Hey guys,
How long do you have to leave the plastic to cure before sanding it after using Tenax-7R? I had assumed 24 hours was required, but it said on the internet that it is fully cured after 5 minutes. So can I sand a wing seam after only 5 minutes?
Thanks
Mike
I would give it a little longer than that. I usually give it at least twenty minutes or so to get nice and hard. It also depends on how much glue you applied.
I agree with Swanny, although I usually wait about an hour cause I’m cautious. Never had a problem with it being uncured. The 5 min. wait would be risky in my opinion.
So waiting about an hour should be fine then regardless of how much was used? I applied it with my Touch-N-Flow applicator so there was not a huge amount applied.
Thanks
Mike
I’ve never timed this, but I tend to wait longer before any sanding I need to do. Now, I may build differently than you since I always have several projects going, so I can set aside an assembly wating for sanding for as day or so and still get a lot done. Basically, though, you want to make sure the plastic has hardened. Gently pressing a finger nail or touch pick to see if there’s any give would tell you if you’re ready fo sand. If there’s no give, it’s cooked.
ajlafleche makes a good point. The Tenax itself will be dry in no time, but it creates a weld by melting the adjoining surfaces and they bond together. Tenax isn’t a glue in the sense that CA or epoxy or tube glue is. By itself, it has no bonding power, but it causes the plastic to melt and bond. When doing wings or fuselage seams, a small bead of melted plastic will form along the seam if you have applied a little pressure during the bonding application. Sanding this off when it has hardened eliminates the seam, which is the big advantage of using Tenax. As long as the melted plastic has hardened, it’s safe to file &/or sand.