EPOXY RESIN HELP
Professor E. Poxy Help Site - FREE INFO
The EPOXY HELP PAGE is the easiest way to navigate through our 180 page web site - or ask the Professor!
Links to about 20 web articles regarding epoxy floor paint / coatings CLICK HERE to access all of them!
your go-to guy for two part epoxy help
Rather talk to The Professor over the telephone about your epoxy resin/paint/application issue? Call now - 603 435 7199
Disclaimer: The Professor shall not be liable for any injury, loss, damage, direct or consequential damages arising out of the use of its suggestions or comments.. The respondent shall determine the suitability of any information for the intended use. By contacting the Professor, you are agreeing to the disclaimers, legal notices, etc. posted at our web site (click here to access).
Search the EPOXY-ONLY World Wide Web search engine
for your Epoxy Related Search term
CLICK HERE FOR EPOXY RELATED SEARCHES
BIG list of internet links for: FLOOR EPOXY PAINTS - GARAGE FLOOR COATINGS
BIG list of internet links for: EPOXY BOAT BUILDING - REPAIR - MARINE EPOXIES - BLISTER FIXES - BARRIER COATS
BIG list of internet links for: EPOXY REPAIRS - ROT - LEAKS - PIPE REPAIR - UNDERWATER REPAIRS
BIG list of internet links for: EPOXY BASICS - GETTING STARTED WITH EPOXIES - EPOXY 101
EPOXYGURU.COM website
Links for UNDERWATER EPOXY
Application of DIY "underwater" epoxy paint and putty
for repair and as an adhesive. Underwater swimming pool
epoxy paint and repairs - Wet surface painting.
Yes, you can apply some special epoxy paint/puttty coatings UNDERWATER
Links to online storefront for buying UNDERWATER EPOXY
Splash Zone A-788 -- Wet Dry 700 -- Corro Coat fc2100A -- Water Gard 300
Third Party article about underwater epoxies
1) application of underwater epoxy paint (photograph) ----- uwpaint.html
2) underwater repair epoxy saves sinking yacht ----- cs_boat.html
3) history of underwater paint putty epoxy ----- uwhistory.html
4) description / buy links to underwater epoxy paint putty adhesive ----- under4u.html
5) epoxy and non epoxies that can be used (not applied) underwater ----- immerse.html
Contact Page (phone or email us)
The Marine Epoxy Everything Guide
Everything from user reviews, repair examples,
pricing issues and vendor evaluation tips
Basic No Blush Marine Boat Epoxy Product Page
Basic No Blush 12 oz Marine Epoxy sampler
Marine Epoxy Catalog page (multiple epoxies)
Basic No Blush Marine Epoxy User Reviews / Feedback
Marine Epoxy prices - what it really costs!
Marine Epoxy amine blush - what is epoxy Blush?
DIY Sitch and glue Marine Epoxy construction
Boat repair examples using Marine Epoxy
Dinghy Marine Epoxy DIY boat repair case study
Progressive Epoxy Polymer's marine web site
Buy two part Marine Boat Epoxy now
Massive site of Internet boat links
We also catalog Internet floor epoxy links!
(EVERYTHING-EPOXY.INFO --- Intro to basic epoxy resin types )
NEW TO EPOXY? Learn about the major 2-part epoxy product groups -
Everything-Epoxy.info (primary site) - Click Here (secondary site)
"Thanks for all your advice, tips & moral support concerning my project. It turned out beautiful. Quality people backing a quality product is the only way to go!" Joe
E CATALOG LINKS
1) Our marine/boating epoxy site (www.epoxyproducts.com/marine.html) which then links to:
Section One MARINE - CLEAR EPOXIES sometimes called 'goo' ***********
Section Two FILLERS THICKENERS ADDITIVES ***********
Section Three THICKENED EPOXIES - EPOXY PUTTIES - sometimes called 'goo', ETC. ***********
Section Four EPOXY PAINTS (barrier coats) ***********
NOTICE: Legal notices, Terms of Service, warranty information, disclaimers, health warnings, etc. are required reading before using web site, ordering and/or using Products. Any such use and/or ordering, online or by telephone, shall constitute acceptance and knowledge of all such terms.
CLICK HERE to access these terms. Please note: Whenever you purchase from this web site, and with each new purchase, you are granting us full and complete permission to add you to our email newsletter list at our option.
RETURNS: call or email for authorization to return. Returns are subject to a 25% restock fee. Customer pays return shipping and must comply with federal DOT shipping requirement/labeling for hazmat epoxies under penalty of fines and legal action.
Progressive Epoxy Polymers, Inc. Pittsfield, NH 02363 - 603-435-7199 - email -
EPOXY PAINTS AND RESIN SYSTEMS - 1 AND 2 PART URETHANES - COATING SUPPLIES
Section Five URETHANES AND NON-EPOXY COATINGS ***********
Section Six NON-SKID DECK COATINGS ***********
Section Seven MARINE REPAIR (fiberglass cloth etc) PRODUCTS ***********
Section Eight MISC. MARINE PRODUCTS ***********
CATALOG LINKSHOME - INDUSTRIAL (NON MARINE)
Our industrial/commercial/home site (www.epoxyproducts.com/main.html) IF YOU ARE NOT DOING A BOAT RELATED PROJECT, START HERE WITH THIS LINK.
