CHOOSING THE BEST RESIN FOR YOUR FIBERGLASS REPAIR PROJECTS

[@boatworkstoday]

If you're interested in a more in depth break down of working with these materials, here's a link to the download guide that I mentioned. Please note that the download key may end up in your spam folder so if there's any issues take a peek there. If something didn't work please let me know and I'll email it to you! www.boatworkstoday.com/product/fiberglass-101-download-guide-choosing-the-right-resin-for-your-project/

[@danielsarriola]

Hello. Do you have a place where I can ask you for a little advice? I have a cracked strake that I cut out and now have a 5x14 in cut out I need to patch on my hull. I just have a few questions Thank you for your time.

[@BruceTGriffiths]

Thank you so much for your wisdom. I brought back a 1971 Thompson Sidewinder 14SS almost entirely using your council and it absolutely rocks. Solid as a rock. I didn't know Shinolah about fiberglassing before watching your channel and it came out perfectly using West Systems Epoxy for most structural and then some Polyester on floorboards, etc... THANK YOU !!! :D

[@robhandford3006]

Andy, really miss your old stuff from 10-12 yrs ago.

[@andrewiannello6548]

Another great vid, recommend people slow it down and watch it two, three times. There are many stitch and glue designs where the naval architect calls for epoxy resin and you still want that gelcoat finish. There will be a bunch of these guys pulling there hair out about now haha. You should link your video of the gelcoat over epoxy tests, which showed us it is fine for poly over epoxy with the correct preparation. It might quell some of those comments

[@ekfinn]

I love me a good chemistry geeking-out video. Understanding the material and the material properties is the best way to avoid using the wrong tool for the wrong application. Just recently went with a Sherwin Williams marine product specifically because it was a phenalkamine epoxy barrier coat… very blush resistant in humid environments, and tolerates curing down to 20F and my nighttime temps were typically getting into the 40s. Chemistry knowledge is power, and saved ass pain from having to strip down good work and sweat equity that used the wrong product. Great video. You’re welcome to help me recore my deck anytime!!

[@trixdropd]

You were a great helkp last year when i redid my boat floor. I learned a lot from you.

[@FiberglassGuy]

Good info. There’s also different kinds of polyesters and vinyl esters with different gel times (20 mins - 2 hours at 77 degrees). Also different mekp with different kick off times.

[@countryracer69]

Attacking a new to me process doing a balsa core in a race boat. My plan was gonna be epoxy over a honeycomb lightweight core. But I have lots of friends in the unlimited hydroplane racing world. And 2 of them who I greatly respect stopped and schooled me. I will be using balsa and vinylester. I have never used vinylester. I will be revisiting some of your older videos to refresh my memory. In my case I need to match the outer skin of my hull to a certain level on the inner skin over the core. Oh and vacuum bagging coming too. You might say I am over my head! But I am also chasing triple digits and wanna be as safe as possible. Hope you are feeling good with your shoulder.

[@capitanschetttino8745]

Nice to see you again doing your stuff fully recovered!! Happy regards from Argentina!!

[@johnnylightning1491]

Good info Andy. Keep the good stuff coming.

[@TotalBoat]

What an informative video, Andy! Nice one!

[@joewinkler2168]

Great video! Going to be fixing a few gauges in my Bass boat. Really helpfull. Thanks for sharing!

[@schwarz6337]

I've watched your "There's A Hole In My Boat" series and you used laminating polyester resin. After hearing you say that polyester shouldn't be used on top of epoxy, I'm wondering how you determine whether the original FG you're repairing is epoxy or polyester?

[@paulcupach8196]

Great info! Straight forward, easy to follow.

[@greghorne8678]

You are the wind beneath my fibreglass wings.

[@stanleybest8833]

Now I'm more confused than ever.

[@dessilverson161]

In the UK we have 3 different catalysts for polyester as well. Slow or summer through to winter of fast.

[@peterihre9373]

Glad you"re back! Always intresting and well produced. Any Bertram progress?

[@boatworkstoday]

still very much healing, this kind of surgery is an 8-12 month recovery before I can really start giving it again :-/ Have almost full range of motion but zero strength

[@smncowardyahoo]

Truly Love Your Videos !!!!

[@kizzjd9578]

Epoxy for bonding dissimilar materials, ester for laminating. If you cant do the whole job in one hit with epoxy, dont worry about it. Also epoxy turns yellow and breaks down from uv exposure and needs to be painted or clear coated with a gelcoat or 2pack spray.

[@davestewart9146]

Thanks Andy 😁👍

[@peterhoad7570]

Always helpful when I’m thing of doing a job , dam shore your in my head🙀

[@mgunning7362]

Andy great vid however more info would be great comparing vinyl vs poly in the long run, not so much working with them, you covered that. Ive been lead to believe ester dries much stronger than poly, and bonds better as well. Your thoughts? Oh cost comparison would be cool as well.

