WEST System 410 Microlight Filler

I have used this product with various epoxies for decades. I got it to fair a keel first but have used it to fix holes in my truck fenders and any other place I wanted a strong filler.A couple decades ago I used it to replace the rotted corners of some huge windows I got for free to add daylight to the barn. A thick mix was easy to cast in ""forms of plastic and tape held in place with clamps and staples until the mix cured. Decades later the glass hasn't fallen out. This time I was using it to fill rot in exterior window sills that should have been painted a decade ago. I prepared by scratching out any really loose rotted wood. Then saturated the remaining surfaces with penetrating epoxy. Then I added a fairly sloppy mix of 5:1 epoxy and filler so that the filler would soak into all pits. Finally a thick mixture that is as thick as glazing putty was trowelled over the surface. Finally just a bit of sanding to fair with the rest of the window sill that was thoroughly primed with penetrating epoxy. After curing the surface takes paint primer perfectly and a final coat of house pain looks great and will probably never rot out even if I am negligent about the next painting. The process is not cheap or quick but it sure beats replacing the windows.

I replenished my supply and I use this often...great for my needs

The Filler Additive is so great for making silky smooth fillets or fairing. Its easily sanded and can create a fine feather edge. I use a little bit in all my fillet mixtures to create a super working product. A must have additive.

I mix this 50-50 % Colloidal-Microlight by volume. I use a rounded table spoon of each with a two squirts of resin and two squirts of hardener. A two pot mixing process works best for me. My typical batch is three rounded tablespoons of each filler mixed in a large plastic bowl. Use a flat bottomed stir stick to break clumps. Wear a VOC or at least a dust mask. I then mix six squirts of resin and six squirts of hardener for three minutes of stirring. I prefer WEST SYSTEM 206 for its lower viscosity, but use whichever suits your air temperature. If in doubt, go with a slower hardener. Keep your batches small and work a wet edge as you would when varnishing to avoid thermal runaway. More than 1/2 inch thickness is not advised in one coating. If you need to do so, say by 20% more thickness, move up to a slower hardener. Use a chip brush trimmed by 1/2 inch to coat the work surface with neat epoxy. This will creates better bond and avoids a resin starved joint. Pour a thin stream of the neat epoxy into the powders and move the stream as you pour. Pour all but about 1/4 of the neat epoxy and begin stirring the powder mixture. It will be a resin starved mix, which will help break any clumps of filler along the side of the mixing cup that you missed previously. Add the rest of the epoxy and keep stirring. Do not be surprised if you need more filler. Add cautiously and break any remaining lumps. Apply to the project with a plastic squeegee for flat surfaces, or a round plastic jar that meets your needs. If applying to grained wood, I apply across the grain to fill the grain as you would in a base coat of varnish. Apply a bit more than you need and sand it off when cured. This stuff sands easily by hand or orbital sander when completely cured. Clogged sandpaper may be a sign of incomplete cure. I tried heaping instead of rounded tablespoons of fillers and found that it's a lot easier to add fillers than mix another small batch or epoxy while your original batch begins to cure in the mixing pot. Have fun with this stuff and go build something. -b

In building my 19-foot skiff, I have used a handful of different fairing compounds, and I really didn't think much of this one. The problems with it are that even after it cures it is still kind of soft. I faired a whole 4 foot by 2 foot section of my boat, and didn't trust this stuff, so I sanding it all the way back off. I have found other fiaring compounds that mix much smoother, spread on easier, and cure much more soundly.

I have been using 410 microlight for many years mostly in my hobby work of restoring old canoes and small boats. I have found many additional uses in my workshop such as filling voids in wood working projects and in general household repairs such as filling woodpecker holes on my barn siding. West System support information is great and easy to understand.

I used Microlight filler to thicken epoxy for repairing window frames, replacing rotted wood with structurally solid epoxy. After thickening epoxy to peanut butter consistency with 410 Microlight, I applied it with knives used with gypsum wallboard tape joint compound. By working on one surface at a time, then allowing it to set, I could re-create 90-degree convex corners (fillets) with perfect surfaces, easy to sand and then ready to paint. It sands easily, even by hand. For this purpose, I found 410 Microlight more appropriate than the No. 406 Colloidal Silica fairing filler, because it was easier to mix, easier to sand, and produced better surfaces. If I were repairing a large overhead gap, I would fill most of it with 406 Colloidal Silica, then create the surfaces or any part requiring sanding with 410 Microlight. I also filled gaps in stucco walls with 410 Microlight, then covered the surface with a stucco patching product. Because it is so easy to shape and to sand, the Microlight seems ideal for filling small gaps, and creating smooth surfaces, for any application that involves repairing voids of relatively small size, and for creating a surface for larger defects that are more appropriately filled with another material such as the 406 Colloidal Silica. Incidentally, I painted all the remaining surfaces of my window frames - those with south-facing exposures (and not rotted and thus not needing replacement) - with non-thickened epoxy so they would not be later found to have rotted in the Phoenix sun.

I use this product to obtain the right consistency for inlays into turned wood objects. It does the job well resulting in as product of varying consistencies as needed. It works very well.

While I have only used the West Systems epoxy and accesories, and cannot compare it to others, it really does work well and it is easy to use. The microlight fairing filler mixes well, applies reasonably easy (even in hard to reach areas), and sands smooth with low effort.

I expected to see a demo on how to use the product, This video (no matter which referenced under line is the same) was pretty much useless.