any epoxy experts?

[mike os]

not a welding or even metal question

need some guidance/advice on epoxy's for timber filling... my usual suppliers just read off the sheet so no help

knowing we have a few smart arses on here i thought someone might have an answer or at least a suggestion ( other than that one)

i have an excellent primer/small gap epoxy, free flowing and penatrative, self degassing and clear when set.... only 2 problems it takes forever to set properly and in thicker areas it sinks down below the surface after sanding.. a real pita.

so what i need is a faster setting resin, clear, flexible and preferably self degassing..... where to go, who to talk to?

faster setting would be anywhere from 6-24h after mixing,,,,,

 

[ajlelectronics]

Casting resin?

 

[Country Joe]

Ratty's the epoxy expert, I've always thought!
Where's she got to, these days?
CJ

 

[mike os]

Casting resin?

i thought they were mainly acrylics?

 

[KemppiFrog]

Not entirely sure I understand your question. Esp about the aftersanding bit. I use quite a lot of Resoltech stuff. Their Re1010 is a waterbased resin, that is very good for sealing wood or as a primer for gluing. There is an outfit in the UK that sells their stuff. www.connexiontechnology.co.uk or go direct to www.resoltech.com and select english.
KF

Umm, just looked at the first site, and they seem to have shifted their focus. But Resoltech must have an importer.

If you are really keen, PM me and I will give you the contact for their sales director. Very helpful and speaks excellent english.

Edit: The RE1010 is also used as a stabilizer for slightly dodgy wood in situations were it is impractical to change it. As it is water based, also not so fussy about damp wood, unlike most epoxies.

 

[Keith 66]

West epoxy or Sp systems equivalent, fast or slow hardeners. Boatbuilders standard resin of choice.

 

[graffian]

West epoxy or Sp systems equivalent, fast or slow hardeners. Boatbuilders standard resin of choice.

There is lot's of sps epoxies and Martin the tech bloke for SPS was always really helpful.

 

[mike os]

excellent... thanks guys

I am constantly amazed at the range of knowlege of the guys (& girls) on here and the willingness to share it

a few lines of enquiry to run down ... the boat stuff is probably favourite as it is for bespoke furniture making... clients sometimes want knots & checks for the look but dont want the holes that go with it and a crystal clear resin really seems to float their boat ( if you will pardon the pun)

 

[RobMsport]

resin

I use epoxy resin , a two part mix for bonding fibreglass and or carbon fibre which is set hard in a day easily but it is a pink finish . Sounds as though you're already sorted though ?

 

[ajlelectronics]

That's why I suggested casting resin. Crystal clear and polyester base as far as I was aware. Could be acrylic I suppose, but I only use / have experience of conventional resins for fibreglass which ARE polyester.

 

[mike os]

I use epoxy resin , a two part mix for bonding fibreglass and or carbon fibre which is set hard in a day easily but it is a pink finish . Sounds as though you're already sorted though ?

dont know yet... will ring next week to see what is what, needs to be crystal clear when set

 

[KemppiFrog]

Epoxies are excellent glues or sealers in wood, problem is, they don't like sunlight U-V. So need a blocking coat. Usually a varnish on boats if not painted. Polyesters are much less sensitive, but are not much cop as glue. If it's furniture, then polyurethanes might be a better idea as coatings.

 

[mike os]

we only use natural oils & waxes for finishes for furniture, outside we tend to use sikkens cetol

polyurethane... nasty stuff

 

[graffian]

I used SP115 quite often, I think martin at SPS said it was used by a lot of surf board makers, for the top flo coat. It is pretty good with UV, you will see a trace of a violet filter in the resin, it looks water clear and it flows amazingly. I am not sure how slow it cures, I did use an ultra slow hardener with Ampreg 110 and it took weeks and weeks to cure, SP115 cured much faster. I got the SP115 from SPS or Blakes Marine, but when I ran out one day I went to a chandlers in Kingston, they had 1kg packs. I was making mudguards and similar parts with it.

I also tried a cheap epoxy, Graf Surf epoxy from the hull chemical company[well something like that]. It did the job but there was something I didn't like about it.