What is Post Curing?
Pre-warming a mold and material will help the cure on the front end of a job, but what about after it has initially set up? Doing a post cure at elevated temperatures with most materials can increase the physical properties of a material; tear strength, flexural strength, heat distortion can benefit from a proper post cure. Some rigid materials may appear brittle upon demold after the initial cure. A post cure will finish up the last bit of chemical cross linking to maximize the material’s physical properties above and beyond what can be achieved at ambient temperature over several days. Post curing is best done in a controlled parts oven (never a household oven). Always refer to the data sheet for proper post cure conditions. Some materials can have undesired results at elevated temperatures (swelling, bubbles, deformation) so always check the recommended procedure on the Data Sheets.
