Glue and epoxy question - do they play nice?

[afreegreek]

you have to be aware of the results you want too.. if it's for bonding, thick (chilled resin) is ok but for wetting out glass it is not. for that, warm runny resin is much better. just use small batches and get it spread out asap..

[schaney]

Larry, What brand of epoxy do you use?

[Larry C]

Larry, What brand of epoxy do you use?

After trying about all of them, and to be honest, I never had a major issue with any of them, I settled on Raka 127 Low Viscosity resin and 350 Non blush hardener.

Here's my reasons:

1) Price
2) Low Viscosity
3) Non Blushing
4) Slow-med hardener (350)
5) Self leveling
6) No air bubbles
7) Cured hardness is about perfect
8 Cures clear
9) Low odor
10) consistent results

Everyone using epoxy has their favorite brand. I just favor Raka. If I used another brand for a long time, I would probably like that one just as much. Also, I like India Pale Ales. Don't know what that has to do with epoxy, but I thought it was worth mentioning

[schaney]

Just curious for when I check with West Systems on freezing they epoxy.

Hmmm, could there be a correlation between type of epoxy people use and the beer they drink? For me it's a mirco-brew Hefeweizen.

[afreegreek]

I also think Raka is the best.. I've been trying to get people I work for to change to it but for some reason they prefer West Systems.. I think it's for brand recognition on their promotional literature.. same with Awlgrip paint.. after all, real yachts are pained with Awlgrip.. lol!

[Larry C]

Don't know if there could there be a correlation between type of epoxy people use and the beer they drink, but Raka epoxy has worked for me for quite awhile now.
I think it's more what you have success with that matters than the brand, just as it does for the epoxy application techniques. If your happy with the process and results, stick with it......

As far as brews, these are on the top of my list, However there so many others on that list.



Lagunitas Maximus
Bear Republic's Racer #5
Stone IPA

[schaney]

West Systems has worked fine for me for many year. The reason I first started using it was availability. Three places with in 30 miles stock it. When you added shipping, most other brands ended up costing more.

[musicman]

Mornin' all, I'm a little confused now. All plywood should be sealed with epoxy especially the edges. But glue won't stick. So should I wait until things are together before using the epoxy? Won't this leave some edges uncovered? John

[starleen2]

Mornin' all, I'm a little confused now. All plywood should be sealed with epoxy especially the edges. But glue won't stick. So should I wait until things are together before using the epoxy? Won't this leave some edges uncovered? John

It's the outside exposed edges and surfaces that need to sealed to keep water from penetrating the plywood. Finish the tear then encapsulate in epoxy if you wish

[musicman]

OK thanks starleen

[Larry C]

West Systems has worked fine for me for many year. The reason I first started using it was availability. Three places with in 30 miles stock it. When you added shipping, most other brands ended up costing more.

I've always looked at Wests as the MOST expensive epoxy.
I just did a price check at my closest supplier (West Marine) for Wests Epoxy.

Here's the results doing an apples to apples comparison(IMO) between Wests 105 resin and 207 hardener to Raka's 127 resin and 350 hardener.
I compared buying Wests locally and paying sales tax and buying Raka and paying shipping.

I used my typical 6 gal purchase as an example for both.

Wests:
4.35gal 105 resin= $354.50
1.45gal 207 hardener= $241.86
local/state sales tax= $47.70
Total= $644.06


Raka:
6gal kit consisting of 4 gal 127 resin and 2 gal 350 hardener=$318
shipping $ 35 (estimate)
Total =$353


That's $291 difference in my example, that's a lot of cases of my favorite IPA!! Also the Wests kit is actually less than 6gal. Also, I would have to drive a 70 mile RT ($) and waste 2 hours of my time.

Don't get me wrong, I like Wests products and use several of them. I just can't justify the price of their epoxy when I get can get proven results with other less expensive products.

As I mentioned earlier, whatever epoxy that works for you is probably the way to go. If price, availability, work time, and final hardness fits your requirements, go for it..... I do believe all Wests products are high quality, but high$.

$.02
Larry C

[Cliffmeister2000]

epoxy manufacturers spend plenty of time and effort ($$$) to give you the best possible results at 70 degrees.. mucking about with temperature is not usually going to improve the result by much if at all.. if your room, work piece, and resin are at 70 degrees, that's about perfect..

I am reading this thread with great interest. However, 70 degrees is only a theoretical temperature in Phoenix. It exists only in transition from the overnight low in January to the high of 86 we typically get in the winter. In the summer, the low might be 86, but never 70.

We have to mix our epoxy in small batches and work fast.