[@tobiasarvedal9667]

When I using polyester at summer I have it standing on a cooling plate (for food). Then I have some extra time before it starts to cure.

[@eddiegiovanniello25]

Great Video brother

[@DarkSevariant]

Hi Andy, great video!! I have a question, if I may. I have a Class C RV, and I'm removing the upper window of the cabover area, and reskinning to solid. Using polywall as the skin to cover the window, and fiberglass over it. Here's where I'm getting stuck. I'm not building cabinets, or patching the hull of my Beneteau 50. I'm just covering a hole on my 1987 RV. I wanted to use polyester, but people are saying it's not truly waterproof. Others are saying use vinylester, because it is waterproof. If I use polyester finishing resin for the complete wet work, I'm only skinning with three layers of 1.5" Matt fiberglass, I'll get a hard waterproof surface. Can I use finishing resin for entire project? If I use polyester laminating, will it leak? Some are saying during the curing process, polyester releases gases, and that creates tiny bubble holes, where moisture gets in. Can't I just prime and paint over that? So many questions. I just am looking for an economical resin, that I can use on my Front top area of my RV, that won't turn into a sponge, and rot away, five years down the road. Economically, I'd like to use Poly, but I want a hard cure within 12-24 hours. Total wet work time, of layers, will probably be two hours. I'm going to apply multiple layers, stopping at three, and then I want to walk away, come back in a day, do a slight sand, apply primer and paint. Ultimately, I'm going to put a vinyl decal over it all, so I'm not looking for beauty, just water resistant....waterproof would be ideal. I know this is a bunch, but mainly looking for if I can use finishing resin for entire project, because I'm looking for a hard surface after 12 hours, if I use laminating poly, can I just paint, or should I step up, and use vinylester, for complete job, and not have to worry about waterproof, because everyone says vinylester is waterproof after cure. If you answer, thank you in advance.

[@-suncheez-]

Thank you, Andy, for all 10+ years of your blog. This is a true diamond on youtube for everyone getting involved into composites. I have a question for you, if you mind to answer: I have a plan building a huge arches on my boat to install a hard-top, covered with solar panels and also back arch gonna play a davits role too. And the question is - how do you think is better to attach the arches to the boat: put them deep through the deck and fiberglass to the hull, or bolted joints to the deck will be strong enough? How would you build that on your own boat? Boat: Bavaria 39 Deck: Sandwich (AFAIK) Hull: Sandwich (AFAIK)

[@vevenaneathna]

in 10 years we are all going to be looking back at epoxy resins and wondering why we were messing around with them. ya there are some pretty fancy epoxies comming out with really good thermal/insulation properties, but they smell and have uv issues/yellowing. i think there is some concern about health effects of off gassing, i could care less. polyurethane resins are the future. hard to find any info on this topic right now. some advanced mfg techniques are starting to come online for polyurethane fiberglass/carb/arimid pulltrusions. really fast mfg, near perfect orientation of fibers. 2d and even some 3d. was listening to some big wigs talk about the materials for 6th gen fighters and many future planes and i guess there is a big debate right now about leaving thermosets behind. thermoplastics have actually come a very long way like with uhm p-e. for some reason yt doesnt like it spelled all out in one word=shadow ban. im not sure about the 6th gen stuff but one of the issues with the timeline needed for NGAD and F/A-XX timelines is thermosets just take too long to build and proof/thruput autoclaves/hot spinning prepreg. also its hard to distribute, juicy target if there is only 2 ovens in the us that can bake the large fuse-lodge/wing. another reason why the f-22/f-35 isnt really repairable in the sense that aircraft were before hand, there is some degredation in radar crossection with any thermoset repair inherently. thermosets can litterally be fixed in the field with a hot stick, and a wide distribution of their mfg is much more easy to achieve, especially on the timelines needed for ngad+f/a-xx. anyways, but long tangent. people doing epoxy resin stuff should start experimenting with polyurethane as a resin. there are some products which are clearly meant for other applications which are not that expensive like PU roof sealant or flooring material. if they figure out youre using it to make high performance resins, then the price will shoot up 2 orders of magnitude lol.

