Alternative to wesy system epoxy

you can use regular fiberglass resin(bondo/3m) if you have to...adding coloidal sillica thickens it up(mayonaise consistency) and keeps it from running out so bad. the west system with the sillica is the bomb though. i used just resin on a hugh soft spot on my deck lid(10"by 30"). work your way from the bottom up. good luck!

micro balloons taste better

smashed up capt crunch will work in a pinch..

would this work?

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1414938&CAWELAID=109344982

edited by: JonT82, Aug 21, 2010 - 09:11 PM

yes indeed...

sweet...thanks for the help..had this boat for quite sometime now and finally getting some time to work on it

For Cheap prices and fine epoxy I've used material from Progressive Polymers. That's what I have on hand right now. It's about half the price of other epoxies. I immediately took a liking to system three when I first used it because of the no-blush and the longer pot life. If I need something quicker I will use west still, but I've decided I don't like the rush aspect of working with the short pot life.

I've had no problem with the progressive polymer stuff, but I haven't done anything big with it that I recall.

Geoff

I ended up getting the 3m fiberglass epoxy with hardner. Another question though. Do I need to get some filler or fiberglass cloth to add to the mixture?

mix the colloidal sillica with the resin to mayonaise consistency(mix resin first), this strengthens the mix and it doesn't run out the holes so bad...try not to breath it, its super light and flys around so wear a respirator. check out my album in the members album titled prindle 16 hull paint and repair...i fixed several soft spots on the deck lid and the hulls.

Alright I just need some PBR and colloidal silica

yes indeed...you will be totaly prepared!!!

I don't know if this has anything to do with the site move, but the photo's on the DIY page are gone.

http://www.thebeachcats.com/Article87.html

I'll be drilling holes tomorrow and solving the two soft spots on my boat. I went with the 650K West Systems repair kit at about $20, seemed to have the right amount of epoxy for the job.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't West System epoxy the same stuff as 3M? I believed that West System was a trademarked name, & what is actually trademarked is their "system" for measuring,(pumps). I think there is some sort of marketing agreement with West, but they all use MEKP as a catalyst, leading me to believe the resin is the same formulation. Much like buying Quicksilver oil for your powerboat leg & engine, Merc doesn't refine their own product. They put out a tender listing their specs & contract it to the lowest refinery bid.
OEM manufacturers buy resin by the train car load, & glass mat by the acre, along with other additives such as silica, depending on what is being laid up. Does anyone know the origin of West System resin?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't West System epoxy the same stuff as 3M?

I think it is unique to West System. At least it had better be with this quote from the company website

"The Gougeon Brothers have been pioneers in epoxy formulation and epoxy composite boat construction for over twenty-five years. Since the introduction of WEST SYSTEM Epoxy in the early 1970s, they have been known worldwide for their consistent high quality epoxy products. "

Check out http://www.westsystem.com/ss/history/

edited by: smfinley, Aug 30, 2010 - 01:23 PM

svanlare wrote: I don't know if this has anything to do with the site move, but the photo's on the DIY page are gone.

http://www.thebeachcats.com/Article87.html

Thanks for pointing that out. I've fixed the article.

http://thebeachcats.com/Article87.html

That delamination repair article could use an update, it was written in 1998 and has helped bring back a lot of beachcats. It could use some new pictures, so if some of you could document your entire repair like the original author did it would be great.

Thanks for the photos. I only did 1 of 2 hulls, so I'll try to remember to take photos of the second.

Meade Gougeon worked for Dow Chemical in Midland, Mi, formulated West System and started boat business with brother Jan in Bay City, Mi. in '70's. Both are many times DN ice boat National & World champs, built very competitive wood Tornados, then sold it to Houlton, built Adrenalin a very successful formula 40 trimaran, and many other wood/composite boats as well as wood windmills. You could never beat Meade in Adagio, though we beat Jan once when he was 1 1/2 hours ahead of us in a 60 mile race because a fresh wind came up behind us for a screaming spinnaker reach in a Stiletto 27. Pete

JonT82 wrote: Is there a cheaper alternative to the west system epoxy for the soft spots in hulls that works just as good?

I use these guys' 1:1 laminating epoxy:

http://www.fgci.com/

Looks like a qt of resin (125460) plus a qt of activator (125228, non-corrosive for shipping purposes) will get you 1/2 gal. total for about $32 plus shipping. Don't know about other suppliers, but I'm bettin' that beats West big time!

Yea I've done one of my hulls as well so far. Used the 3m resin which was $12 for a quart. Turned out pretty good for an amatuer like myself. Nice and stiff. I did get corona instead of the PBR though coastrat. Have to start thinking about paint pretty soon.