Adhesives Used In The Marine Industry

Epoxy has a wide acceptance in the marine industry, and should be used quite frequently in place of other adhesives, especially in the area of boat and ship repair when high strength and moisture resistance are factors of great importance. To properly use epoxy specifically designed for the marine industry one must first understand the basics. This is a two part adhesive, just like a regular epoxy used for various bindings and materials consisting of a resin and a hardener.

Quick-sets of epoxy used in the marine industry are typically 1:1 by volume, so that identical amounts are squeezed from syringes and tubes and mixed to a uniform color and consistency. They usually achieve their strength in 10 minutes or less, and a full cycle within 24 hours, but they rarely reach the high strength that the slow sets do, and quite often retain some flexibility and resilience. Slow-sets of epoxy used in the marine industry allow more open or working time, and can take up to 24 hours to cure. The advantages are superior strength, water resistance and gap filling capability.

They don't take the same large amount of pressure as other adhesives, and as a matter of fact, too much pressure can force the marine epoxy out of the joint. The gap filling capability is no excuse for poor workmanship in the marine industry, but if a mistake is made, epoxy can be very forgiving. The viscosity of marine industry type epoxy can be changed easily by the adding up of fillers such as sawdust, wood flour and talc. Probably the greatest advantage using epoxy in the marine industry where any detail has great importance is the ability to join dissimilar materials. The adhesion factor is as great on metal as it is on wood, but non-porous materials need to be roughed up to augment the bond

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