I've never used Rocketpoxy before so I don't know if it might be too thick for this, but before I wised up and got the pump set for West System, I got the amounts right every time by drawing them out of their containers with marked syringes.
Not your ordinary epoxy thread...
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Back in 1990, I bought a 3" diameter kit from Microbrick that had a polyester resin fiberglass nosecone. I didn't put any UV protection on it and it warped badly when left in a hot car one day.
Jerry Irvine used to make nosecones for the US Rockets Swarm in polyester resin, as well. Using polyester resin isn't bad, per se, but you need to make sure to put some sort of UV protection on it.
For those of you who use Loctite (aka Hysol) EA 20HP, Pilots HQ has 50ml dual syringes for 18.50ea. Cheapest I've seen lately.
YMMV
William
YMMV
William
Results of the poll show a double-peaked curve. Three types of epoxy is most common; it drops dramatically at 4, but rises again to "6 or more".
I'm glad to see that there are a lot of rocketnutz who like to experiment and try different epoxies. Finding out what's out there is a good thing.
I'm glad to see that there are a lot of rocketnutz who like to experiment and try different epoxies. Finding out what's out there is a good thing.
My son recently switched from Global Adhesives epoxy to the brand called "Big Bong" to put his 100 lb subwoofers together with. There is no difference in the strength between the two, and it is more widely available. I will likely be using it in the future:
https://www.amazon.com/Bigbong-50ml-Ceramics-Plastic-Adhesive/dp/B0927KLVNZ
https://www.amazon.com/Bigbong-50ml-Ceramics-Plastic-Adhesive/dp/B0927KLVNZ
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That's a good deal, its about $22-23 from McMaster (plus shipping, and that is a little high). I also use the E60 version. It sets up slower (60 minutes instead of 20). I don't know that you get exactly that much more work time, but it's definitely much slower.
Right Now, I have:
Hysol E20 (whitish)
Hysol E60 (whitish)
Hysol E20 Black
3M Scotch weld DP420 (whitish)
3M Scotch weld DP420 black
Bob Smith in a couple of set times...
JB epoxy
West systems 105/206
Clear epoxy (painting balsa fins, prettying up exposed wood in the back)
JB weld
Rocketpoxy
Per the poll, 11(ish)
I primarily use the Hysol or Scotch weld for assembly/fillets. When I assemble stuff, I tend to go fast, and this stuff doesn't run. Others for motor mounts, laminating, etc....
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Man, the nut doesn't fall very far from the tree.
NTP2
Well-Known Member
If you still want opinions I have only ever used JB because I have never had it fail me.
I use JB for 2 main reasons. (Our weapon is fear. Fear and surprise...our 2 weapons are......Monty Python)
1- it works on nearly everything with good cleaning and keying through sanding.(generic answer)
2- it cleans up with dihydromonoxide (this one's for you @prfesser )
D-I bought a lot of it for a really good price
E-It's raining and this list is more fun than getting wet.
C-I forget
F-It mostly doesn't really matter.......
Uh...I don't know what kind of JBW you use, but the stuff in my workbox absolutely does NOT clean with water. Rubbing alcohol AKA IPA, probably lacquer thinner or acetone. maybe paint thinner but I doubt it.
Our THREE MAIN WEAPONS are...fear, surprise....I'll come in again....
Our THREE MAIN WEAPONS are...fear, surprise....I'll come in again....
lr64
Well-Known Member
Vinegar does a pretty good job cleaning up epoxy that hasn't set yet. I would take care not to get any in epoxy that is actually going to be sticking something together, though.
It's hard to know what "extensively" means.
I've used Raka, which I thought was pretty good. I add wood flour, fumed silica, or cotton flox if I want to thicken it, micro-balloons if I want to lighten it. Used straight, it wets out fiberglass pretty well, and the results seem durable. This is Raka I bought many years back, but looking at the site, I think they are still selling the same designations. There was a slow hardener and a fast one. For ordinary conditions, you'd use a little of each. I built a boat with it, and completed boats two other people had started. It does blush under certain conditions, but that's easy to wash off. If you are working indoors and it isn't humid, you probably won't see that. Recently, I used it on a board I'm going to use to replace one that rotted out on a garage door. Also, for making RNXish fuel pellets for a Jetex motor. Also some with sugar too. For that, I wish it was as thin as water. I think Raka may be similar to West.
