COMPARING MARINE EPOXY RESIN

- WHAT TO LOOK FOR -

OURS AND THEIRS

.
Goto the Marine Resin Page in our Marine Catalog - CLICK HERE

.. CLICK HERE TO GOOGLE SEARCH OUR ENTIRE WEB SITE FOR KEY TERMS/WORDS ..

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? Our Basic No Blush epoxy comes with regular, slow (summer), or fast (winter) curing agents.

A favorite 'trick' of mine is to email a question to a vendor and see if, or how long, it takes them to reply. Especially over a weekend or holiday. Actually, it is my experience that most email product questions are ignored. Email replies tell you lots about the personality of the company you are considering doing business with. The good ones reply quickly so you don't lose much time in placing your order.

From plywood on left to kayak on rignt!

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 thin sealing 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™.

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!

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.

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