Cheap epoxy for boatbuilding

[guardian]

+1 for EasyComposites EL2.

Just finished 5kg (or whatever size, thereabouts) I bought to test a few months ago. It wetted out very nicely - appears slightly lower viscosity than West at all temps. Cures quite a bit slower (w. fast hardener), which also means it feels safer to mix in larger batches. Seems to be compatible with others’ fillers/powders. 100:30 ratio by weight becomes intuitive in no time.

I know it’s purely psychological, but I still favour West’s for real ‘structural’ stuff. Dunno why - but if it isn’t trying to set fire to the mixing cup after 5 mins it just doesn’t feel ‘right’ ?

Absolute ball ache wasn't it, wondering what that 'fizzing' noise was only to see a tenners worth of resin cooking itself solid in the mixing cup. That was the very reason i gave up on Wests, that and the constant scrubbing/peel ply routine. That said i imagine Wests is fine for new builds but impracticality of laying down peel ply and having it - for reasons best known to itself - bubble off the work-piece normally in my case in a hard-to-access bilge area was the final straw.

The 'daddy' in this country was Reactive resins EPAFD brand, you couldn't set fire to that stuff even with a 600oC heat gun trained on it for extended periods and from experience still cured with minimal to no blush any time of the year, it was bloody brilliant stuff. The Easy composites stuff is as good but can't tolerate the heat gun for as long, Wests is dreadful in this regard - 20 secs with a heat gun directly on it and and its screwed.

I also use EZ's 'Rapid Set' for coating mainly bathroom joinery as well as bits on my boat before top-coating in a 2 pack finish. Its great, you don't lose the day waiting for it to 'kick', 2-3hrs later you can crack on doing what you were doing. Their products are yet another reminder what a con most 'marine' ones are imo.

 

[dankilb]

Absolute ball ache wasn't it, wondering what that 'fizzing' noise was only to see a tenners worth of resin cooking itself solid in the mixing cup. That was the very reason i gave up on Wests, that and the constant scrubbing/peel ply routine. That said i imagine Wests is fine for new builds but impracticality of laying down peel ply and having it - for reasons best known to itself - bubble off the work-piece normally in my case in a hard-to-access bilge area was the final straw.

The 'daddy' in this country was Reactive resins EPAFD brand, you couldn't set fire to that stuff even with a 600oC heat gun trained on it for extended periods and from experience still cured with minimal to no blush any time of the year, it was bloody brilliant stuff. The Easy composites stuff is as good but can't tolerate the heat gun for as long, Wests is dreadful in this regard - 20 secs with a heat gun directly on it and and its screwed.

I also use EZ's 'Rapid Set' for coating mainly bathroom joinery as well as bits on my boat before top-coating in a 2 pack finish. Its great, you don't lose the day waiting for it to 'kick', 2-3hrs later you can crack on doing what you were doing. their products are yet another reminder what a con most 'marine' products are imo.

Good tip about the rapid set ("Rapid Repair"?). I'd overlooked it on their website and hadn't clocked that it might be a quicker-curing EL2 alternative. That opens up the possibilities for when Wests quick 'wet on tacky' application is so useful, as you say. We've also just done a load of interior ply with that method and it's such a bonus getting 3+ coats down in a hour (in summer - but N. Wales!).

I even wonder about it as a barrier coat? (we're currently pondering how to save our gelcoat which is dry, but badly pitted/blister-scarred/thinned in places). It is a fair bit pricier than EL2. I wonder if they'd cut a deal for 30KG, like West do?!

I should add, we're only amateurs and haven't been using epoxy long at all - although the requirements of our current refit have seen us onto our third or fourth 5KG/gallon batch by now! ? So the technical insights from the testing are both interesting and reassuring. I'll also be paying more attention to the 'mechanical properties' when shopping in future!