Apparently, judging by the almost empty cans,
I worked for a week helping a guy build vacuum bagged boats. He would order his own epoxy chemicals. I have some of his epoxy, but I don't think I remember what the components are. I think the mix was 5:1 or thereabouts. It's pretty good for laminating, but makes lousy glue.
Apparently, judging by the almost empty cans, I've used up almost a quart of EZ Lam over many years. I can't remember enough projects to have used that much, but I guess I did. Works fine for laminating, can't remember if I glued anything with it. Just made a Jetex fuel pellet with it, too. I don't know if their formulation is the same as it used to be. At a minimum, they now have fast and slow versions. I also don't know if I believe their current claims about strength. Anyway, the stuff I had seemed pretty good. From ACP composites. The fuel pellet was the first time I've used it in years, but I can report that it's hardened up quite nicely in less than 24 hours, even though it's only about 20 percent of the weight of the pellet. Haven't burned it yet, but that's a whole other application than laminating or gluing.
I have a bunch of old hobby epoxy of various brands. Generally, the hardener eventually gets thick and skins over and turns yellow. I can often bring resin back by heating until the crystals re-dissolve, but I don't know how to bring back the hardener. They all worked ok. I've found that 5 minute epoxy is usually not terribly strong, and can be terrible with fiberglass, but I'm not sure that's true for all of them. I have a favorable impression of Devcon 2-ton. I've used up some JB Weld, but I can't remember on what. Sig used to have a 2:1 mix slow epoxy glue that set up harder than most. Hard enough to work well with fiberglass if you were stubborn enough to fully wet out fabric with something so viscous. Not sure how it worked as glue. Maybe just fine, I don't really remember.
I've had most of these long enough that I had to de-crystallize the resin at least once, usually by leaving in a car on a sunny, warm day for a couple of hours.
I'm going to answer the survey with 3, though if the hobby epoxies were all re-badged versions of the same thing, it should be 4.
It's hard to know what "extensively" means.
I've used Raka, which I thought was pretty good. I add wood flour, fumed silica, or cotton flox if I want to thicken it, micro-balloons if I want to lighten it. Used straight, it wets out fiberglass pretty well, and the results seem durable. This is Raka I bought many years back, but looking at the site, I think they are still selling the same designations. There was a slow hardener and a fast one. For ordinary conditions, you'd use a little of each. I built a boat with it, and completed boats two other people had started. It does blush under certain conditions, but that's easy to wash off. If you are working indoors and it isn't humid, you probably won't see that. Recently, I used it on a board I'm going to use to replace one that rotted out on a garage door. Also, for making RNXish fuel pellets for a Jetex motor. Also some with sugar too. For that, I wish it was as thin as water. I think Raka may be similar to West.
Apparently, judging by the almost empty cans,
I worked for a week helping a guy build vacuum bagged boats. He would order his own epoxy chemicals. I have some of his epoxy, but I don't think I remember what the components are. I think the mix was 5:1 or thereabouts. It's pretty good for laminating, but makes lousy glue.
Apparently, judging by the almost empty cans, I've used up almost a quart of EZ Lam over many years. I can't remember enough projects to have used that much, but I guess I did. Works fine for laminating, can't remember if I glued anything with it. Just made a Jetex fuel pellet with it, too. I don't know if their formulation is the same as it used to be. At a minimum, they now have fast and slow versions. I also don't know if I believe their current claims about strength. Anyway, the stuff I had seemed pretty good. From ACP composites. The fuel pellet was the first time I've used it in years, but I can report that it's hardened up quite nicely in less than 24 hours, even though it's only about 20 percent of the weight of the pellet. Haven't burned it yet, but that's a whole other application than laminating or gluing.
I have a bunch of old hobby epoxy of various brands. Generally, the hardener eventually gets thick and skins over and turns yellow. I can often bring resin back by heating until the crystals re-dissolve, but I don't know how to bring back the hardener. They all worked ok. I've found that 5 minute epoxy is usually not terribly strong, and can be terrible with fiberglass, but I'm not sure that's true for all of them. I have a favorable impression of Devcon 2-ton. I've used up some JB Weld, but I can't remember on what. Sig used to have a 2:1 mix slow epoxy glue that set up harder than most. Hard enough to work well with fiberglass if you were stubborn enough to fully wet out fabric with something so viscous. Not sure how it worked as glue. Maybe just fine, I don't really remember.
I've had most of these long enough that I had to de-crystallize the resin at least once, usually by leaving in a car on a sunny, warm day for a couple of hours.
I'm going to answer the survey with 3, though if the hobby epoxies were all re-badged versions of the same thing, it should be 4.
