper next to the knife with the date and time of glue-up. This way I can keep track of how the epoxy is curing. If you notice a spot you missed after it has cured a little scrubbing with a Q-Tip and acetone will remove it.
Click to expand...

All of the above. It's exactly how I do it too. :thumbsup:
 
Q tips and alcohol for me for uncured epoxy. I use a very sharp small chisel for remove cured drops of epoxy, then acetone. The chisel if sharpened well has a vey smooth edge and has not scratched a blade when carefully applied.
 
Denatured alcohol does not appear to be as easy to find at HD or Lowes as it used to be. Kerosene has totally vanished from those stores in Florida, but I found a fuel depot down the road that will sell it to me a gallon at a time if'n I bring my own can.
 
Tip for removing cured epoxy or excess soft solder from the handle/ricasso joint:
Make a 1/4" flat graver from brass or bronze. Just grind the end to a 45 degree angle with a sharp edge. You can use it as-is , or put a nice handle on it. Any odd scrap of handle wood will work.
Use the graver to cut away the epoxy or solder. It won't mar your blade, and will make a clean line along the joint.

The alcohol at the hardware stores is sometimes sold as methanol, or paint thinner alcohol. It is in the paint department with the acetone. The current brand carried by most places is called Klean Strip Denatured Alcohol, and is about $16 a gallon:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-1-gal-SLX-Denatured-Alcohol-Cleaner-GSL26/100139444
 
I have bought it in the past, but it can be scarce these days. Some HD stores also require ID for spray paint and other products that can be used for huffing or random urban folk art/vandalism. ;) As for the graver, I have never been comfy with any metal scraper no matter how soft if may be.
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Tip for removing cured epoxy or excess soft solder from the handle/ricasso joint:
Make a 1/4" flat graver from brass or bronze. Just grind the end to a 45 degree angle with a sharp edge. You can use it as-is , or put a nice handle on it. Any odd scrap of handle wood will work.
Use the graver to cut away the epoxy or solder. It won't mar your blade, and will make a clean line along the joint.

The alcohol at the hardware stores is sometimes sold as methanol, or paint thinner alcohol. It is in the paint department with the acetone. The current brand carried by most places is called Klean Strip Denatured Alcohol, and is about $16 a gallon:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klean-Strip-1-gal-SLX-Denatured-Alcohol-Cleaner-GSL26/100139444
Click to expand...
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
TIP:
If pouring resin down a tang hole is the bane of your life, try this - Slip a hollow coffee stirr down the hole. Pour in the resin slowly. The trapped air will escape up the straw and the resin won't back up and pour all over the handle. I like the thin hard red stirs, and cut the end at a slight angle to ensure good air flow.
Click to expand...

HOLY COW!!! Thanks Stacy, that's worth more than the price of admission. It worked great this morning. THANKS!!!
 
I have never tryied this with epoxy but it works wonders with solder. When I solder a guard I use a pencil to color the face of the guard and around the ricaso. If you use a semi dule pencil it won’t color right down where you want the solder. The graphite acts like a solder dam and the solder won’t pass it. Makes clean up super quick and easy. Now I’m not saying epoxy won’t pass it but it most likely won’t stick to the graphite covered steel.
 
I do not know about the rest of you, but I have found things that are not suppose to scratch harden steel will at the worse time leave a scratch somehow.

It got to the point I buy a bag of cotton pads, cotton balls and qtips to wipe the blade and no more surprised scratches.

It always amazes me how a piece of harden steel will mysteriously get a scratch 5 seconds after you finish the blade.
 
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