Section A EPOXY PAINTS ***********
Section B FLOOR EPOXIES (regular and non-skid products), SEALERS, ACCESSORIES ***********
Section C THICKENED EPOXIES - EPOXY PUTTIES (sometimes called 'goo'), ETC.
Section D CLEAR EPOXIES - CLEAR COATINGS ***********
Section E NON-EPOXY PAINTS COATINGS SEALERS ***********
Section F MIX-IN ADDITIVES ***********
Section G OTHER PRODUCTS ***********
Section H SURFACE PREPARATION PRODUCTS ***********
Section I
MISC (rollers, brushes, pumps) ***********
DID YOU KNOW...
Epoxy coatings are used because of their
outstanding chemical resistance, durability, low porosity and strong bond
strength.
Epoxies consist of a ‘base' and a ‘curing'
agent. The two components are mixed in a certain ratio. A chemical reaction
occurs between the two parts generating heat (exotherm) and hardening the
mixture into an inert, hard ‘plastic'.
Epoxies yellow, chalk (or more commonly least lose their gloss), in direct
sunlight (UV). The yellowing can be a real problem. For pigmented epoxies
select colors that are dark or contain a lot of yellow (such as green). Even
clear epoxies will yellow and cloud up. Often epoxies are top coated with
latex or urethanes that will retain their color and attractive gloss. This
is particularly true if color coding or matching company colors is
important.
Epoxies will harden in minutes or hours, but complete cure (hardening) will
generally take several days. Most epoxies will be suitably hard within a day
or so, but may require more time to harden before the coating can be sanded.
By their nature, epoxies are hard and brittle. Additives can be added to
epoxies that make them less brittle, but generally at the loss or reduction
of other positive epoxy properties such as chemical resistance.
Other clues of cheap epoxies include ‘induction time' (after mixing the two
components the mixture must sit for several minutes to ‘self cook' before
being applied).
The best time to recoat epoxy is within about 48 hours after the initial
coat. Because epoxies take days to reach full cure, a second coat applied
shortly after the first coat will partially fuse to the first coat rather
than forming a simple mechanical bond.
End users can thicken epoxy with many things, Tiny glass spheres, known as
micro-spheres or micro-balloons are commonly used. Besides thickening, their
crushable nature makes sanding the hardened epoxy easier. On the downside,
they work like tiny ball bearings, resulting is sagging and slumping.
Another thickener is fumed silica (a common brand name is Cabosil (tm))
which looks like fake snow. About 2 parts fumed silica with one part epoxy
will produce a mixture similar in texture and thickness to petroleum jelly.
Micro-spheres and fumed silica can be combined together.
Fisheyes are areas on a painted surface where the coating literally pulls
away for the substrate leaving a coatingless void or fisheye. Often fisheyes
are caused by surface contaminants such as a bit of silicon, wax, or oil. I
have also seen them on clean plywood where epoxies paints have been used as
sealers and the problem might be due to uneven saturation (soaking-in) of
the epoxy into the wood. Surface tension plays a big part in fisheyeing.
There are some additives that can be mixed into the epoxy that will reduce
surface tension. Likewise, on wood, applying several coats of solvent
thinned epoxy, instead of one coat of unthinned epoxy, seems to work well.
Applying a thick coat of epoxy over a contaminated fisheye surface will bury
the fisheye but expect the coating to peel away in the future. As a rule of
thumb, always suspect some sort of surface contamination as the primary
cause of fisheyeing.
Adding a bit of solvent to a solvent based or solvent-free epoxy is
something that most manufacturers would not officially approve of and
something that might not work with all epoxies. However, it can be done
(unofficially) with the epoxies I deal with. Adding solvent to these epoxies
will: 1) thin them out; 2) increase pot life; 3) allows them to flow off the
brush/roller a bit more smoothly; and 4) perhaps allows them to ‘soak-in',
penetrate, or may be soften, the substrate just a little bit. Not change is
visible in the epoxy unless 12% or greater solvent is added. With that
amount of solvent, the epoxies no longer cure with a glossy finish.
It is best to use epoxies with a mix ratio close to 1 to 1 as opposed to
something 4-1, 5-1, etc. because errors in the mix ratios can be more
pronounced with the latter. That said, no matter what the mix ratio is, some
epoxies are more forgiving of mix ratio errors than others. One ‘trick' of
epoxy vendors with odd or very sensitive mix ratios is to sell calibrated
pumps that disperse the epoxy components in exact amounts.
How Thick? How thick should your coating be? Economics play a major role in determining how much coating to apply. One U.S. gallon contains 231 cubic inches. That's only 1.6 cubic square feet of surface at one inch thick and that's also assuming a solvent-free product. If the product is 25% VOC (i.e. 25% solvent) then dry thickness/coverage will be 25% less. Again, assuming a 1/4 inch thick coating (250 mils) maximum coverage will still be only 6.4 square feet per gallon. A solvent-free (100% solids) epoxy coating applied at 16 mils will cover 100 square feet per gallon (note: the wall paint in your office is probably 2-4 mils). While thick coatings sound like a good idea, they use so much product that they must be made very cheaply so that coating 1,000 or 10,000 square feet can still be done at a competitive price. A high quality, fairly expensive product with a coverage rate of 100 sq. feet or more per gallon, on the other hand, will have a low enough cost per sq. foot to provide both economy and top quality.