The resin in the 2oz solarez kit (75800) is the same resin
as what I have described. On teh other hand, the VE resin contains
styrene monomer and will kill EPS foam. The only Soalrez resin
compatible with EPS foam is the Solarez “Epoxy”. Sorry for the
confusion. Sometimes it’s difficult making nomenclature for the public
and keeping different market’s needs in perspective too. The Solarez
vinyl ester (VE) epoxy is used by many people for repair of Jet Ski,
Sailboard, Kayak, Snowmobile, motorcycle and jsut a few minutes ago I
responded to a guy fixing synthetic marble and shower stalls. Standard
(bis-phenolA) Epoxies work well but there are a gazillion types and
many require perfect mixing and post-curing schedules for hours at
+200°F. UV cure VE epoxy always assures a complete cure and
better-than-average strength in just a few minutes, unlike the 5-minute
2-part epoxies we are so familiar with.
Thanks for the info. Sorry I have a bunch more questions for you:
1. Are you going to release a version of the resin in your 75800 kit in a quantity that we can use for laminating?
2. How is it’s yellowing track record? Is it better than the vinyl ester or about the same?
3. Presumably it is somewhat stronger than the vinyl ester “epoxy”, is that true?
Does it blush?
Does it degrade quickly in the sun? (i.e. would it require a UV-blocking layer of some other resin over the top of it?)
If you’re looking to test your epoxy against other brands here is an easy and effective study format, done by an expert in building wood/epoxy kayaks: http://www.oneoceankayaks.com/Epoxtest.htm
Other folks here might find the results of these kinds of tests interesting as well. I learned a lot about epoxies from the kayak builder’s research (Vaclav Stejskal is his name).