Which epoxy system do you use????

Originally Posted by WHumphreys

Does that mean I do all the repairs in the sp epoxy and then switch to theres for the hull.

There is nothing wrong with it. Epoxy accepts almost every paint as a coating. The Interlux series is a very good choice and you can apply that on every (even the cheapest) Ep resin. And btw. the cheapest resin is good enough for a GRP repair!!! Especially when the boat is used in Northern Europe where we do´nt have excessive heat loads. (A situation where West for example is not as good as others!)

follow the link I posted previously and be impressed how much money you can save over the average UK prices. And again, that is absolutely premium quality stuff, not second choice. I use it in the many many tonnes quantities per annum.

Richard

[JRL]

Originally Posted by Jimbo1490

Adtech makes a lot of cool stuff just about nobody else has, like epoxy 'gelcoats' and intermediary coatings.

Jimbo

I recently tried out their tooling clay. Worked really well. I used freemansupply.com's video tutorial for laying up the part. Really like Adtechs stuff.

[fasteddy106]

I've been using products from U.S. Composites with great success. They offer a wide range of products at very competitive prices and are easy folks to deal with.

http://www.uscomposites.com/

Originally Posted by fasteddy106

I've been using products from U.S. Composites with great success. They offer a wide range of products at very competitive prices and are easy folks to deal with.

I do´nt want to bother you Eddy, but I doubt they deliver to EU!

[GG]

West system is great and over 40 years ago i was employed by them making windmill blades . I have to say that i still use west system alot put i do like there pro set for bigger repairs and my resin of choice is the same resin that Skater / Douglas Marine uses which has a longer pot life then some and longer then Pro set and is made by Shell .

[GG]

Originally Posted by Jimbo1490

Adtech makes a lot of cool stuff just about nobody else has, like epoxy 'gelcoats' and intermediary coatings.

Jimbo

Great products used by most Boat Co's here in Mich and maybe the reason being issssssss because it is made here in Mich.

[Herman]

Choosing an epoxy system is all about what you want to do with it, and what infrastructure you have.

I have clients who have ovens running 24/7. For them it is easier to give them epoxy that needs a heat cure then to the guy in an old shed building a large boat.

I guess most suppliers have the general stuff, and some have more then that. Also, there are more specialised epoxy suppliers that (almost) only supply nice products.

Some suppliers:

West system: General systems with reasonable handling properties. Low heat resistance, however. Also more advanced systems with better heat resistance, but need a heat treatment (about all higher heat resistance epoxy needs heat treatment)

SP: Wide range of epoxy, mostly geared towards boats and sport products.

Sicomin: Wide range of epoxy for many applications, including a lot of nice products (repairing cracks in stones, foaming epoxy systems, epoxy for application on WET wood, underwater cure epoxy, fast choking epoxy, gelcoats and coatings)

Hexion Specialty Chemicals: Mostly epoxy for windmills, airplanes and high-tech tooling. Boats do benefit, however. Extremely good infusion results. (how about a Tg of over 150 degrees C, and gelcoats that are only machinable with diamond tools?)

Hexion (former Shell, former Bakelite). These are the epoxy suppliers that actually MAKE the epoxy. (most others are blenders, including West, SP, Sicomin, Hexion SC). Most systems are either suitable for large markets (flooring, windmills, lightbulbs, etc) and some systems have "rough edges". Quality is very good, however.

Airtech / Tygavac: Have high Tg infusion resins for high tech tooling.

R&G: reseller of Hexion

UPPC: Manufacturer of epoxy. Mostly rougher systems, however they have some taylored products, which are very useful.

Ce-Sense: Private label of Brands in The Netherlands. Good quality for a decent price.