[@leesmith5419]

I use epoxy for everything I've had very good luck using it

[@collinjhuls]

Adtech is another option as an in between for epoxy and gelcoats

[@fuzzymonkey-qe1xp]

Hey Andy. I did my wet work with polyester resin. But i purchased epoxy primer& barrier coat. And epoxy fairing compound. Doesn't sound like a gel coat is compatible with the epoxy

[@Bakanelli]

Specific question! have you ever ever had a problem when you put polyester based something over the epoxy that was well cured (like a week or so) and had any potential amine blush removed before applying poly ? Thank you Randy, a big fan of yours from Croatia (EU) 🤩

[@konaboi1845]

Can you gel coat over interlux 2000e barrier coat??? Thanks Andy for all the info. I’m a backyard boat rebuilding person on my first boat. I wish I could get on your pateron

[@stephenwieczorek8734]

Thank you!

[@donaldpetrey3064]

Can’t really even use poly here in southeast Alaska we only get maybe 20 days all summer above 65 so I have had to do all epoxy

[@Betterthanbought.]

Im doing stringers & the deck on my 18' crownline i talked with 2 composite manufacturers & 1 suggested i use their poly surfboard resin as its his strongest resin its uv resistant & water resistant after final coat/adding wax. Do you see any issues with using a poly surfboard resin to do everything on this job? Or go with epoxy? Plywood stringers Plywood floor glassed/tabbed back into hull sides then 2 layers of 1708 over the entire floor before carpet goes back down. Nothing will be gel coated or exposed but everything will see some water. (Floor will be covered with carpet) should i still paint/seal the deck before laying the carpet? Any help is greatly appreciated & thank you in advance for your time🙏

[@poepflater]

I'm making a small model boat about 3ft long, and want to cover it in surface tissue with resin on the inside where the hull meets the shell...I already bought epoxy resin and RTU, but still not sure it is the correct choice. I will be doing one side first and then when it is dry, it will be ground back on the edges until it is just big enough and I can put the sides on, then when ll is done the outside will also get tissue and resin. Only want to paint the bottom facing bits where it might wear against surfaces... and varnish over resin the rest. SO I need to be able to not do it all in one go.

[@scottschlather4945]

HaHa..you just described my casting deck project! 95 degrees in a metal shed! Weeee!

[@wesbosse5708]

Will polyester resin work for installing stringers? Does it hold as well as epoxy resin? Or should I use epoxy and then sand the filets before laminating with polyester?

[@MRKUE]

Thank You Andy! You know I'm waiting to Cut the floor out of my boat , Probably this summer( Gates of hell weather lol). yes south Florida gets Hot!

[@twisterwiper]

I am a bit confused. I have a hole from a speaker in my cockpit forward bulkhead I would like to close. I don’t know if my boat was built using epoxy or polyester. What should I use in this case? I assume most boats have gelcoat finish, so are most boats built using polyester?

[@12OKLOK]

I am about to do transom and stringers. I got a 5 gallon of poly resin but it says perfect for marine and auto (above waterline). The guy I got my resin from runs a repair shop and says he uses it but I am hesitant. Is this okay or should I look for a different resin? The one I got is ClearCote General Purpose low profile laminating resin. Product code is 124445 Love the videos! They've helped a lot! Thank you!

[@Philaffy1]

So...I understand using epoxy to bond a core like balsa onto the bottom (call it "subfloor" glass) material, and that won't affect the use of poly resin for laminating the new glass layups on top, but if the balsa is scored, and is bonded to the subfloor, how do you pre-wet the balsa with poly resin to get it into all the scoring, or is that not critical and whatever finds its way into the scoring is "good enough" because pre-wetting poly will be unthickened?

[@andrii.b9788]

I am confused. In your old video, you tested the gel coat over epoxy and concluded that it was totally fine. What has changed? kzbin.info/www/bejne/fai2ZYydpKx5o5o&ab_channel=BoatworksToday I don't try to be rude. As a new boater, I want to tackle a small project of closing holes from old instruments in the sailboat cockpit. As that referenced video showed up recently in my suggestions, I thought of using epoxy as It is a small patch. My considerations were: I already have epoxy, the same as in your old video; polyester has a short shelf time. I will have to throw away the can after the project as I will use only a small part for the project, and I hate throwing away stuff, especially when it contains harmful chemicals.

[@ProFinishCoating]

Can I use polyaspartic or polyurea epoxy?

[@dckakadia]

I'm working on bonding ABS material with resin but having trouble finding the right fit. I've tried both epoxy and polyester resin, but the results haven't been ideal-FRP hardens once it dries, while ABS remains flexible, so they don’t bond well together. Does anyone have recommendations on a resin or adhesive that could work better for this? I'd appreciate any insights or suggestions

[@RobertMatichak]

@boatworkstoday So can we assume that any production boat covered in gelcoat, has a vinylester fibreglass base? Great video. Thanks!!

[@boatworkstoday]

Production boats bet on original construction being either poly or vinyl unless it's a 7 figure boat then it's likely epoxy :-)

[@RobertMatichak]

@@boatworkstoday why is a 7 figure boat most likely to be epoxy? Expensive?

