what kind of resin

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4x4kayak2112
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what kind of resin

Post by 4x4kayak2112 »

a guy up at boater world today had a BEAUTIFUL kayak, a stick and glue and we got to talking and he said he uses Polyester resin.....is this stuff REALLY any good for kayak building

i understand it gives off fumes, and what not, trust me, my "shop" is WELL vented
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4x4kayak2112
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Re: what kind of resin

Post by 4x4kayak2112 »

As i am doing a little bit of research i found that its also used with surfboards....

just 150 bucks for epoxy, 50 for poly
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DarrellS
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Re: what kind of resin

Post by DarrellS »

I use US Composites. Slow cure is $120.00 per three gallon kit. Good price on glass also.
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gerald
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Re: what kind of resin

Post by gerald »

Oh gosh--what can I say? Polyester has been used to build thousands of boats--maybe millions. Polyester worked and it still works. However it is older technology and there are much better resins to use today. If you've just got to have the resin that sets off almost instantly you would be better served by using something like vinylester. Yes--both smell, both are toxic, neither is completely waterproof (but it really doesn't make any difference for kayaks). Epoxy is much better, much stronger, less toxic, easier to work with, has little smell, and is a much better water barrier. Epoxy has about 4 times the adhesive strength of polyester.
If I had to rate the resins from 1 to 10 I'd give polyester a 3 or 4, vinylester a 7, and epoxy a 9 (because there are better resins than epoxy).
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bowgarguide
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Re: what kind of resin

Post by bowgarguide »

Dr Love
Every boat I have. is polyester, it will work.
Gerald listen up on this THE NEXT ONE I BUILD WILL BE EPOXY
Polyester use to be 20.00 a gallon ,the last gallon I bought was 35.00.
I can buy us composites 3 gallons for a 120.00. that is just 15.00 dollars diference for three gallons.
So I am going to try it ,I bet it drives me crazy drying so slow.
Ron
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gerald
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Re: what kind of resin

Post by gerald »

Ron: You can get different hardeners that make epoxy cure faster but for Texas during the summer especially it's best to you the slow, blushless epoxy. It's a 2 to 1 mix. I'm going to use the 3 to 1 mix during the winter. It's much faster, but not blushless. actually you should treat any epoxy as though it can blush--because they can.
cadruss2004
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Re: what kind of resin

Post by cadruss2004 »

What about polyurethanes? I see water based and solvent based versions for sale, water based seem to be less toxic.
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4x4kayak2112
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Re: what kind of resin

Post by 4x4kayak2112 »

cadruss2004 wrote:What about polyurethanes? I see water based and solvent based versions for sale, water based seem to be less toxic.
kinda like "Tompsons water sealer"???
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gerald
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Re: what kind of resin

Post by gerald »

cadruss2004 wrote:What about polyurethanes? I see water based and solvent based versions for sale, water based seem to be less toxic.
These are varnishes. The resins are used for building the boat.
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Re: what kind of resin

Post by gerald »

dr_love2112 wrote:
kinda like "Tompsons water sealer"???
This is a wood preservative and water repellant. Not anything like resin or polyurethane.
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