Where do you get your epoxy resin??

[captseasick]

So im gonna use epoxy resin on some of  my build, the best I have found is us composites at 71.00 a gallon.  This is gonna get exspensive quick at that price.  Has anyone else found it at a cheaper price but still a good epoxy???

[futch13]

Have you checked Fiberglass Coating in St Pete?  Don't know their pricing on epoxy, but they usually have good pricing on poly and glass

[Callyb]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but epoxy isn't cheap. Your best bet is the figure out how much you will need though completion and see what kind of discount you can get for bulk pricing.

[CLM65]

Ditto what Carl said.  Also keep in mind that the price also includes hardener, so for each gallon of epoxy you will end up with about 1.5 gallons total (depending on what hardener you go with).

Also, you said you will be using epoxy for some of your rebuild.  That is smart - use it only where you feel it is necessary.  I am using it only on joints that I feel will be highly stressed.  I do not see any reason to make any new "parts", such as stringers, out of epoxy.  But you may want to bond the stringers to the hull with epoxy.

You may also want to talk to somebody who actually rebuilds boats for a living.  No offense to the epoxy guys, but the 2 professionals I talked to actually talked me out of epoxy.  Add to that the professional rebuilds on here, such as Scotty's (gran398) Miss Delmarva, and you'll find that poly must have some merit.  I'm not saying poly is as good as epoxy - epoxy is definitely stronger - but if you believe the professionals, poly is just fine for our rebuilds.  In the end, the choice is yours.  If you can swing it, the epoxy will provide the stronger bond.  But if the cost of your rebuild is an issue - and I believe a typical complete rebuild will consume anywhere from 25-40 gallons of resin - then do not rule out poly.

[Aquasport Commodore]

When you price the epoxy from US Composites the price goes down as you buy more. For the 20 gal of 2to1 and 10 gal hardnerer it comes to something of 38 per gal with hardner.

[gran398]

Recent post from Seabob here on CAS:


As all probably realize, the key to to use of ANY adhesive/bonding agent is proper surface prep, including adhering to all the manufacturer's application instructions. I work on many an older boat, built entirely with polyester resins, both higher end and run-of-the-mill, with quite often no signs of delam, saturation, bond joint integrity issues, and some of these boats are pushing 25 years old.

While epoxy resins and vinylester resins are indeed superior products in regards to comparisons with polyester, done right, polyester has proven to be a reliable, durable material when it comes to laminating fiberglass. It can be a VERY cost effective means for producing a desirable product for those on a somewhat limited budget.

Just my 2 pennies from someone who has seen literally thousands and thousands of boats laid up. Yes, there will be times when the lay up was poorly done, and that has been shown by the number of threads we have all read, even regarding newer boats, where lamination issues and failures have reared their ugly heads. But most definitely the exception, not the rule...

[RickK]

Scott without expanding SeaBobs swim lane beyond where it should be remember where his experience comes from - fresh builds where they can use the wet on wet approach and everything is laminated until done.  All supporting structure (i.e. cap, console, etc) was built at a different time by another group and sometimes different cottage companies but using the same wet on wet approach.  Later all the pieces were joined mechanically and using adhesives of some type.  When using wet on wet laminating until it is complete, be it a hull or deck, poly is adequate for this but that is not what we're talking about - during a rebuild you are talking about a secondary bond not a primary or initial bond - a much different animal now.
On repairs I do agree that prep is the key to poly repairs/rebuilds and I am not a pro so I didn't trust my prep to be adequate in sructural areas to get a adequate bond using poly.  Therefore I gave it my best prepping shot and then used epoxy to be sure.  Epoxy has good flexibility and super bonding - compare a cured single layer 2" wide strip of 1708 using epoxy and then again using poly - you'll see the flexibility difference.
As I said earlier, if it's not structural then I'm using poly and especially where gelcoat will go.

[slvrlng]

Epoxy will cure in the absence of contact with air. Poly or VE will not. They must have a channel to air for the styrene to escape. This is why epoxy makes a better "glue", like in a transom layup.  In thicker laminates with the same buildup VE and epoxy have the same hardness ~ once cured. In thinner laminates epoxy has more flex. The epoxy is also more sensitive to heat and can soften above 150 degrees. VE has a higher heat capacity than epoxy up to around 250 degrees.

