Others: Mixes five to one, ratio critical. Must be within two percent
according to manufacturer. Ten percent off one way or the other gives VERY
degraded properties. Smith & Co: Mixes one-to-one, entirely forgiving of minor errors in ratio, Ten
percent one way or the other and you'll never know the difference.
Others: Short working time, mix a bunch and it goes off HOT, smoking toxic
fumes. Smith & Co: LONG working time, in excess of an hour. No fireballs. No smoking.
Others: Won't reliably glue oak [random acids in the wood] or teak, other
oily hardwoods. Their applications people admit this. Smith & Co: Not affected by acids in oak or other acidic woods. Not affected
by natural wood oils, and no special solvent cleaning, etc., needed. Just
saw-cut and sand to remove any surface saw-glaze, and glue it.
Others: Famous for its "blush", an oily film formed by exudation of
plasticizers [diluents] out of the resin system as it cures. This “blush” must
be sanded or chemically clean off to get anything to stick. Smith & Co: Doesn't blush because we don't use cheap ingredients such as
benzyl alcohol.
Others: Very brittle. Smith & Co: Not brittle.
Test for yourself: Pour a puddle of theirs and some of my glue on a piece of
clean polyethylene such as a plastic bag. Let them both cure, say, two days at
a comfortable room temperature. Peel off the polyethylene sheet, so you have
a thin puddle of epoxy. Hold between your thumbs and forefingers, and bend the
puddle until it breaks. Notice how theirs breaks like a piece of glass, even
with splinters flying up in the air [wear eye protection...this is dangerous.]
Notice how mine bends farther and breaks cleanly.
Which do you think is a better match to the properties of wood, a flexible
substance?
Others: Made with petrochemicals and diluents [benzyl alcohol, cannot
dissolve natural wood oils. Smith & Co: Made largely with natural wood resins, which is why it is so
compatible with all kinds of wood. Contains no diluents or extenders.
Others: Contains "hydroxybenzene", a clever way of camouflaging the fact that
it is really made with Phenol [the correct name of "hydroxybenzene"]. Phenol is
a POISON, and easily absorbed through the skin. As little as two grams of
phenol has proven LETHAL. Here's an MSDS for Phenol:
http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/PH/phenol.html Smith & Co: Contains none of that stuff.
Others: Their formula limits the thickness of the glue to one choice. Fillers
must be added to thicken. This limits the gap filling properties of a clear
glue joint. Smith & Co: The products are made so the user can match the viscosity of the
epoxy to the job without the need to use fillers. Our epoxy ranges from water
thin to peanut butter thickness. Of course the usual thickening agents can be
used like the other epoxies should the application require thickening.
Others: Their web site advises against thinning their epoxy. A 10% thinning
with acetone will create a 70% degradation of molecular bond. In addition clear
coating with thinned epoxy will create microscopic pinholes in the coating as
the solvent escapes before full cure. These holes nullify the intent of clear
coating. On top of this is the “blush” to be removed. Smith & Co: Using CPES as a sealer under paint or varnish gives a more reliable
bond. For a full moisture barrier, High Build Epoxy Paint remains flexible and
can be sanded for recoating with any paint. The same properties associated in
the epoxy glue are also incorporated in the epoxy paint. This allows a
seamless chemical match from start to finish.
Others: Their formula requires full cure before any additional coatings can
be applied. Remember to remove that blush! Smith & Co: The no blush formulation allows recoating during the semi-cured
stage to assure a chemical bond instead of a mechanical bond. A chemical bond
is stronger. A semi-cured coating can be faired using a rag soaked in Epoxy
Clean Up Solvent. This quality removes the time usually required to grind and
sand between layups or paint layers.
