Without a doubt the best epoxy for any use including all home applications is Devcon epoxy, get the cream colored type, highest strenght, can be found at OSH truly amazing stuff. ( snipped-for-privacy@aol.com)
Are you NUTZ?
CWM
Thanks. I will be doing some FG repairs on a canoe soon. I usually use Wests, but will look for the Devcon. How much is a gallon?
Gee - thanks for what is surely a totally unbiased testimonial.
According to Toller :
Devcon appears to specialise in glues, adhesives and certain types of coatings. It's web site only discusses 1min, 5min and 10min epoxy. Lots of stuff for coating masonry, concrete, steel, lots of casting materials for rebuilding machine parts, bonding metal, potting electrical parts, conductive glues etc. But not one mention of fiberglassing or wood.
Nothing at all like the West system line of additives etc.
"East Systems" is virtually identical to West Systems (line of additives etc), and should be somewhat cheaper. More than likely somewhat harder to find tho.
But this does get me on a bit of a rant to say what epoxies I like, like better for some applications, and what I dislike.
Biggest dislike - Radio Shack 5-minute epoxy. It is softened to close to a non-sticky version of a gum by prolonged exposure (maybe just hours) to water.
One that I like but not everywhere: Devcon 5-minute gel epoxy. t is a thickened form that does not run the way the more liquid ones do. Disadvantage: Some compromise in strength (at least in my experience), and in my experience takes almost as long as the slow-curing epoxy to reach its full strength.
Another that I like for some but not all applications: The 4-minute stuff for metal, dark color (one component black and the other some other darkish color). It works on anything that epoxy works on, but I am guessing it has metal dust mixed in to make its thermal expansion characteristics closer to that of most common metals. It sticks well to anything epoxy ever does (in my experience), sticks really well to glass, and reaches close to full strength in less than an hour, often within half an hour. Too bad I got it mainly at Pep Boys and they took months to restock when I depleted the supply of the Pep Boys near where I work and the one near where I live (with that Pep Boys store closing after I most used epoxy).
Other than that, the slow dry liquidy stuff with one component clear and the other component a yellowish color like diluted lighter color beer is plenty good - just allow for it being liquid for half an hour to two hours and taking half a day to a day to really cure at "room temperature" (less time at elevated temperatures, more time at lower temperatures).
5-minute liquid ones other than Radio Shack mostly get close enough to full strength in an hour or two, mostly resist water well the way most other non-Radio-Shack epoxies do, and allow an hour or two for full strength. Strength appears to me to be a bit compromised from that of the slow-cure versions, but not by much.- Don ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)
i like deacon plastic steel putty for metals ,but not for wood.
I've used a number of epoxies but have no favorites. Yes, I've noticed that Devcon seems to specialize in adhesive products and they've been around a long while. I'd tend to trust them over a brand I'm not familiar with if I'm concerned with maximum performance.
I pretty much agree with the things that Don had to say, although my experience isn't extensive.
One thing I've done for a long time is save grindings of steel and add them to epoxy many times when I want extra strength. I got this idea when I bought a "steel filled" epoxy that was marketed as having exceptional strength. My reasoning is:
Adding steel particles will not increase the strength or toughness of epoxy. It can increase the abrasion resistance of the epoxy and can change the working characteristics (from liquid to paste).
Tensile strength will rely entirely on the epoxy. Compressive and shear strengths might be greater if the density of the steel particles is quite high (much more steel than epoxy) and the epoxy just acts to keep the particles in place. Otherwise these characteristics won't be affected much.
Abrasion resistance will be increased since the epoxy will abrade from the surface and the steel particles will take the wear.
Mike
According to Don Klipstein :
5 minute epoxies are generally about 1/3rd as strong as "regular". Eg: comparing 5min to West Systems "regular" stuff - 5000lb PSI shear vs. 15,000lb or better PSI shear.(5min epoxy is generally only about as strong as a good white or carpenter's glue)
Gels can be nice, but an equivalent can be made by adding silica powder (a few bucks a pound) to "regular" epoxy. This comes with a modest sacrifice in strength, but not much.
["Devcon gel" is probably nothing more than ordinary epoxy with silica or some similar additive.]We do a fair amount of work with epoxy - glassing, fillets and "part joining" (model and high power rocketry, where it _has_ to be as strong as possible and yet light) with wood, cardboard, metal, fiberglass and other things.
[My son established an altitude record with a rocket that had hand laid epoxy-carbon fiber and epoxy-fiberglass body tubes, and fins made with fiberglassed foamcore board, all assembled with "regular" West. You can't do that with 5 minute or gel epoxy ;-)]For the most part, we only use 5 minute epoxy for "tacking" (or for field emergency repairs). Perhaps most often for tacking the edge of a surface-mount fin to a body tube and getting it aligned. Once that sets, out comes the West Systems with up to a 3:1 silica:epoxy mix to fillet the fin roots. That's where most of the strength comes from.
Even the thicker 5 min epoxies aren't thick enough on their own for filleting.
We use West for everything _except_ when we need very fast set time, because West is stronger.
Even then, we can accelerate set time by raising the temperature.
[The West instruction book talks about hot air guns or heat lamps. Should work with just about any epoxy. Just don't elevate the temperature past about 160F with ordinary epoxies. It'll destroy it.]snipped-for-privacy@nortelnetworks.com (Chris Lewis) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:
West,System Three or RAKA are all good thin clear epoxies. (boat-building/fiberglassing,and glue with fillers added) I've had good success with RAKA(mail-order),but System Three has an inexpensive trial kit(with The Epoxy Book,a GREAT must-have primer on epoxy use!),and both S3 and West can be found locally. All of them sell a line of fillers/additives,too.
FYI,you can also download The Epoxy Book at no charge from S3's website.
snipped-for-privacy@nortelnetworks.com (Chris Lewis) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com:
I just put the rocket or project in my car in the hot sun. It's at least 140degF in there! (Florida)
According to Jim Yanik :
FYI West also has a trial kit - that they label more as an "emergency repair" kit. Enough to get an idea of what the stuff is like. I've seen it as low as $10 CDN.
Not sure whether West's main "how to" book is free. West has quite a library of technical books.
Readers of this thread will be interested in the following link, a massive and reasonably rigorous test for the ultimate adhesive, by custom knifemakers:
Hint: It ain't Devcon.
-Frank
Actually I've heard from people who used epoxy for a living that Devcon is definitely one of the best.
Please define: "Use epoxy for a living"
CWM
It may be, but that is not the question. I was questioning the motive of posting the notice. Had the same information been provided in response to a question, I would not have questioned it.
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