Ordinary Kerapoxy Curing/Setting/Hardening Time

[tylertiler]

Hi everyone,

I have seen this question has been asked before on here but I want to get a definitive answer.

I have just used Mapei Kerapoxy to grout my granite tile kitchen worktop and am now wondering how long it will take to set.

I have scoured the internet for the answer to my question and I have seen so many different answers usually one of 24hrs, 4days, 14 days.

I know there are different variations of Kerapoxy including Kerapoxy Design, Kerapoxy SP, Kerapoxy CQ, Kerapoxy Adhesive etc but I just have the plain 5kg tub of Kerapoxy in black. The tub has very little info on it other than "24 hours before light foot traffic"

Does anyone have experience with this and can give me an answer?

I need to know when it will be hard enough for me to install the kitchen sink and the cooker hob as well as when I can start using my worktop for cooking!

Thanks all!

 

[Lithofin BOB]

Give mapie a call on their technical helpline, poss on the tub - they will give you the definitive answer .

 

[Saltire69]

Normally 24hrs to set ,4 days to be chemical resistant. Just try sticking your nail in grout gently, if it leaves an impression its still not set.

 

[Lithofin BOB]

Spoke to the guys at Mapie, intreaged myself on this, 7 days full cure and chemically resistant.

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Spoke to the guys at Mapie, intreaged myself on this, 7 days full cure and chemically resistant.

Above and beyond the call of duty!

 

[tylertiler]

Thanks for all your advise guys! It's now been nearly four days since I used the Kerapoxy and it is now as hard as rock though probably not "chemical resistant" for another three days. I don't know exactly what chemical resistant means but I don't plan on pouring any solvents on to it anyway!

For someone that has never used Kerapoxy before it is quite confusing in my opinion. The instructions make out that you must get your whole job done with it within 45 minutes and they really emphasise that - therefore you are expecting the stuff to be hard within an hour which is completely not the case. It is "workable" for 45 minutes meaning that after 45 minutes it will be exceedingly difficult to grout with it properly because it goes very slightly tacky and therefore you cannot smooth the grout lines without tearing the stuff up and it will look a mess.

I was concerned initially because after 6 hours the stuff was still as soft as freshly chewed chewing gum and even after 12 hours it was only a little stiffer. However, after 24 hours it's like an extremely dense fudge. After a couple of days you can no longer press your nail into it and after 3 days it's like a rock.

Hope my experience with it helps anyone out there!

 

[Qwerty]

Thanks for your findings, I'm sure it will benefit someone [emoji106]

 

[Evan Simmons]

This was very helpful! Thanks!

 

[Bob reno boy]

Tx ya it help. Just did my grout in bathroom and i was expecting this to get hard super fast and it was not the case. I was able to play with the epoxy for at least a big hour and more. Reading your comment is comforting me, i know i did not mess up hehe

 

[BFrizz]

Thanks so much guys for the info. I’m accustomed to using Laticrete Spectralok Pro Premium but my usual tile shop was out of the particular color my client wanted. Soooo, I walked over to the Kerapoxy CQ and bought it with the same color.

Long story short, I’m an experienced tiler but have only used Laticrete’s epoxy grout. When I was finished grouting the shower pan, I waited a good 2 hours and went to a far corner of the pan to touch it and it and it was as if I had just mixed it. I was freaking out before I found this thread. No one may never read my comment but I had to mention that you guys helped me out a lot. I did everything and more, that the directions asked, and when I went to touch it and see how hard it was, I was shocked at how it felt like I just mixed it up.

Today was day 1 of grout. Hopefully when I walk in tomorrow, the grout will be substantially harder than it was hours later today.

 

[Mikeyy]

Thanks for all your advise guys! It's now been nearly four days since I used the Kerapoxy and it is now as hard as rock though probably not "chemical resistant" for another three days. I don't know exactly what chemical resistant means but I don't plan on pouring any solvents on to it anyway!

For someone that has never used Kerapoxy before it is quite confusing in my opinion. The instructions make out that you must get your whole job done with it within 45 minutes and they really emphasise that - therefore you are expecting the stuff to be hard within an hour which is completely not the case. It is "workable" for 45 minutes meaning that after 45 minutes it will be exceedingly difficult to grout with it properly because it goes very slightly tacky and therefore you cannot smooth the grout lines without tearing the stuff up and it will look a mess.

I was concerned initially because after 6 hours the stuff was still as soft as freshly chewed chewing gum and even after 12 hours it was only a little stiffer. However, after 24 hours it's like an extremely dense fudge. After a couple of days you can no longer press your nail into it and after 3 days it's like a rock.

Hope my experience with it helps anyone out there!

👍thank you very much! I had exactly the same wondering and question.

 

[Kerrypoxy]

Thank you for this thread! I'm experienced with various paint, fillers, etc., and I also thought I messed up the mixing ratio when I touched the Kerapoxy after a couple of hours. Mapei should include a note about this in the instructions, as I was also thrown off by the 45 minute pot life note. Thank you, again.