Thread: Price of Epoxy

Howdy,

Most of the well regarded epoxy systems are about the same price. I used to be involved in wholesale and retail and the margins are not all that great.

There are some thinned down epoxies that are cheaper but not much good. When you sniff the epoxy it should have a slight ammonia smell, but no solvent smell at all.

Also most reputable epoxies are not 1:1 ratios - there is one made by System 3 which is a good company so I expect their 1:1 would be OK. But would avoid other 1:1s

The third thing to avoid is prethickened epoxy - there might be some good ones but most manufacturers will steer you toward ones that you thicken yourself using the right powder.

Best wishes
Michael

Originally Posted by newey

Is it just me, or is the price of epoxy ridiculously high? I am brand new to this building caper and just got pricing for the 4.8l West System kit with 4l of 403 thickening additive - $193.00 (admittedly this is the first quote). Plus another $49 if I want the plastic pump attachments. How does this compare to the other name brands (Bote Cote, FGI etc).

Does anyone have an opinion on which brand is best value for money? Or even better, any recommended stores in Melbourne where prices are half reasonable (if not completely).

Regards,

Ken

Ken, buy Bote Cote or West and be done with it. Yes, it's expensive but you'll find it lasts a long time and the pain of paying for it will fade before you have to get some more. Buy the proper powders too, rather than all the carry on trying alternatives - discussions on alternatives always turn out to be full of ifs buts and maybes. Spend the money on the pumps, they make the whole exercise a lot easier and cleaner.

Yes, it is expensive, however, a good epoxy system (including powders) is a critical part of your build. There are other ways of doing things but they bring with them a heap of complications and decisions.

Boats are bloody expensive things to build and epoxy is just one, small part of the game. Cost cutting generally involves a lot of mucking about and often includes compromises in quality. The boat building side alone will give you a steep enough learning curve without worrying about something as basic as the gluing system.

Go to your local chandlery and buy whichever of Bote Cote or West they have - you'll have to race off to buy emergency supplies in the future anyway so you'd might as well support the local bloke and what he stocks.

Richard

Ken, I suppose it depends to some extent on what you intend to do. I think the best price in some sort of recognised brand was from Whitworths, Epiglass 9000 I think it was, you could find the price, etc on their website. I used it for laminating repairs to ribs (too long a story to explain why I didn't replace ribs completely) in an otherwise traditionally constructed carvel timber sailing boat. I mixed using carefully placed lines on a disposable set of plastic cups, 4:1 I think, not too much waste. Used mdf strips cut on the saw bench for mixing and cheapo brushes (but not cheapo gloves, cant wear the latex things) for application. Mixed in the appropriate amounts of correct filler for making glue.

Like I said depends on what you want to do, I was doing a large number of small jobs where the glue was a strength factor, not the strength factor (still used roved copper nails). If I was laying up spar for a light aircraft, there would the specified epoxy with documentation, environmental control, proper pumps, test pieces (the other extreme).

Dont like epoxy much but do appreciate what it can do. I think there are some here, or on the woodenboat forum, who can advise on alternatives such as the formaldehydes or polyurethanes (such as purbond). Some of these can be easier to use. Hope this helps.

Adrian

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the words of the more experienced builders on this forum. I am about to commence my first build, so want to pay as much attention as possible to getting it right - including keeping a handle on all the costs. When I am finished I will try to give a summary of the costs involved for anyone who may be interested (first time builders).

I guess I wasn't expecting the epoxy costs to be that much - came as a shock. In the overall scheme of things I guess its a reasonable price to pay knowing you have the right product - and I'd certainly hate to lose interest because the gluing system lets me down.

I'll bite the bullet and go with the west system for this first build. Perhaps I,m naive but I don't intend for this to be my last - so I can try the other well known brands for the next build and compare.

Cheers,

Ken.

I know this may not help at all but i just bought a 4.8L kit for $137. Also the poders were around $37 for a 5L bag.

Even with postage it would come out cheaper to get it shipped here from Newcastle.

Cheers

Ace

It can be expensive, but you are paying for consistency, and all the certification they have to go through to get approved for use. Aviation stuff is much more expensive again...

Originally Posted by newey

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate the words of the more experienced builders on this forum. I am about to commence my first build, so want to pay as much attention as possible to getting it right - including keeping a handle on all the costs. When I am finished I will try to give a summary of the costs involved for anyone who may be interested (first time builders).

I guess I wasn't expecting the epoxy costs to be that much - came as a shock. In the overall scheme of things I guess its a reasonable price to pay knowing you have the right product - and I'd certainly hate to lose interest because the gluing system lets me down.

I'll bite the bullet and go with the west system for this first build. Perhaps I,m naive but I don't intend for this to be my last - so I can try the other well known brands for the next build and compare.

Cheers,

Ken.

Fork a bit more upfront if you are doing a new build and get more value!! 2 1/2 times the amount of the west kit for less than twice the price!!
Bote-Cote 12 Litre Epoxy Kit - $263.00 : Boatcraft Pacific. , Share our passion!

They have some victorian agents too to save you freight.
BoatCraft Pacific - Local Distributors Page

Mez

+ 1 for Bote-Cote, great product and locally produced.
Have also used West, excellent. The 'Gougeon Brothers on Boat Building' book is a great read, packed with valuable information.
Never had any problems with bloom using Bote -Cote and as Mezaire points out, good value for a for a top product

Good luck and enjoy your build.

given you intend to do further builds.I bought a BIG container of WEST resin for about $300 a few years back and it built a 14'Yellowtail,3 canoes and I still have some left,I just buy hardeners and fillers as I go for the job at hand.
Cheers,
Dave.

Couple of things.

Epoxy decreases in unit cost as you buy larger amounts, so if you can buy enough for your whole project up front.

Some agents mark up the product more than others.

FGI (Fiberglass international) have a good product that is suitable for most boatbuilding and it tends to be a tad cheaper than west and bote cote. Infact I note whitworths want $429 for 20l of epiglass, I thought fgi was cheaper than that.

Does anyone know of a system 3 agent in australia ? I've not found one.

Consider getting a slow hardener, particularly if your project is complex. I know your in victoria but it gets hot there sometimes, and having extra setting time can be a comfort when your starting out. Some brands offer slow fast and medium set times.

Remember epoxy's great vulnerability is UV, so don't leave your project out in the sun for 6 months before coating it.

I was a newbie too (and still am I guess) when I built the Eureka and found BoteCote really easy to use and it was workable for half an hour even here in Brisbane, I did however wish I had ordered more because I ran out due to a couple of stuff up's. I purchased the pumps too but don't think they were very accurate for small quantity's but worth the purchase for the convenience.

Col

I got the bote-cote stuff in a eureka kit from the duckery, my only beef was the pumps that came with it didnt screw onto the bottles or resin and hardner... But its easy to use from my limited experience.
Mike

Contact the ducks and they will send you the right sized pumps. I think that was an error.

MIK

If you want quality epoxy you should only ever go with west or bote cote the rest are nowhere near as good according to all scientific testing out there. Now whats the advantage of using one or the other wests is 5:1 easier to become hyper sensitive, suffers amine blush, includes some solvent in the mix and is Yank made and owned whereas the bote cote is a 2:1, does not suffer amine blush, has no solvent and is aussie made and owned. Ill leave it at that and let you make up your mind.