old Acraglass

[rtracy2001]

I am in the process of bedding my Savage 110 hunting rifle. I have the stock and barreled action prepared and was getting ready to mix up some Acraglass, but when I opened the resin container, I found it to be a mix of clear viscous fluid and what looks like a lump of granulated sugar. This stuff is a few years old and is actually what I had left over from bedding my Mauser 98 (no it was not mixed). The resin hardener looks normal as does the nasty blue release agent. Can this still be used, or do I just need to order another kit?

[376Steyr]

Brownells website claims acraglass has a shelf life of five years. Doesn't say if that's for unopened containers, stored in a cool dry place, or any other factors. I guess you get to balance the cost of a new kit versus the chance of scrapping out an awful sticky mess if the batch doesn't set up properly. I don't even like working with the stuff when its new, as I always feel like a 3-year-old that got into a bottle of molasses after mixing up a batch. As Dirty Harry said, are you feeling lucky?

[waksupi]

I've used a lot of the granulated stuff, it still works fine. One cure is to put the containers in a can of hot water for awhile, a lot of time it will help to homogenize it. We used to buy it in 5 pound containers, and it was almost always granulated.
It was the gel we used, and what I still use. Much more user friendly than the Acraglas.

[gnoahhh]

I didn't think anybody messed with Acraglass anymore for a complete bedding job. The gel is so much easier to work with. When I was still using Brownell epoxies to bed with, I would mix up a tiny bit of straight Acraglass to provide a skim coat to the wood surface, then mix up some gel for the bulk of the project. (Apply it immediately. If it hardens before applying the gel you then have the amine blush to deal with as it'll impede bonding between the two.) The thin stuff will provide a better "grip" to the wood surface than the gel because of its thinner viscosity which penetrates the wood surface a skinch better.

The thickening agent for the straight Acraglass is really colloidal silica not fiberglass. To that end I switched long ago to just using the regular West System epoxy I use in my shop for everything else. Thickened with colloidal silica it seems as tough as Acraglass gel, and has given sterling service in quite a few rifles, giving me just a little more freedom from Brown-give-me-all-your-money-ell's.

For years now also I have eschewed using their release agent too. Regular old paste wax is plenty sufficient for the job.

[22cf45]

Just put the resin, with lid off, into your microwave for 5-8 seconds depending on how much you have. It will come out like it was new.
Phil

[Blackwater]

Just a sort of side note, but the only stock I ever got "glued in" was with that blue "release agent" that comes in the kit. I've since gone to Johnson's Paste Wax and never had even a hint of another episode like that. It was for a friend's gun, too, which made it all the more infuriating. The blue stuff will peel off, and if it happens to peel off as you're putting the barreled action into the stock, even a hair (the one I stuck later turned out to have only about a 1/16 x 3/8" patch of the barrel), you'll have one HECK of a time separating them for cleaning, and that ain't good. Thus, the use of JPW after that lil' episode. Froze it in my freezer several times, but it STILL wouldn't release! Finally got it out with a rubber mallet, but it cracked the stock slightly, and my buddy, who is a real stickler for keeping his guns in factory new condition, wound up trading it off, despite the fact it shot really, really well - his other criteria for keeping guns. C'est la' vie, I guess?

[Hardcast416taylor]

For what a new glassing kit costs, buy a new kit and avoid any head slaps that could result.Robert

[rtracy2001]

Just a sort of side note, but the only stock I ever got "glued in" was with that blue "release agent" that comes in the kit. I've since gone to Johnson's Paste Wax and never had even a hint of another episode like that.

You know, I have never seen JPW for sale here locally. I looked once or twice when I wanted to cut some Alox with it (IIRC), but gave up when I couldn't find it. I would like something a little more foolproof for the release agent though. It took me three coats to get good coverage (it didn't want to stick to the plastic trigger guard or the electrical tape on the barrel.)

I think I will try heating the resin up and if it comes back, I will use it. If it doesn't look close to new, I will see if Sportsman's Warehouse has a good kit. ( briefly considered JB weld last night, but decided not to try that experiment.)

