West System

[ryan_4z]

Any of you boat builders know where I can find West System for a decent price? The best I have found is www.aircraftspruce.com. They sell 105 Resin for 72.85/gal. I don't expect to find it much cheaper than that, but if anyone knows anything I would really appreciate it.

[L. Allen]

What's wrong with the East System?

[G Stillwill]

Hey buddy Im going to try this stuff on the next boat might be easier to work with as its non blushing and should sand easier plus cheaper to. Im going to order some as soon as I get moved.

http://cgi.ebay.com/EPOXY-RESIN-KIT-...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/EPOXY-RESIN-KIT-...QQcmdZViewItem

[Lights]

Ryan I like to use "Mas Epoxies" epoxy. The price is cheaper and I think it is just as good if not better than West system. I order it from www.jamestowndistributors.com They charge $65.54/gal for the resin.

Mark

[bill boyes]

Try www.West Marine. I do not use West System as when I did and used the plunger pump method I had so much waste that it took twice the amount of epoxy to build the boat. West is 4 to 1 and I could not make a small amount of epoxy for small tasks. I'am not knocking West but it did not work for me.
I use System 3. WWW.System Three.com 1-800-333-5514 . I use # 2 Hardner. Also I broke down and bought a model "A" Sticky Stuff Dispenser a few years ago. WWW.michaelengineering.com with a heater. I believe that I have saved at least 33% of epoxy that I lost due to waste.
System 3 has many types of epoxy's for boat building. They have a new product called T-111 that is in a caulking gun. Rick Fralick says it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. One of these days I might give it a try.
Also, I know a guy on the Oakland Embarcadaro who restores old wooden Boats. A one man operation but a very high dollar business. He uses Epoxy from Smith & Co from Richmond Calif. Has very little blush and sands really well. 1-510-237-6842 or 1-800-234-0330. www.smithand company.org They have adds in Boatbuilder magazine.BTW, I do not use Silca Thickner any more for a glue base. Wood Flour works better for me. Ok, so what do you use with the West method?

[hydroplay]

Real boatbuilders buy it direct from Gougeon Brothers in Bay City MI. But they aren't going to mess with one gallon quantities.

[jneises]

If you are using West System to provide a protective coating on your boat and not using it for structural adhesive you can cut your expense by thinning the mixture with acetone. Some folks have been know to dilute it up to 50% Acetone. I goes on thinner and smoother. Try a bit as an experiment before diluting a large batch.

[ryan_4z]

Real boatbuilders buy it direct from Gougeon Brothers in Bay City MI. But they aren't going to mess with one gallon quantities.

I could only dream of one day being a "real" boat builder like you, Sam.



Everyone else, thanks for all the helpful info.

[26V]

West Systems

LOL >Hydroplay.. we could only wish .
Ryan, I get it from Jamestown also but by ordering online its normaly $67 per gal. They sell it cheaper online then in their cataloge.

[BROCCOLI]

Laurie has it right again. The East System is available from Noah's in Maine.

[ZUL8TR]

Any of you boat builders know where I can find West System for a decent price? The best I have found is www.aircraftspruce.com. They sell 105 Resin for 72.85/gal. I don't expect to find it much cheaper than that, but if anyone knows anything I would really appreciate it.

I have used 2:1 MAS with the med. hardner and West I believe with 4:1 and found MAS good with min blush and relatively easy to mix small amounts. Works well with all thickners. The west 4:1 is to sensitive a mix proportions unless you have good calibrated pump or other methods. I use no pumps just cheap vertical sided mixing containers with graduations.

The latest epoxy I am using with great success is from Clark Craft (link below). one (1) gal is $55 + shipping from New York. Product is a 1:1 mix for easy mix of any sized quantities. You have to like the hardner as there ios only one and it is equiv to a slow to med. time for pot life. Their Glue has much more pot time and can go to lower temps for the winter projects.

Their epoxy requires wet sanding for best results. I prefer this anyway as no dust but needs better control on the sanding to see what you are doing. Also The Clark Craft epoxy has no blush.

http://www.clarkcraft.com/cgi-suppli...abf6cb5631cc1d

[Dave M]

One Point to Ponder

Look at the physical properties on Epoxies. Any good company will make them available to see. You need to compare apples to apples. COmpare 4:1 to a 4:1 mix. The difference in strength is huge when you use a 1:1 mix.

So far West offers the best physcial properties I have seen. West System has their data on the website I believe.

I beleive a 1:1 mix is only good for low strength coatings. However, if you find it is strong enough to build your boats with, go for it. Can't argue with that.

West also make a caulking applicator for use. You still have to mix up the west though. Personally, I buy a bunch of ketchup bottles, like you find in a coffee shop, and fill those up and put a bead down the strigners, works well with little mess. Cheap too.

[Jeff Akers]

This is great info Keep it coming.

I have used West Systems on the "one and a half" boats I've built. I mesured the stroke of all my pumps and made marks on the pump shafts for small mixes.Seems to work pretty well with little waste.

I had no Idea the options that are availiable, It's good to know what others are using , thanks

[hydroplay]

Epoxies are like paint systems. Good results are available from numerous different manufacturers. Familiarity with a system is usually beneficial as most have some nuances. I do use West, have tried several others but always have returned to West. I probably use about 40 gal/year. I use the West hand pumps and mostly use only one squirt or 1/2 squirt of hardner and resin. Its easy to mix half-squirt batches so there is little waste. I also use any excess to coat inner pieces and use up any residual mixed resin. I only use the 205 and 207 hardners, the slower stuff is toooo slow. 207 is a nicer hardner for exterior coating- it is thinner and goes on smoother and sands well but takes longer to harden. Best part is that the hardner pumps are calibrated to the main resin pump so one squirt of each follows the correct ratio for each hardner so it is easy to go from one to the other (205 hardner is 5:1, 207 hardner is 3:1) While they scare you that ratios must be exact, eyeballing half squirts and sometimes even 1/3 squirt batches has always worked ok.

[ZUL8TR]

Look at the physical properties on Epoxies. Any good company will make them available to see. You need to compare apples to apples. COmpare 4:1 to a 4:1 mix. The difference in strength is huge when you use a 1:1 mix.

So far West offers the best physcial properties I have seen. West System has their data on the website I believe.

I beleive a 1:1 mix is only good for low strength coatings. However, if you find it is strong enough to build your boats with, go for it. Can't argue with that.

West also make a caulking applicator for use. You still have to mix up the west though. Personally, I buy a bunch of ketchup bottles, like you find in a coffee shop, and fill those up and put a bead down the strigners, works well with little mess. Cheap too.

---------------------------------------------------
You are correct in checking the specs but not all companies offer them for comparison. Also who is doing the test results they publish? There are no industry standards! What I do is make test joints with different grain alignments with plywood and spruce pieces and scarf joints with plywood then subject them to a torture test in pull apart and note loads. All epoxies I have tried fail at the wood rather then the glue joint. Also have let them age and then test with same results. Plus the boats stay together with much abuse.

BTW I have also constructed hulls with the pre epoxy glues like casin powder (Weldwood) and never had a joint fail. But using that type glue requires more precise joinery for a flat glue line for high strength since the casin glue is a poor filler and epoxy with thickner is a better filler if the joint is fair.

Thanks for your thoughts