Epoxy ??

[regidog]

Hey Guys, I was at West Marine and they had an epoxy called Boat Yard epoxy 29$ a gallon. the West system was ~$80 a gallon. Whats the diffence out side of price?

[macojoe]

The Name ;)

[Geekie1]

MJ is right. West is a good product, however West's price is without a doubt the highest by far. West's tech support is excellent and when you are dealing with expensive chemicals and you are not a chemist, support is important. I use Raka, (raka.com) which is less than half the price of West and if you have a question and you call Raka, your question will probably be answered by Larry, the president of Raka. Alot of guys who are into building cedar strip kayak's and canoes prefer Raka because it doesn't blush and is much clearer than other epoxies. (Seeing the beautiful wood is important to them!!) I have also used US Composites and they are cheaper yet. Don't know about their tech support. Never needed to use it. Unless you live in Florida, you need to buy Raka or US Composites online. One thing to keep in mind, epoxy resin and hardener have an extremely long shelf life. (Over 10 yrs) Even after 10 years, the resin gets a darker color but still works fine so buying by the gallon makes sence. US Composites has an offbeat URL and I can't think of it off the top of my head, so I will post it on Tue or Wed. I hope this helps!!

Ed G.

[pikfish]

I think you are comparing "Boat Yard" Polyester Resin @$29 to West System Epoxy Resin. I have bought Polyester Resin as cheap as $12/gal in the past But Epoxy Resin is better and $45/gal++ .

[regidog]

I think your right. Another question: You can use epoxy resin over polyester resin but not vice versa?

[Geekie1]

The URL for US Composites is:

www.shopmaninc.com/resins.html

I hope this helps!!

Ed G.

[Hammerhead]

My take on West System is if your doing a repair job and wanna bond to exisiting glasswork West is best. If your laying up new work the polyester is fine. Just make sure it hasn't been sitting on the store shelf forever.