I have used the regular Acraglass only one other time and it really didn't seem that hart to work with. No different than using the auto body fiberglass to fix the hard top on my CJ.

[quack1]

I have a partly full metal can of resin and hardener that I bought before Brownells started making the gel, and it still hardens up just fine. I'd guess and say it's at least 30 years old. The reason I still have it is that when the gel came out, it was so much easier to use, I rarely used the liquid anymore.
I have never had a failure of the blue release, have used it as long as I have been using accraglas- nearly 50 years

[Jim_P]

Take a small amount of each and mix them up. See if it hardens. If it does, you're all set, otherwise you can order and get it on it's way Monday.

[rtracy2001]

Take a small amount of each and mix them up. See if it hardens. If it does, you're all set, otherwise you can order and get it on it's way Monday.

Seems to be good advice. Thanks!

[country gent]

+1 on mixing a small amoult to make sure it hardens before starting. I had some old bisonite here that didnt harden ( age or I may have mixed it wrong) what a mess. The action wasnt to bad to clean up and reprep. The stock was a diffrent story. I did it after work set in gradle and let it set till a couple days later. It hadnt set. But it had 2 days to soak into the wood and inletting. For saftey and surety everything had to be recut to get to fresh clean wood. The wood with the epoxy soaked in pluged up burrs something terrible. Test it and make sure it hardens and sets like it should.

[country gent]

I have used the brownells release agent with no issues. One thing I like with it is you can see coverage and know its right. I have used paste waxes, beeswax, pam cooking spray, and an actual industrial release agen to fibeglass molds. The Pam worked very well and was probably the thinest of the coating release agents. Beeswax was a pain and hard to apply evenly. The industrial gave an even coating and a golor to see coverage but was probably the thickest of the release agents. The paste waxes work well can be brushed on and polished then a second coat applied and do the job as long as the solvents in the epoxy dont dislove it. Clay or play dough to dam holes slots or areas where a mechanical lock could be formed. Give a couple coats of release agent make sure first is completely cured before applying the second. I have een using vetranary syringes to apply the epoxy Mix to instructions and then with a small spatula load syringe and it makes a very handy applicator to spread and apply the bedding. A big syring you can mix it right in the syringe with a pop cycle stick. Makes getting a full fill on inletting and locking lugs much easier.

[rtracy2001]

15 seconds in the microwave liquefied the resin. In fact, I probably could have gotten away with 10 seconds. The test batch took a long, long time to set up, but it did finally set up. If all goes well, I should be able to finish up the project in the next couple of days.

[John 242]

15 seconds in the microwave liquefied the resin. In fact, I probably could have gotten away with 10 seconds. The test batch took a long, long time to set up, but it did finally set up. If all goes well, I should be able to finish up the project in the next couple of days.

We buy the large margarine size tubs of gel from Brownells.
It'll (resin?) crystallize after a while, but as you've found out, a little time in the microwave restores it back to it's normal consistency.

We've found that the Brownells release agent in the spray can works really well. I've become really fond of Johnson Paste Wax. I rub on a thin coat with my fingers or use an acid brush for hard to reach places. Modeling clay from Walmart works for plugging holes or blocking off features that would lock the stock in place.

[rtracy2001]

All done.

Just need to get out to the range and sight it back in to make sure the problem is fixed, but it does fit in the stock much, much better. I can slide a business card the whole length of the barrel all to the way to the nut. On the sides, I have a good 1/8 inch clearance. I ended up using a combination of the blue brush on release agent and PAM cooking spray. (I did feel a little guilty when SWMBO wondered out loud why we were going through cooking spray so fast.)

If I ever see JPW I will have to pick some up, but so far I haven't seen any of the locals carrying it.

The only annoying part was having the remnants of yellow modeling clay stuck in the little groves and cavities where the bag well attaches to the action. (I may have been a little liberal with the modeling clay and now it just won't come out.) I suppose that annoyance is better than getting the bedding compound in there and gluing the action into the stock.