Firewall Sealant mixing

[MNellis]

I just purchased some firewall sealant from Vans after reading the mixing directions I can not picture the process in my head. Additionally, the flat portion of the black "rod" that came in the package was broken so I don't know if that's going to be a problem or not.

Can someone who has used this stuff clarify for me the mixing/dispensing process?

 

[lorne green]

If the black rod is broken (and shortened)...you have a problem. This is a two part system. At the base of the long white tube is a sealed bulb of liquid activator.
Plunge the round bulbus portion of the black rod down the inside of the white shaft breaking the bulb and agitate by stroking. If the flat end is broken I'd try wearing
a cycling glove or a padded glove to agitate.
The instuctions give the number of strokes for complete agitation. This stuff smells toxic so plan to use this product with ample ventilation.
Eighty percent of the info enclosed pertains to first aid and such and twenty percent dedicated to how to actually use this product.

 

[alpinelakespilot2000]

I've heard that this CS1900 is amazingly thick. I too have a tube to seal my firewall grommets and other openings and am hoping I'm not going to have trouble mixing the stuff and then getting it out of the cartridge (I don't have one of the sealant guns). Is it that bad?

 

[[email protected]]

I did not have a sealant gun, but was able to put it into a HD caulk gun and it worked just fine.

 

[[email protected]]

As to more clarification to the mixing process:
The black tube is just a push rod to push the center of the white tube/ mixing rod. The activator/hardener is inside the white tube. Pressing down the center of it with the black pushrod pushes the activator into the epoxy.

Once you have pushed the activator in (moving the white tube in as you also push the push rod in to distribute the activator throughout the first part). You then spin the white rod to mix the 2 compounds together.

Then pull the white rod out and screw in the applicator tip.

I too was confused by the directions the first several times I read them.

 

[lorne green]

steve

No worries, it's not too difficult to extract. It is thick but not unmangeable at all.

FWI, I thought that I had finished caulking my firewall when I discarded the tube (with product still left) and realised that I could have done a better job in one area. I cut open the cartridge two days later and it was still fresh enough to use. ymmv.

 

[climberrn]

If there was still some soft pro seal in the tube 2 days after mixing, are you sure it was mixed completely? I had mine harden up in the gun after about an hour. (From Vans)

I have used 5 tubes so far with similar experiences. The tubes I got from Vans had a much quicker set up time than the tubes I got from Aircraft Spruce. There was a great article floating around that describes the hardening properties based on the numbers on the packaging. I prefer the longer set up times of the aircraft spruce tubes.

 

[MNellis]

As to more clarification to the mixing process:
The black tube is just a push rod to push the center of the white tube/ mixing rod. The activator/hardener is inside the white tube. Pressing down the center of it with the black pushrod pushes the activator into the epoxy.

Once you have pushed the activator in (moving the white tube in as you also push the push rod in to distribute the activator throughout the first part). You then spin the white rod to mix the 2 compounds together.

Then pull the white rod out and screw in the applicator tip.

I too was confused by the directions the first several times I read them.

Thanks for the extra details everyone. I thought there should be an applicator tip but there was not one include in the package. So if I understand it correctly, after mixing, I should be able to remove the little orange ring on the bottom of the tube, install it in the gun and apply after pulling out the white shaft.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[[email protected]]

Yes, after pulling the white shaft out, the sealant will come out of where the white shaft was. When I got mine, there was a screw-in applicator tip that went on after the white shaft was pulled out. Will work without it, just come out quicker.