Question on measuring tank sealant.

[RVbySDI]

I have started sealing my tanks and have a question on measuring from the quart kit supplied by Vans. Up to this point I have only used the tube that Vans sells sealing my tank with the method discussed in the thread "Tip: Proseal the fact and fiction". Now I am having to tap into the quart and measure the amount that I will be using rather than just mixing the tube. My question to those who have done their tanks is this. How did you measure the 10:1 ratio? Did you use some type of scale or measure out quantities in some fashion? I am not sure how to best go about this. I do not own any scales that could measure by weight so I was thinking about measuring by quantity some how. How precise does the measurement have to be? If you are off with the ratio will it make a large difference?

I would appreciate any input on this.

[szicree]

Get a piece of scrap wood and make a miniature teeter totter. Put a small "seat" one unit from the center and another ten units from the center. This is how I did mine and it worked fine. If I were doing it again, I'd probably just buy a digital scale. The scale would come in handy later when doing fiberglass.

[DGlaeser]

I started out with a balance (my wife's a teacher and has one for science class), and then got a digital scale. Precision isn't critical, but you want to be close (like balancing the elevators :-) If you are way off, it affects curing time. I've been told lots of extra part B makes it set up faster, but I haven't tried it myself.

[dennis]

i used my wife's kitchen scale to measure . Since 5 was the smallest division, i always used 50 of part a and 5 of b. Worked well. If you add more of the black it cures faster, so that toward the end of work time it is turning to viscous goop, and is harder to spread. good luck.
got lots of mek for cleanup??
dennis

[DaX]

eBay has great digital scales for great prices - I got a really good one (1g resolution, up to 11 lbs) for $50, new in the box.

[RV7Factory]

Originally Posted by dennis

i used my wife's kitchen scale to measure...

I did this too. My suggestion would be to put it in a big ziploc bag or similar to keep the scale from getting messy. I meant to do this but didn't, and I got "THE LOOK" when I brought the scale back into the house.

[alpinelakespilot2000]

Originally Posted by RV7Factory

I did this too. My suggestion would be to put it in a big ziploc bag or similar to keep the scale from getting messy. I meant to do this but didn't, and I got "THE LOOK" when I brought the scale back into the house.

You actually took the scale back into the house, Brad? What a dummy! (just kidding!) I was too afraid to give it back to her. I ran down to the store to buy another one. At first I was hoping to buy the exact same one so that she wouldn't know I had messed hers up, but then I decided it was better just to come clean and buy her a better one!

[Rick6a]

Originally Posted by RVbySDI

.....How did you measure the 10:1 ratio? Did you use some type of scale or measure out quantities in some fashion? .... If you are off with the ratio will it make a large difference?....

Get yourself a postal scale. They are not very expensive, well suited and plenty accurate for both our purposes and the USPS. Often I simply "eyeball" what I judge to be a 10-1 ratio when mixing up a very small batch for the occasional non-critical job and have never been dissappointed. But then, I have worked with proseal for so long, I can almost tell by its color. Using too little activator and it is too light, too much activator and it is too dark.

[RVbySDI]

Thanks everyone for the info. Where would be a good place to purchase a digital scale? Are we talking Ace hardware, Lowes, Home Depot? Or are we talking WalMart, Target or some other store that handles kitchen appliances? I like the postal scale but where might those be purchased? Staples? Office supply stores?

[AltonD]

ditto on the postage scale. I used the exact one in the picture. I did put it in a plastic bag while I used it, then returned it to the wife, unharmed.

Office depot, office max. . .