This is not a book about boat construction; it’s a book about using epoxy resin in boat construction. The value of this book lies in the background of its authors. These people are chemists. They explain why they sell four different formulae for epoxy resins, and they pull no punches about safety – they suggest you take your business elsewhere if you’re not going to pay attention.
The chapter on measuring and mixing systems alone makes this book worth reading. It deals with weight and volume techniques, error ranges, and problem symptoms.
The heart of the book concerns the techniques of epoxy use. Coating, fiberglassing, fillers, structural adhesives, filling, fairing, and molding are all covered. Do you know the difference between thixotropic and bulking agents? Maybe you should. What about the different additives that improve tensile strength? You’ll read this section many times. It’s packed with real advice. For example: “We now recommend against using acetone or similar solvents for cleaning the surface to be glassed. Much acetone sold today is reclaimed and may have impurities that interfere with secondary bonding by leaving a film of residue on the surface.”
There’s more good advice about painting epoxy and its use for specific jobs on boats of all materials, but it doesn’t stop at the back cover. There’s also a complimentary booklet called The Epoxy Catalog that lists the materials you need, including resins, cloth, fillers, additives, and measuring and mixing systems. And, while the subject is serious, the illustrations are not. Both books are filled with cartoons by an artist from Queensland, Australia. Very droll.
Aren’t these books simply a marketing tool? Of course. But at least you understand their agenda. By teaching you about a confusing subject, they hope that you will buy their products instead of someone else’s.
Even if you decide to use another brand of epoxy, the rules are the same. And, even if you don’t fix anything with it, won’t it be nice to understand your repair people when they talk about applying diglycidol ether of biphenyl A?
The Epoxy Book by W. Kern Hendricks (A System Three Resin Publication)
