Epoxy choise

[Armada]

Hi all,
I need some advise from experienced guys about epoxy. After completing the plywood hull, I need to epoxy coat it with a light fabric. Which brands can you advise to me. I need to have a good quality-durability-application-price ratio. (ie. for my budget the west system is very highly priced)

[PAR]

Epoxy use is dependant on experience more then anything else. An experienced epoxy user can use an unrefined, less costly epoxy and have good results. An inexperienced epoxy user, will struggle to get good results with an unrefined epoxy.

West System pricing is higher then most, for a number of reasons, industry leader, structural and product testing, etc., but typically the lowest cost epoxy will be a less refined formulation. This results in a much narrower range of environmental variables that can be tolerated, before bad results can be expected. An experienced user can over come these difficulties, a beginner will have lots of smoked pots trying to figure out what went wrong. How much epoxy experience do you have?

[nero]

I can recommend the Thin Epoxy Resin and medium hardner from US Composits. It is an EPON resin.

I can not recommend the Thick Epoxy Resin and the Fast Hardners. Maybe I have a bad barrel because from the EPON websight this resin has excellent numbers. It is brittle. Have not got around to contacting US Composits to see what the problem is yet. Too much other stuff goin on.

Trying to find another resin is simple. Order a gallon of it and make some small samples that represent your bigger project. Make it break it. If it looks about like West System then use it.

Have fun and wear gloves. smile

[Armada]

Dear Par and Nero,

Thanks for your replies. I have lots of experience with fibreglas and polyester. Never worked with marine epoxy. Being overseas it is such a hassle to get samples and choose the best one after trials. This is why I am asking about it on the forum. This way I might get a mutually agreed brand from the experienced users.
thank you all in advance

[nero]

When I am in france, I use small batches of REA epoxy. I think their HQ is in Marseille. It is reliable but their product line is not full. For example for their epoxy formula they sell for wood had only one hardner. That or their sales guy was wanting to leave the office early. smile

Maybe it would be cheaper to order a bunch of US epoxies and then fly here to test them. Vegas would be a cool location. smile

[marshmat]

You want a mutually agreed brand from the experienced users?
Oh boy.... Good luck. There are so many different products out there, each with its own advantages and shortfalls. Picking one is going to be a long task if you intend to test them all... and don't expect much mutual agreement as everyone has their pet favourites.