OPINION!

One size does not fit all. One design is not satisfying to all people.

I've gotten used to System Three which uses a 2:1 mix. West System (Gougeon
Brothers) uses a 5:1 mix. Both are vendors who have satisfied customers for
decades. Neither is bamboozling the customers. They use their own products
and document the results. IMHO, the lower the ratio, the less you
compromise the final product, but "acceptable" is a compromise and there is
a range of "good enough."

The stuff we used on the F-16, F-22, and A-12 was quite different from what
I use in the barn for my boat, and the difference didn't happen in the
user's shop. Are you prepared to use an oven and follow a careful post-cure
time/temperature schedule to achieve the results you want? Caution, it may
take several tries to get it right. On A-12, several LARGE center wing
assemblies were unusable because the thermostat wasn't accurate.

The stuff from Dow is not suitable for use in boat building. We typically
use a "room temperature" cure and want a bond which is compatible with a
wooden structure. Check out http://epoxy.dow.com/products/p-liquid.htm
Building an aircraft structure, repairing a china cup, patching an engine
block ... all require different additives.

Boat builders are not a stupid, uneducated group. Don't think you are the
first to wonder about "contributed value."

Roger (BSE-Physics, Univ. of Illinois)

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

"Courtney Thomas" wrote in message
ink.net...
Paul Oman wrote:
snip
So, is the bottom line that....if you can find a 1:1 or 2:1 mix that will
satisfy your needs, that's the best way to go and the more exotic
formulations are also more circumscribed in terms of usage hence more
likely to be inappropriately applied, such as low temp applications, etc.,
that ultimately don't properly cure due to a flawed application process,
hence fail ?

Would this be just one more example of vendors bamboozling customers with
attempts at masking a generic product with proprietary 'technology',
witness the auto manufacturers and their glomming onto electronics, or do
some actually have worthwhile differences and related costs and
PERFORMANCE, that justify their claims and charges ?