Acra glas solvent/thinner

I'm wondering if anyone here knows of a substitute thinner for Acraglas. The few places I've found it so far double the price up with what I assume are Hazmat. I know there's a few guy's on here with backgrounds in chemistry, and a few more who paint their bbl. channels with a thin coat of acraglas who might've found a substitute. I'm bloody well not paying $40 for a qt. of thinner. Any thought's ? Thanks

Acraglas is an epoxy, correct?
Never used it, but I have used lots of West system and other epoxy’s, and have always thinned them standard alcohol!
I’m sure someone else will suggest some other substance, but you might try a small amount with alcohol and see if it works for you.

Used a lot epoxy at work, used acatone to cut and clean.

Hi,
Acetone will do the job.

dave

Wonderful ! Thanks all

Caution must be used when thinning epoxies - too much thinning down and the epoxy will not cure and end up "gummy". Do some experimenting first before you apply to your stock.

ZUG said:

Caution must be used when thinning epoxies - too much thinning down and the epoxy will not cure and end up "gummy". Do some experimenting first before you apply to your stock.

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'Understood. The plan was to thin coat the barrel channel. I certainly will do some tests before I commit to the stock itself. Thanks for the word of caution!

If it is a new kit, no need to thin. Just did one.

Very important is to do the 4 minute stir.

Hi Godutch,
When I coat barrel channels with a thin layer of AcraGlas, I don't thin it. I just mix it as usually and add a little fiber flock so it does not run too easily. Then I clamp the barrel in place with 5-6 clamps. I tighten the clamps until epoxy oozes up and out of the channel. The thin layer comes from pressing the barrel in tight. It can get messy if you used a lot of AcraGlas but simply clean off the overflow with a paint scraper. My purpose for bedding the barrel is to strengthen the stock not fill any gaps. I want a thin layer of fully strong epoxy to do that. Here is what it looks like after I am done. You can see the grain of the wood clearly through it.



dave

In my experience, any quality reducer works for epoxies.

dave_person said:

Hi Godutch,
When I coat barrel channels with a thin layer of AcraGlas, I don't thin it. I just mix it as usually and add a little fiber flock so it does not run too easily. Then I clamp the barrel in place with 5-6 clamps. I tighten the clamps until epoxy oozes up and out of the channel. The thin layer comes from pressing the barrel in tight. It can get messy if you used a lot of AcraGlas but simply clean off the overflow with a paint scraper. My purpose for bedding the barrel is to strengthen the stock not fill any gaps. I want a thin layer of fully strong epoxy to do that. Here is what it looks like after I am done. You can see the grain of the wood clearly through it.

dave

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Thanks Dave, that's exactly what I'm looking to do. I should have mentioned I have plenty of experience with both acraglas and Devcon products. I've always used the acraglas gel exclusively for bedding actions etc. on modern stuff so that's what I have on hand. 'Definitely will need to be thinned a bit I suspect, hence my original question. Thanks again, Fred

Mad Hatter said:

Used a lot epoxy at work, used acatone to cut and clean.

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I'd do test batches with lacquer thinner and acetone to see how much it weakens the epoxy.

ead said:

I'd do test batches with lacquer thinner and acetone to see how much it weakens the epoxy.

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Yes indeed! If things don't look right I'll have to buy some regular Acraglas and just be done with it. The Gel was always just so much nicer since it stayed where you put it so you didn't have to stay ahead of drip or runs and it stills squeezed out nicely and leaves the same smooth finish. I used to use it with aluminum powder and black dye mixed in (modern stuff).

By the way Dave, the fiber flock you mentioned, is that a glass fiber and where might someone get that?

I tried a small amount of Gorilla glue in the barrel channel once. It worked well and was easy to clean up. Not traditional gunsmithing but it worked. It sets up hard after 24hrs. Doesn't take much.

Hi,
Brownells sells it with Acra Glas. A few years ago, Brownells was out of all bulk Acra Glas hardeners and resin and only sold the small kits with the gel. I believe the gel already contains flock making it thicker and whiter. Anyway, I used the gel unthinned and it worked fine. It squeezed out the same as my usual preparation. I always tint the epoxy using a tiny bit of LMF stain to better match the wood. The white gel particularly needed stain.

dave

Also don't forget the release agent. Mostly for folks who haven't used any epoxy to bed a barrel. Without a release agent the barrel will be glued to the stock and near impossible to remove without damage to the stock.

dave_person said:

Hi,
Brownells sells it with Acra Glas. A few years ago, Brownells was out of all bulk Acra Glas hardeners and resin and only sold the small kits with the gel. I believe the gel already contains flock making it thicker and whiter. Anyway, I used the gel unthinned and it worked fine. It squeezed out the same as my usual preparation. I always tint the epoxy using a tiny bit of LMF stain to better match the wood. The white gel particularly needed stain.

dave

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What release agent do you recommend ?

Don

Hi,
I use Minwax furniture paste wax, 2 buffed coats. The release agent sold with Acra Glas also works well as long as the barrel is well degreased before painting it with the agent. I always use a heat gun to warm sections of the barrel until hot to the touch before pulling it from the barrel channel. Removing barrels, especially thin walled fowler barrels can be a little tricky. It helps immensely if you scraped away excess epoxy that oozed up along the barrel while it is still tacky. I place the stock with the muzzle end in a vise and insert a dowel into the bore. I heat the barrel with a heat gun until it is fairly hot to the touch then I whack the dowel upward to release the barrel at the muzzle. Once I can lift a section up, I place the handle of a screw driver under the barrel across the stock. Then I heat the section behind the screw driver and slowly push the screw driver back toward the breech levering up the barrel a little further. I keep that up until the barrel pops out. Just go slow and use heat.

I use Johnson paste wax, two coats. [still have several tubs]
I like Dave's idea of heat, I will have to try it next time.