Commercial vs. Self-Thinned Epoxy Sealant

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Postby Loader » Wed Aug 23, 2006 7:01 am

doug hodder wrote:Earl....in West Systems manual...page 22 Supplemental epoxy info....I guess it all boils down to....you can thin it, but there is a price to pay for it...Doug


Thanks Doug,

I did read the West info. I guess the questions is, to get a good sealant, does one need to purchase the brands (i.e WEST, CPES, RAKA, etc) made specifically for sealing, or can you use a standard epoxy, mix it up yourself, then thin it a bit to use as a sealant?

I guess it seems to make sense to buy the product designed for the purpose vs. trying to make something work.

Thanks for all the words guys and gals, a little more studying, and it is time to seal/paint!
Earl & Kerry

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Postby Joanne » Wed Aug 23, 2006 12:17 pm

Hi Arne,

Here's how I did it.

- Sand the wood so it would be clean and smooth
- Lay out fiberglass cloth, wet out with epoxy resin
- 2 or 3 more coats of resin to fill in the weave - sanding between coats
- final sanding
- wipe down with Interlux 202 fiberglass solvent wash
- roll on Interlux PreKote primer
- roll on first coat Interlux Brightside paint
- lightly sand
- wipe down with Interlux 202 fiberglass solvent wash
- roll on second coat of Interlux Brightside paint

You can see photo of the entire process on my website.

My results would have been better if I would have spent more time on sanding and final preparation before paint, but it still looks pretty good. Were I to do it again, I would use a lighter fiberglass cloth. I used 8 oz and it was an overkill. There is some discussion as to whether any fabric is needed apart from the joints. I used glass because I was afraid of the fir plywood opening up cracks in the dry heat here in Vegas.

(Actually, were I to do it again I would forego the epoxy/fiberglass and cover it with aluminum. I believe that the total cost of the epoxy, fiberglass cloth, primer and paint was more than the aluminum would have been. And for certain it was more work.)

So what would I do different if I built again? Just about everything!
When I started the project I set some goals with regard to simple building techniques and overall project costs. I made some decisions that made this project take longer, be more difficult, and be more expensive than it needed to be. I don't want to sound like I'm whining because I'm just evaluating how the project went and where I could have improved. I'm proud of my efforts and how the trailer is turning out. I've learned more than I ever thought I would know.

Build #2 ?!? Hmmm....

Joanne



Arne wrote:Joanne, you used expoxy and interlux brightside. What did you use for a primer.?

I'm assuming you rolled on epoxy on the whole tear, not just the joints. Then sanded and primed.... anyway, I'm considering doing something similar.

CPES first, then primer, then interlux (or some quality marine paint)... I like the uniflex 255 I used, but can not keep it clean....

Any information is appreciated... thanks.
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Postby mosportsmen » Wed Aug 23, 2006 8:14 pm

I just spread epoxy last night and another coat tonight. I use the stuf from this guy. It is thin enough to penetrate and actually he says it is the same stuff the raka and west guys sell. he just packages it a little cheeper.

http://www.jgreer.com/
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Postby Miriam C. » Wed Aug 23, 2006 8:43 pm

Mo
How much did he charge you for shipping?

AeroMarine 300/11 Quart Kit- Total yield of one quart.
Consists of 1 pint of #300 resin and 1 pint of #11 hardener.
Packaged in metal screw-top cans.
$16 per kit

This is a good price if shipping is included. However Home Depot sells bondo marine for $17.95. Same size.

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Postby Arne » Wed Aug 23, 2006 8:57 pm

I did a search on it and it is strange.. they say mix 1:1, but kit is 1 qt resin and 1 pint hardener....
www.freewebs.com/aero-1
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Postby Miriam C. » Wed Aug 23, 2006 9:18 pm

Arne wrote:I did a search on it and it is strange.. they say mix 1:1, but kit is 1 qt resin and 1 pint hardener....


Arne,
If you are talking about Aero Marine, it is a 1 guart kit. Includes 1 pint of each.

I did some reading. (fanatical reader) Raka says it's #350 hardner and #127 resin is flexible. Anyone know if the others are?????????
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Postby mosportsmen » Wed Aug 23, 2006 10:22 pm

I think I pay about 70 for a gallon and a half including shipping. the mix he sells that is 2 to 1 has worked good for me.
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Postby Arne » Thu Aug 24, 2006 4:30 am

yes, it is all in the name... the 300/11 is 1:1, the 300/21 is 2:1... I misread the information on the site..

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AeroMarine 300/11 epoxy is a simple, non-critical 1:1 by volume mix.

AeroMarine 300/21 1 1/2 Quart Kit- Total yield of 1 1/2 quart mix epoxy with hardener. Consists of 1 quart of #300 resin and 1 pint of #21 Non Blushing Cycloaliphatic Hardener.
www.freewebs.com/aero-1
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Postby mosportsmen » Thu Aug 24, 2006 11:32 pm

I just ordered another galon and a half. I guess I was wrong with shipping it comes to 83.00. I will be making a thickly epoxy laden counter top, so I needed another batch.....never can get enough of this stuff
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Postby Lynne » Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:29 am

Epoxy Plus sole by Clark Craft says it is flexible. I was thinking about sealing the camper I am getting ready to build with it. But I don't know if I need to put on the fiberglass cloth or if I can just seal the wood I use.
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Postby Arne » Mon Aug 28, 2006 5:44 am

They have good prices. Have you used their products before?
www.freewebs.com/aero-1
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Postby sunstarjeep » Tue Sep 26, 2006 6:32 pm

my question for those that have done this, I was just planning to epoxy and not do the fiberglass cloth, if i was to use the cloth on all the seems/joints, can you see the cloth under the epoxy after it dries..? also planning to paint it white after the epoxy job.. so maybe that wouldn't matter? Is it best to paint after or can you mix a color in the epoxy?

thanks
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Postby EZ » Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:01 pm

sunstarjeep wrote:my question for those that have done this, I was just planning to epoxy and not do the fiberglass cloth, if i was to use the cloth on all the seems/joints, can you see the cloth under the epoxy after it dries..? also planning to paint it white after the epoxy job.. so maybe that wouldn't matter? Is it best to paint after or can you mix a color in the epoxy?

thanks


In my opinion you wouldn't need cloth on the joints unless the sides are really thin. The sailboat I built was of stitch and glue design made from 6mm lauan. That method uses fiberglass cloth strips and epoxy on all seams. I am sure it was my first of many down the road and I wasn't going for a factory finish; sort of wanted to allow you to see how the boat was built. Unless you are willing to do a lot of sanding and filling to blend in the cloth it can be seen. And the epoxy is hard stuff. That is the one thing I hated about boatbuilding was sanding those tapes.

I rounded the edges of my camper and the epoxy makes them really hard and smooth. No moulding. I really don't see a need for fiberglass cloth unles you are going for mondo strength. Just my opinion, I have only done this once.....

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Postby EZ » Tue Sep 26, 2006 8:31 pm

I have used the epoxy from Fiberglass Coatings Inc a few times with great results and it cost about $40 with shipping. Diluted with acetone.

http://www.fgci.com

Also here in an article I posted a while back about finishing boats with epoxy/paint that has some interesting info in it.

http://www.angelfire.com/nc3/davecarnell/articles.html#A1

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Postby sunstarjeep » Thu Sep 28, 2006 5:58 pm

hey Ed, thanks for your help, i'll read up some of those postings.
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