[@boatworkstoday]

epoxy is quite a bit more expensive and at that level they're also using more technical materials like carbon and balancing the strength to weight ratio's more closely (more entailed build overall).

[@lawrenceveinotte]

How can you identify what resin was used before you try to repair it? Thanks

[@boatworkstoday]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYLOnoNuhcpne5I&pp=ygUgIGJvYXR3b3JrcyB3aGF0IHJlc2luIGJvYXQgYnVpbHQ%3D

[@OConnorIngemar-l6u]

Ashtyn Forest

[@WilliamDana-z1w]

Schinner Coves

[@fourscarriers7551]

hey brother what's up with the Butrum?

[@boatworkstoday]

still very much healing, this kind of surgery is an 8-12 month recovery before I can really start giving it again :-/ Have almost full range of motion but zero strength. Bertram patiently waiting :-)

[@fourscarriers7551]

@@boatworkstoday I copy about healing and we need you back at 100%. keep the education coming

[@Valk69]

Has anyone found a CSM (chopped strand mat) that is more compatible with epoxy? The binders in normal CSM are made to be soluble in poly. Its kinda "stiff" using epoxy.

[@jc9474]

You need a powered csm for epoxy

[@prussiaaero1802]

Andy, do you know you a leaning right, right shoulder low? By-product of surgery no doubt.

[@jim-jf5rn]

Tropical hardener???

[@boatworkstoday]

www.totalboat.com/products/tropical-extra-slow-epoxy-kits

[@MikeMuldowney-k1h]

Willms Ferry

[@billscreations1999]

West system is the best system

[@TerryMonville]

I find it odd that you say you can't gel-coat over epoxy as I have been doing gel-coat repair over WEST SYSTEM for 30+ years

[@II.Selena-t4g]

Emelie Place

[@Arnaud58]

What I missed is that epoxy consists of 100% solids, so zero shrinking and zero permeability, polyester on the other hand does not. The curing releases material that needs to damp out, styreen. That leaves it's mark in shrinking and a certain damp permeability.👴🤷‍♂

[@jay24232]

Andy I need a lil guidance on my project please reach out to me

[@CharleyRaisin-c9v]

Zboncak Lane

[@FridayNightZombies]

You mentioned here that gel coat isn't compatible with epoxy layup here, but don't really explain why. I've seen on your channel testing showing gel coat will stick to an epoxy layup just fine -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXmkk6ydodWjaa8 Just curious, what's behind the change of opinion?

[@yinleifu]

Love your videos, but I have one question: A decade ago you, yourself, pretty much proved that gelcoat over epoxy works, and it works as well as gelcoat over polyester, yet you have in several videos repeated the common notion that gelcoat doesn't work well over epoxy. I understand gekcoat can be made to chemically bond to polyester wheres it needs to bond mechanically with epoxy, which, of course, makes a difference in how you apply it. For example, on polyester you just apply the gelcoat onto the last layer of laminating polyester (without wax), whereas on epoxy, you must remove the amine blush and probably also sand the surface for good mechanical bonding. But why not make this clear instead of contradicting your own research. I am simply asking since I wonder if you have changed your mind since that video about gelcoat over epoxi, and if so, why? Oh, BTW, here's a link to the video I am referring to: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXmkk6ydodWjaa8

[@boatworkstoday]

The main factor is that not all epoxies are created equal (there's different ingredients and ratio's of components which give different brands their unique properties which can greatly effect the ability for other non-epoxy based materials to cure and / or bond). Even with the most "compatible" epoxies there's quite a process to try and stack the odds in your favor which typically isn't practical in most situations. Minimum 2 week post cure above 75F, thorough cleaning multiple times, thorough sanding, cleaning again then you can try applying the gelcoat. Are there situations where it can be successfully done? Yes but only with the right combination of materials. Throwing out a blanket statement that gel overtop epoxy isn't a problem sets me and anyone trying it up for probable failure so IMO it's much a safer bet to play it safe and not push boundaries :-)

[@yinleifu]

@@boatworkstoday This is close to what I expected. When you tested it 9 years ago it was with a specific brand, a brand that also makes claims about it being compatible with gelcoat, so I guess I understand your thinking, better safe than sorry. Thanks for answering.

[@mrgoldfpv7331]

Few years ago i send some sports on the bottom of my boat(Epoxy )and applied gelcoat without any barrier thing and the gel coat is still there.I don’t know what to think

[@JeannetteStewart-j7x]

Wiegand Lake

[@chrisparker9886]

Epoxy fanboys 😂 (Yeah, I'm one)! 😁