Bulk Quick-Drying Epoxy?
July 21, 2007 9:01 AM Subscribe
Recommendations for bulk quantity of two-part epoxy: quick-drying, metal-based?
I use a lot of JB Kwik epoxy for various repairs. It's great stuff and I've become accustomed to its beneficial properties (easy to mix, dries very quickly, very strong, etc.).
The only downside is it's expensive at $5-$6 a pack for retail, and I find myself running to the hardware store for more far too frequently. Online it's not much cheaper, and the sites selling it really cheaply I imagine are selling stuff that is expired (I've gotten a few bad tubes before).
For an industrial product like this I'm sure that large quantities of virtually identical materials are available at a fraction of the retail price, but I've had no luck finding such a product. (I did find Lab Metal, but drying time can apparently be quite slow for hunks of it and the tensile strength is less than 1/3rd that of JB Kwik).
What I'm looking for is a quart or more of fast-drying, two-part, metal-filled epoxy, hopefully around $50 or so. I've had bad luck with store-brand epoxies in terms of drying time and adhesion, so quality of the product is important. Shelf life might be an issue too since a large amount would last me several years. Any recommendations are most appreciated.
I use a lot of JB Kwik epoxy for various repairs. It's great stuff and I've become accustomed to its beneficial properties (easy to mix, dries very quickly, very strong, etc.).
The only downside is it's expensive at $5-$6 a pack for retail, and I find myself running to the hardware store for more far too frequently. Online it's not much cheaper, and the sites selling it really cheaply I imagine are selling stuff that is expired (I've gotten a few bad tubes before).
For an industrial product like this I'm sure that large quantities of virtually identical materials are available at a fraction of the retail price, but I've had no luck finding such a product. (I did find Lab Metal, but drying time can apparently be quite slow for hunks of it and the tensile strength is less than 1/3rd that of JB Kwik).
What I'm looking for is a quart or more of fast-drying, two-part, metal-filled epoxy, hopefully around $50 or so. I've had bad luck with store-brand epoxies in terms of drying time and adhesion, so quality of the product is important. Shelf life might be an issue too since a large amount would last me several years. Any recommendations are most appreciated.
do you need the quick-set kind? jb-weld sells the industro size in 2 x 5oz tubes (instead of the normal 2 x 1oz), and it's the same stuff as normal jb weld, just there's more of it.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 2:18 PM on July 21, 2007
posted by sergeant sandwich at 2:18 PM on July 21, 2007
I've tried mixing a number of mineral powders with epoxy in order to create a home-made epoxy putty.
You don't say why you need a metal as the inorganic filler, so you might consider that a more ordinary mineral filler may be sufficient.
I've had outstanding success with using fly ash as the mineral diluent. Fly ash is sold as a concrete additive, and is actually a waste product of coal burning, and is sold very cheaply. I got an 80 pound bag of the stuff here in Seattle for $6.50!
posted by Tube at 2:37 PM on July 21, 2007
You don't say why you need a metal as the inorganic filler, so you might consider that a more ordinary mineral filler may be sufficient.
I've had outstanding success with using fly ash as the mineral diluent. Fly ash is sold as a concrete additive, and is actually a waste product of coal burning, and is sold very cheaply. I got an 80 pound bag of the stuff here in Seattle for $6.50!
posted by Tube at 2:37 PM on July 21, 2007
also it's worth pointing out that there are tons of chemical companies out there that sell different kinds of epoxies (like this from loctite or these from.. uh, some german company) but you're going to have to call a distributor and ask for a quote, like an industrial customer would.
(also, dont forget to pay attention to units, jb-kwik's 2100 psi tensile strength is 14 MPa for comparison's sake.)
posted by sergeant sandwich at 2:47 PM on July 21, 2007
(also, dont forget to pay attention to units, jb-kwik's 2100 psi tensile strength is 14 MPa for comparison's sake.)
posted by sergeant sandwich at 2:47 PM on July 21, 2007
Response by poster: Thanks for all the tips. The Devcon products look useful, and the larger standard JB Weld product would be helpful.
I like the metal-filled epoxy simply because it's stronger...adding my own filler might be a good solution, although it does decrease the simplicity somewhat.
I will check the Loctite & German products as well. I have tried a few different brands and am not married to the JB stuff...I've just had good luck with it and like the ease of use.
posted by jjsonp at 3:11 PM on July 21, 2007
I like the metal-filled epoxy simply because it's stronger...adding my own filler might be a good solution, although it does decrease the simplicity somewhat.
I will check the Loctite & German products as well. I have tried a few different brands and am not married to the JB stuff...I've just had good luck with it and like the ease of use.
posted by jjsonp at 3:11 PM on July 21, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
However, if it were me and I just needed small quantities over several years, I would just buy the tubes.
posted by JackFlash at 10:57 AM on July 21, 2007