Mas. I am doing some fiberglass work and had two choices. I had used West but the Mas was cheaper and in smaller containers. Thought about it a few minutes and ponied up for the tried and tru West System. I had forgotton how sweet the stuff smells, like almonds.
I’ve used Raka SP? before and didn’t like it as much as WS.
Any opinions on the best epoxy for repairs
Freind who builds marathon
racing boats uses epoxy from this place:
http://www.shopmaninc.com/
Says its as good as any of the others at much less cost.
I got spanked
matters not, had to have it today or miss another weekend on the water
Sort of same situation…
I ran out of System 3 and needed a little bit of epoxy for some mods. My local choices were West and MAS. I have used West and like it but choose MAS for the 2:1 mixing ratios. MAS worked OK but seemed thinner.
Build my boat with MAS
It floats.
I smash it into things and run it onto gravel shores and it doesn’t break.
MAS or System 3 for me
I’ve had bad luck with West - with fast hardener, it erupts like a volcano in a very short time - no joke! Steams, foams up and out of the container - it’s scary.
With sloooooow hardener, it takes forever to set up. No happy medium. I’ve used both MAS and System 3 for S&G boats; like S3 best, but both are good. Sys3 has no warnings on breathing. It’s supposed not to volitize. Very nice to work with.
Alan
Possibly I have not had that problem
with West because, for repairs and woodwork, I seldom prepare more than a one-squirt-of-each at a time, and I work in a cool basement. It will foam with the 205 hardener if you just let it sit there, but if I know my work will be slow, I sometimes pour it out into a little tray so it doesn’t self-heat so fast.
When I had to use larger batches to lay up a rim on a kayak, I used the slower 206 hardener and made double batches. working in the shade of our carport on a 90 degree day, I found the hardening time just right.
I wish I could afford to have all the different systems on hand, but I’ve stuck with West because of the reliability of results.
slow/fast
One of the epoxy makers says that you can blend their hardeners to customize the cure time. Don’t know isf that applies to MAS, but it’d be worth asking them.
System Three be wat ah’ use
– Last Updated: Jan-13-08 10:18 AM EST –
Good stuff in me book. 2 to 1 ratio an' very forgiving.
FE
MAS
makes 2 differant thickness of resin. The thicker resin is called FLAG, the thinner resin is just called Resin.
and they make 3 differant speed of hardeners that can be mixed to the equivalen measure.
Able to really “Dial in” with MAS
Best Wishes
Roy
MAS hardeners
MAS has slow, medium and fast hardeners, and they say that you can mix the slow and fast ones to tailor the time to your needs.
The slow is non-blushing.
Colour?
Canunut made a CLC and had some interesting colour variations in th earea where the float tanks/ bulk heads were. The area forward of the bulk head turned an off shade of rose tint.
I used the left over MAS epoxy on my Wood strip canoe with no ill effect. I actually felt the MAS was easier time wise then the West. Canunut thought it was too slow.
O.K. To mix 206 / 205 w / WEST
rose tinting is from old ( really old or stuff that got exposed to light ) hardener and you know it BEFORE you mix it.
Pumps work best if kept slightly ‘loose’ on the cans … keeping them stored outside, even sealed
up in humid weather will eventually ‘spoil’ the resin from moisture. To get the very last drop out of the can, poke a .125+" hole on the very top corner opposite of the spout and invert. If the can you are doing this with is old or sat outside, I would only use this last bit for non-critical stuff instead of possible contaminating your new cans. If you go through a lot of it … no matter.
Pump users … once in a while pull the pumps out and make sure those little plastic ‘spacer’ things have not slid down onto the little step that in just off the plunger throat. I have observed this happening since the new Yellow West pumps came out … ok. to put a couple wraps of electrical tape on them to keep tight.
on the exterior?
are you saying he switched epoxies/hardeners mid application and there was a resulting difference in appearance or that the exterior of the side panel/deck show a variation that is coincident with the location of the bulkheads?
A lot of folks following the instructions strictiy might apply one seal coat to the interior of the side panels/deck. Then they might store/transport the kayak with closed hatches in warm weather resulting in moisture steaming through the okoume.
There was an earlier thread on epoxy
– Last Updated: Jan-15-08 12:16 AM EST –
I asked a similar question last fall when I ran out of epoxy, mid-project. I ended up replenishing my West System for much the same reason as McCrae. But I did resolve to change if I ever ran out of everything at the same time, because there are some differences among epoxies in their production of "amine blush".
Some epoxies apparently produce none or far less than your typical West System, which means you can save a lot of prep time. See http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=advice&tid=748446 for more details
~~Chip
$$$ rules
Raka became extremely popular with builders because of it’s price. Somebody at one time did some testing of characteristics and Raka came out the best. But they will all do the job just fine.
You have to remember you have 5-1 ratio vs. 2-1 ratio. Many people just like a 2-1 for it’s ease. I use Raka and like their blush free hardener and it’s literally 1/2 the price of West.
I’ve used MAS and it’s fine.
For a really small user
like me, and I mean really small (patches, reinforcement etc) the West repair pouches are the only way to go. With my projects it would take years to use up a quart of resin. The repair kits and refills come with thickeners, mixing cups etc and make this tinkerer’s life very simple.
Jim
yep
West Systems little packets are a smart package. Stupid expensive but convenient.
It does take me years to go through a
quart, but the resin keeps well. Thickens just a tiny bit. The 205 hardener turns red with exposure to oxygen, and thickens. Yet, as long as it goes through the pump, the epoxy goes off normally. The result is reddish rather than honey colored, but I use that to advantage in repairing cherry or mahogany furniture.
One warning: I had a can of 205 hardener slowly force out the nozzle, probably because some gas was created in the can. I think I should ask West what to do about that. It would be a pain to remove and clean pumps before storage.