Epoxy Resins - Opinions, Experiences on different brands?

[GeoDrop]

Once I get the exterior applied on our TD I intend to put on some fiberglass & epoxy. I've used West Systems in the past but curious if there are any other opinions on brands?

West Systems 105/207
System Three Clear Coat
Mas
Interlux
Evercoat

Any strong opinions or do they all really just do the same job. Since the body of the TD is already built, I will have to be applying it on vertical surfaces.

Thanks!

[aggie79]

I used Raka - http://www.raka.com/.

They were very helpful in answering an epoxy rookie's questions and had great service.

[GeoDrop]

I used Raka - http://www.raka.com/.

They were very helpful in answering an epoxy rookie's questions and had great service.

Thanks Tom.. I knew there as another supplier out there but I couldn't remember their name. They seem to be less expensive that West or S3.

[cracker39]

I just use Bondo Home Solutions All Purpose fiberglass resin from Home Depot for about $36 per gallon. It seems like the hardener they supply with the resin is never enough to finish the gallon and I end up buying an extra tube of it. I use the resin to seal my exterior plywood before priming and painting. I've also used it to apply glass cloth to bottoms of my kayak and sailboat that I've built. It's cheap and effective for my needs.

I also buy Bondo epoxy auto filler (gray paste with burgundy colored hardner in a tube) to use as wood filler. One reason is that I've had the fiberglass resin not cure on top of some wood fillers. It just stayed sticky at those spots. The resin has no problem curing over an epoxy filler. And,the filler stays put and sands very smooth with my orbital sander. You just have to get used to how much hardener to mix into the epoxy filler. Too much hardener or too large a batch and it hardens before you've used all of it. Too little hardener and it takes days to harden. I just add filler until the gray color of the paste turns very slightly pink and usually make batches about half the size of a golf ball. If I want the epoxy cured faster, I make it pinker, make smaller batches and work fast.

[doug hodder]

I've only used the West System so can't speak with any authority on Raka...but what I can't figure out is that they sell a 3 gallon package I believe, and many here have purchased it and needed more as I recall.....Maybe it's a viscosity thing, but I've never used an entire gallon of West on a tear and I tend to sand lots of it off flattening sides as well as lots of body work with it. If Raka is a thinner product, and your walls are already vertical...maybe a thicker system would be the way to go. For whatever it's worth. Doug

[Rock]

System 3 is what was supplied with my Pygmy kayak kit and I continued on and used it on my tear as well. Nothing but good things to say. I also shot my tear with their water reducable linked polyurethane for UV protection. Went on awesome and I'm going to wet sand it this winter. I haven't really compared prices but they're sure not cheap. But then again quality always costs.

Eric

[vreihen]

I have found that this web site contains lots of good reading on various epoxies and their applications:

http://www.epoxyproducts.com/

[Steve_Cox]

I've used System 3, West and lately Raka. It seems all three have excellent epoxy products. I used polyester resin years ago, with the hardener you mix by counting drops from a tube. Same as mentioned above, resin left over after the hardener was gone. I'll never use polyester resin again as the ease of use and results and quality are not nearly as good as epoxy.

Additionally even though it wasn't asked. I have used Rot Doctor penetrating epoxy. In my humble estimation, for new construction it is better to use 2 or 3 coats of epoxy which is much more durable, especially on end grain plywood.

Rot Doctor penetrating epoxy was developed to plasticize rotted wood,(not plywood) and does this job fairly well.

[madjack]

I have only used RAKA and my experience couldn't be better with their no-blushing version...great stuff, which I highly recommended.................
madjack

[KenC]

Plus 1 for RAKA only using it to seal the bottom trailer and endgrain on the walls. Bought a gallon after calling them and going by there recommendation. Product is easy to work with for me being a first time user of the product.

[pods8]

Hi, new guy here. I was just reading through some threads to try and glean some info. Anyways saw this one and caught my attention.

I'm trying out uscomposites 635 resin with the fast hardener (winter here) for some foam core fiberglass test pieces I'm making. Seems decent to work with and the bulk prices are nice if I go full scale with my build:

http://www.uscomposites.com/epoxy.html