Quick cure epoxy

[Dan Gaylin]

Has anyone compared the West Systems G5 with the System Three Quick Cure 5?

I’m interested In knowing your preferences. I like the West Systems G5 (haven’t tried the System Three product but have used System Three T88). The G5 does seem to go bad in the bottle pretty quickly and it’s not cheap.

Thanks for any insights

-dan

[Alan Gage]

I've used neither but have used a handful of other epoxies for building a dozen or more canoes. I don't get too worked up about brand figuring that any of the good ones are going to be good enough. I mostly switch to get the consistency I want (thinner for wetting out cloth, thicker for fill coats) or something that offers a longer open time. Some will work at lower temps and others require 80+ degrees. Raka is my general go-to. I usually buy the fast and slow hardeners, which I can mix to get a medium cure rate if desired.

Can you elaborate on going "bad in the bottle"? It's my understanding from multiple epoxy manufacturers that there is essentially no shelf life on resin or hardener. Hardener will darken with age and resin can crystalize but it can be brought back to life like honey. Despite both of these happening there is supposed to by little effect on strength and cure. I've used resin/hardener that have been 5+ years old and talked to people who have used it at 10+ yearss

Alan

[Dan Gaylin]

Thanks Alan that’s helpful insight. You are right about bad in the bottle needing clarification. In my case what has happened a couple of times with the G5 is that I have replaced the plastic gasket that seals the plastic bottle from the nozzle after using it. I am very careful not to cross contaminate the resin and hardener. But the nozzle of the hardener gets stuck on the bottle with the gasket in place. And even in my vice I can’t get it to unscrew so I can remove the gasket. I could really torque on it but then I expect I will just end up tearing open the bottle and with a huge mess on my hands. Perhaps I should have not replaced the gasket but it seemed like the best way to keep the material “fresh”