Epoxy for 2.6" FB DX3

Hey guys,
For my birthday, I am thinking of getting a 2.6" FB DX3 (this would also be for my l1 cert). What type of epoxy would you reccommend for someones first FB rocket? Also would this be a suitable rocket for a junior l1 cert attempt? I was considering using aeropoxy but im no expert.

Thanks, david

I would highly recommend Rocketpoxy. For a Mach+ rocket Proline 4500 would be better.
https://www.wildmanrocketry.com/ProductDetail.aspx?product=3925
Very high strength, sandable (but tough too!) non brittle & cures pretty quickly (3-4 hours)
It has a 1/1 mix so you really don't need a scale, but I always use one anyway. It is a light beige
but comes with dye to make it black if you want.
Don't use airplane epoxies, they're too brittle for the most part.

Good call on the fiberglass choice. Once you do that you'll never go back to cardboard
rockets except for sentimental or experimental reasons.

Ok, Thanks
I also figured that given this is my first high powered rocket, if something went wrong, a fiberglass one (i would assume) has better chances of survival.

Trick is... Don't let anything go wrong

Rocketpoxy or Aeropoxy 6209 would be fine for building this kit.

The stuff you can get at the hobby shop or auto parts store will work just fine, btw. There are a lot of reasons I don't use it, but it's not going to fall apart, and it'll hold just fine. I built my L1 with five minute stuff. Now, I prefer Aeropoxy.

Btw, do any of you know if epoxy is soluble by anything once it is cured?

littlemisterbig said:

Btw, do any of you know if epoxy is soluble by anything once it is cured?

Click to expand...

Not AFAIK. Before curing, both parts can be cleaned up with alcohol.

Ok, thanks. Just to clarify, there is no way of disconnecting epoxied parts without cutting?

They can sometimes be hammered/pulled out, but you risk damaging the parts. You can sand/chisel out some of the epoxy to help, but there's a pretty high risk of damage still.

ok, thanks

A single edge razor blade works fine removing epoxy, just be extremely careful as the razor blade is very sharp, don't forget to use nitrile gloves when handling/mixing epoxy. Good luck on the build and cert flight attempt.

Good to know, thanks. Also is there any place besides proline to get proline 4500? theyre out of stock.

https://rocketrywarehouse.com/index.php?cPath=47_53


I believe wildman carries it as well.

I will add that while it will work just fine, I personally wouldn't use 4500 as my only epoxy.
It does setup faster than others (15-30min) but it's slightly brittle and difficult to work with. The 5.5:1 mix ratio makes it harder to make smaller batches. Whereas things with a 1:1 mix are simple in any size.
It's main strength is having high heat tolerance, which is rare to actually need.

I'm not saying don't get it... Just pointing those things out.

Ok, thanks. Also, i couldnt find this anywhere, but what size of motor casing should i use? I was considering using a cesaroni 5 grain 38mm casing.

I'm going to go against the grain a bit, and advise AGAINST Proline 4500. I've used it on a few rockets. It does make nice pretty fillets, and it does in theory have great specs. However, I find it quite brittle in actual practice. I've had two rockets experience problems due to this brittleness. One is a 3" fiberglass, and the other a 4" carbon - both with G10 fins. Both have had fillets crack/fail/shatter on some hard landings. Also, even though I did properly rough-sand AND score AND clean the bonding surfaces, I had adhesion problems that were frankly surprising. While it's true that they WERE hard landings, and two instances is hardly a large sample, I've never had any other fillets crack/shatter with other epoxies (and I've definitely had my share of hard landings).

I CAN highly recommend Aeropoxy - great to work with, excellent specs/qualities, and I've never seen any problems first hand on my own rockets.

I still haven't used RocketPoxy myself, but I'm looking forward to trying it.

FWIW,
s6

Motor casing is going to be dependant on what type of flight you want. Five grain is going to get WAY up there, and I do t know many fields you can easily recover a single deploy rocket from the 5,000 feet I'd expect out of that casing.

I'd convert it to dual deploy (and look into a tracker) if you want to go that high, or consider smaller motors. Unless you've got a giant field/dry lake bed and don't mind hiking.

I use G/flex by West Systems.
45 minute pot life and plenty strong.
It will flow some up to an hour so rotating
Your parts may be necessary.

JP

I have a 2.6 FG DX3 and you'll get by just fine for your L1 with a CTI 2 or 3 grain 38mm case. I made mine dual deploy cutting the main tube and adding an AV bay. Even with the extra weight of the bay it still flies over 2k ft with just a 2 grain motor. If you're planning to build yours stock, it will be lighter than mine and it will fly much higher than that.

Wow! Thanks for all the advice. If i were to run it on a five grain, would it hit mach 1? What ill probably do, however, is get a 3 grain for the cert flight, and once im more experienced ill do dual deploy and run a five grain.

p.s. Which 38mm aeropack retainer suitable for fb motor tubes?

littlemisterbig said:

p.s. Which 38mm aeropack retainer suitable for fb motor tubes?

Click to expand...

38P

k, thanks

Typically, fiberglass is abbreviated FG, not FB

oh crap, knew something was amiss with this, just couldnt put my finger on it!