Has anyone used both the RR epoxy and the Fiberglass Hawaii epoxy? If so how are they similar or different? Which do you prefer or they both basically the same? Mike
Based on my limited experience with both (6 boards with RR, 10 with FH…aka Aluzine resin)…
RR epoxy w/ additive F is easier to mix , due to the low viscosity of the resin and seems to soak into the cloth quickly. The drawback I’ve found is that the additive F seems to make the resin a little milky and it becomes noticeable in the tail and nose areas of the boards, where resin tends to collect or where multiple layers of cloth overlap.
The FH resin is more viscous and takes more stirring to get a uniform mixture with the hardener. the resin has a slight yellow tint as well, but the color seems to go away in the mixture. They have developed their own additive, which seems to cloud the epoxy less than RR’s additive F. Once the resin and hardener are mixed, it becomes thin enough to soak into the cloth easily.
Both seem to sand out equally as easily (or difficult, if you’re used to poly), as long as you use the respective additive (surfacing agent). I’ve become preferential to the FH epoxy system now that they’ve developed their surfacing agent. The boards turn out whiter than any poly board I’ve made and it doesn’t seem to be as cloudy as the RR system. If you can, use a scale and weigh out resin/hardener. It seems to really affect mix quality and strength of the epoxy.
Hope this helps.
A few things,
RR epoxy is clearer and stays clearer longer and us more UV stable. You can do a couple test panels and stick em on the roof for a few weeks and confirm this.
Additive F turns the resin a bit milky but this clears up after the resin has kicked. The only times ive seen the milkyness stay in the glassjob is if the resin was overworked and pulled or reused out to the lap areas.
People here in Hawaii that use FH from what ive seen and heard tend to use polyester hotcoats since the FH aluzine is diffcult to sand and difficult to get a nice sanded finish even with their surfacing agent. RR is much easier to sand.
RR has a lower exotherm and doesnt heat up as quickly as aluzine. Many people have told me that they literally smoked their fin plugs with aluzine.