COMPARING MARINE EPOXIES
- WHAT TO LOOK FOR -
OURS AND THEIRS
.
Goto the Marine Resin Page in our Marine Catalog - CLICK
HERE
All epoxies are not the same. Look for non blushing epoxies - even if they cost a few bucks more. With a blushing
epoxy (most of the epoxies sold are blushing epoxies) - you might always wonder if you have a good bond between
coats and why you're paint isn't sticking. Plus you have to wash the surface between coats to remove the visible
or invisible blush. If the epoxy manufacturers really cared about your needs, they would only sell you non-blushing
epoxies. (speaking in general terms - there are always exceptions). More about amine blush - CLICK HERE.
Also, cycloaliphatic curing agent based epoxies are probably more durable then straight amine curing agent based
epoxies. Even these high end epoxies can be found for in the $30's per gallon. Search the web for cycloaliphatic
epoxies and you will find all sorts of pages on electrical insulators and how cycloaliphatic epoxy insulators are
replacing ceramic insulators because the cyclo epoxies are durable enough for years and years of exposure on the
top of telephone poles. The electrical insulator industry doesn't even consider 'regular' epoxy insulators....
More about cycloaliphatics - CLICK
HERE.
Nonyl phenol is a non solvent additive that can be used added
to either Part A or Part B. It does have some useful properties, but is often more widely used to 'water down'
the epoxy, making it much cheaper to manufacturer and giving the vendor much higher profits. More about Nonyl Phenol
- CLICK HERE.
FORMALDEHYDE - one of the major epoxy vendors uses formaldehyde in their curing agents! Check
the MSDS of your vendor's epoxy for this chemical. (formaldehyde
in competitor's curing agent - click here)
Want to know more? Visit our Chemistry of Epoxies Page - CLICK HERE
Some epoxies are non-hazmat to ship (again very few) - big thing
here is that the non hazmat curing agents generally have a more gentle exotherm and slower more uniform curing
- (doesn't get super hot, melt containers and turn hard in the blink of an eye). Note that the hazmat epoxies must
be shipping by ground, not air, but generally no additional cost. Non-hazmat curing agents tend to be amber colored,
hazmat curing agents can be amber or clear. More on Hazmat shipping - CLICK HERE
Hazmat or not - the ones with a more gentle exotherm always seemed better to work with - no worry of 'bubbling
up or melting' the areas you are working on. More on exotherm heat release - CLICK HERE
The 'serious' marine epoxies are formulated using the raw resins manufactured
by the giant chemical companies. Many (some?) low cost epoxy vendors merely repackage these raw bulk resins. Not
a good thing! Learn more - CLICK
HERE
Finally, mix ratios as close to 1:1 or 2:1 are better as they tolerate slight errors in the mix ratio better. Given
an error in a 5:1 mix ratio and you can suddenly be mixing it at 4:1 and not knowing it. The result might not be
good. More about mix ratio errors - CLICK
HERE
And what about temperature? If you're working in cold weather, say building your boat in winter/early spring, you'll
be better off using a "Low Temperature Cure" (LTC) epoxy that works well in temperatures from about 40
- 55 degrees F. We offer one, or search the net (www.google.com) for LOW TEMPERATURE EPOXY or LTC epoxy. Working in hot summer weather? We have warm weather curing agents for our Basic No Blush™.
Personal preferences:
1) Viscosity (thickness). Our Low V epoxy and our Bio Clear 810 (cycloaliphatic
- low yellowing) epoxy are both extra thin and watery - often used for sealing, diluted with solvent and used as
a pentrating epoxy (we also have a pentrating epoxy - ESP 155), or mixed with our copper powder to create a copper-rich coating. Our Basic No Blush and Premium No Blush (another cycloaliphatic based epoxy)
are excellent medium viscosity epoxies - my favorites for general purpose laminating, repairing etc.
2) Brittleness. Some epoxies are more brittle than others. Test my making
a block or cube of your epoxy and squeezing in a vise or hitting with a hammer. Our old Basic No Blush™ was quite
brittle, our new Basic No Blush™ is not, neither is our Premium No Blush™.
Why don't our competitors, large or small, make this kind of
technical information available? Perhaps this kind of information is known only to their chemists, or perhaps they
don't really want educated customers! I don't know, but I believe in sharing all information and hoping that information
is a good starting point in getting you to purchase our products and TO consider Progressive Epoxy Polymers as
more than just a vendor seeming an easy sale.
Health Issues
Some people develop a serious skin rash etc. after working with
epoxies (skin contact) over a period of years. It has ended more than one 'epoxy career'. It seems to vary slightly
from epoxy to epoxy, but there is probably no escape if you develop this sensitivity. Factors that may affect this
issue include: formaldehyde in the formulation, nonyl phenol in the formulation, blushing epoxies (because you
have to physically 'clean' the not fully cured epoxy). Our Premium No Blush™ epoxy is formaldehyde free, non blushing,
nonyl free, and non hazmat to ship!
And now a few words about epoxy prices: CLICK HERE
Thanks for taking the time to educate yourself about epoxy formulations.
CLICK HERE to goto/return to our marine catalog main page, CLICK HERE to go directly to our marine resins
page, or use the links below to visit our competitors' web sites: MAS -- WEST -- SYSTEM THREE -- RAKA
1/21/05 - How
good is our No Blush™ Epoxy? I just saw a new ad in one of
the boat building magazines by one of our competitors, a giant in the epoxy business. In the ad they compare themselves
to "no blush" epoxies (they even include the quotation marks). The standard term is non-blushing, not
"no blush," so we are pretty certain they are referring to our epoxies. Imagine that. We, the little
mouse has the giant moose on the run! - No names here, we don't want to hear from their lawyers (but we'll let
you know if we do hear from them). What they don't mention in their ad are their prices, exotherm, and brittleness.
SUMMARY basic vs. premium No
Blush™ Epoxy
BASIC NO BLUSH™ - our most popular all purpose marine epoxy - great value and price!
non blushing
easy mix ratio
blendable hardeners
nice medium viscosity
no VOCs (solvent free)
no formaldehyde in the formulation
formulated product - not simply repackaged raw resins from
the big chemical companies
best prices!
PREMIUM NO BLUSH™ - non-hazmat for quick AIR shipping
and shipping outside the USA - cycloaliphatic curing system
non blushing
easy mix ratio
cycloaliphatic curing system
blendable hardeners
nice medium viscosity
no VOCs (solvent free)
no formaldehyde in the formulation
no nonyl in the formulation
formulated product - not simply repackaged raw resins from
the big chemical companies
non hazmat to ship!
Goto the Marine Resin Page in our Marine Catalog - CLICK HERE
###
Knowledge is Power - We like informed consumers!
Learn the basics of epoxy at our educational EPOXY 101 page -
Click Here.
Finally, email us back with your questions or comments before
you buy - EMAIL HERE
XX