[gran398]

Rick you make good points, particularly regarding the adhesive function.

Included Bob's quote as it relates to a portion of the topic, that is, money savings.

On our build, there was no  epoxy or vinylester used. However, there was no gluing required. On your build, particularly on the new stringer bond, etc, epoxy is a necessity. Keep up the good work!

[Capt. Bob]

Unless I missed something between the multiple threads leading to this one subject (installation of hull stiffeners) my guess is that Seasick has decided on epoxy as the resin of choice for his particular situation. He's not rebuilding his entire hull but rather adding to the existing one. (please correct me if I'm wrong). Just looking for the best price out there.

That stated, it seems that everyone agrees (including the hull stiffener manufacturer) that in SS's case, epoxy is the correct choice to use due to the fact that he is attaching a "structural member" to an existing 27 year old hull. While cost is still a factor in any rebuild,  I have seen no indication (bow eye aside) that a major rebuild is occurring at this point. Epoxy gives SS a good deal of wiggle room (to the non professional re-builder) in the final prep as a trade off for the cost. I see this as more of a repair/upgrade rather than a major rebuild. Lewis' post is the most convincing IMHO in that once you attach the stiffeners and close up the deck, you want to fish not second guess.

What am I missing.

PS.. yes, I used that super search engine (the phone) and spoke with the manufacturer about this installation of their product.

Good luck SS

[captseasick]

You are correct sir bob, the plan is to use the epoxy on the hull stiffners, boweye placment, and transom beefup.  The rest wil be new laid fibergalss and I wil use poly.. thought abotu vinlyester but poly sounds easier and should be more than enough for building a new deck and cockpit enclosure.  So im guessing from an earlier post to use 1708 mat..?? I need it to be thick and strong for all the applications, want to apply a coat over each stiffner due to only an 1 inch wing on each side and need to build up the bow area inside the anchor locker for the eye, and also to thicken the transome for a dive platform.  Thanks again for all the replys and information.

[dbiscayne]

Used nothing but epoxy on mine, after factoring in how much more poly/vinylester I've wasted in the past due to the resin setting up faster than I can work I figure I'm not spending much more $$$.

Get my epoxy from Glue Products, worked out to around $45/gal.

epoxy = no smell, reasonable working time, no smell, sticks better, no smell, longer shelf life, no smell......

[seabob4]

Nothing like the smell of poly resin in the morning...  

[JTown Aquasport]

US - Composites go online they ship best price and quality.

[orb]

I have used epoxy of some structural repairs, and I really like how well it adheres to existing fiberglass. I bought some from the Jgreer guy.
http://www.aeromarineproducts.com/
It worked well, but when starting another project I decided to use west epoxy. It is more expensive, but the research that they have put into epoxy and marine applications is eye opening. I bought the book, Gougeon Brothers on Boat Construction: Wood and West System Materials, and it was so indepth as to the amount of research they have put into their brand of epoxy and epoxy construction and repairs.
http://www.amazon.com/Gougeon-Brothers- ... 1878207504
They have a website that offers tips on all kinds of repairs and such.
http://www.gougeon.com/
All that being said, I am using quite a bit of  vinylester on my 240 project. I messaged a guy on the hull truth who rebuilt an old formula 233 into an awesome center console.
http://www.thehulltruth.com/boating-for ... in-ob.html
I think he does boat repair and such. He told me he only uses epoxy with carbon fiber. He uses all vinylester for everything else. And Coosa. I love coosa! But he really believes in vinylester. It is more expensive than poly, but it has alot better adhesive properties than poly does. As an example, the stringers on these old AS's were tabbed down with polyester, after the hull and the stringer had cured, so they have a tendency to come loose. In my 240, they had come loose really bad around the gas tank, both sides of the stringers. I tabbed mt stringers back down with epoxy, but I am using vinylester for more and more things. I had the numbers on how strongly epoxy vs. vinylester vs. polyester adhere, in psi or something like that. I may have posted it on this site, not sure, but vinylester is vastly superior to poly. For poly is good for original wet layups, but not repairs.
Oliver