An Overview
Tropical Hardwood Epoxy Adhesive is tougher, more flexible and of greater viscosity than our Layup & Laminating™ Epoxy Resin and specially designed for exceptional adhesion to dense oily hardwoods. Bond strength exceeds the sheer strength of the wood when bonding Burmese teak, white oak, osage orange, apetong and araki. Bond strength is comparable to the shear strength of lignum vitae. It will laminate/fill/glue all woods, hard and soft, as well as cured resin/glass laminates or most metals with proper surface pretreatment. It has a reduced tendency to drip or run and is therefore more suitable for applications on vertical or overhead surfaces, or for application to wood which must be carried elsewhere for assembly. It mixes milky white and then clears. For a slightly thinner product, let it sit for about 15 minutes in the pot before applying. NOTE: see below for using this product in conjunction with Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer™

• Normal coverage is approximately 45 sq. ft. per gallon at 1/32" (4.1 sq. m. per 3.8 l. at 0.8 mm.). This is the minimum recommended amount to get a strong glue joint. Any less, and there is a risk of not having enough glue in the joint, commonly referred to as "starving the joint". When bonding rough surfaces it is often necessary to use twice as much glue or more to avoid starving the joint. In these cases, coverage will be reduced by half or more. When clamping glue joints, be careful not to over-tighten the clamps.
  
  
• Mixes 50:50 by volume. Mix is not critical + or - 10% off volumes will not alter properties significantly.
  
  
• Pot life is 4 hours at 72° F (22° C). It will be tack-free in about 12 hours at 72° F (22° C), and 90% cured in 2 days at 72° F (22° C). Full chemical cure will take about 2 weeks at 72° F (22° C). Pot life and cure time will be doubled at 54° F (12° C), and cut in half at 90° F (32° C)
  
  
• Superior wetting properties. Will wet all known woods. Oily hardwoods need no pretreatment. A freshly saw-cut or sanded surface is adequate surface preparation (If you want to use the Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer, do so AFTER bonding with the Tropical Hardwood Epoxy Adhesive, OR if the surface is already treated with the CPES, lightly sand or scuff the surface and wipe down with lacquer thinner before applying Tropical Hardwood Epoxy Adhesive.)
  
  
• Cured resin highly flexible--distributes stress over a much wider area than petro-based resin products.
  
  
• Special adhesion-enhancing ingredient gives a chemical and adhesive bond to dense hardwoods regardless of the natural oil content.
  
  
• Four-hour thin film setting allows solvent clean-up of excess glue outside joints, laminates or filled areas.
  
  
• Heavier consistency reduces drips and holds better in small gaps. This consistency is obtained without the use of Cab-O-Sil or other fillers, but through the use of high molecular weight wood-derived resins of high purity.
  
  
PLEASE NOTE


• Tropical Hardwood Epoxy Adhesive is especially useful where flexability is critical.
  
  
• Tropical Hardwood Epoxy Adhesive is not recommended for curing in cold weather. For a dependable cure below 50° F (10° C). use the All Wood Glue.
  
  
• Tropical Hardwood Epoxy Adhesive has a long shelf life if kept sealed and not allowed to freeze.

Some useful information from the Rot Doctor . . .
Wood is a flexible material composed of long fibers consisting mainly of cellulose (a kind of very high molecular weight sugar) with lots of chemical groups called hydroxyl groups. These readily bond weakly (hydrogen bonds) with water. The wood will swell and shrink depending on the amount of water that has bonded with the cellulose. To get a good bond with paint, epoxy, urethane or any other coating, you need to reduce the amount of water (and saps and oils) and form a bonding surface for the coating. This is exactly what Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer does and why it is the most important first step for preparing wood for any kind of coating. You will never get a good rotten wood repair without the CPES. You may get a surface bond without the CPES if natural conditions are just right, but we will guarantee a permanent bond with the Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer.

That said, let's now look at epoxy resins. Each manufacturer/distributor/formulator discuss their particular resins, activator ratios, blushing, etc. --and how much resin you're getting for your dollar. All very interesting. But what about the virgin resin itself? Where does that come from? And does it make a difference?

Approximately 75% of all virgin epoxy resin sold in the U.S. comes from three manufacturers: Shell, Dow and Ciba-Geigy. Only Ciba-Geigy is not back-integrated. These resins are almost always petroleum-based resins (oil, natural gas) and are in turn sold to manufacturer-distributors, such as WEST. They can be "doctored" to some extent, bottled/drummed and sold with activators of various intensities. Price is critical because most epoxy resin in the marine market goes to manufacturers, marine retail outlets, shops and yards --and we know all about that.

Virgin epoxy resin can also be obtained from wood. It's more expensive to obtain, but yields a tougher and more flexible cured product than petroleum-based products. TRY THIS TEST: Take whatever epoxy resin you're using, mix it with activator as per directions, and pour a small pool on a piece of visquine or plastic wrap. Let it cure. Now pick it up and break it. It snaps apart, right? Some even shatter with flying shards (wear safety glasses!). Make the same test with any of our epoxies and you'll see a dramatic difference--tougher and more flexible. Now we ask you: Which do you want in and on your wood? All the epoxy products that THE ROT DOCTOR sells are manufactured from wood derived resins. We do this because we know that from start to finish you'll get a better, tougher more flexible bond when repairing wood in your boat or house. Remember, wood is flexible and anything you add to it or on it should be flexible as well. More expensive, sure, but most good things are. You might as well buy the best.

Pic above: Here's a 1/8" thick puddle of our Tropical Hardwood Epoxy Adhesive, cured for 2 weeks at 72° F (22° C). It's thick, heavy and tough, but still bendable-- just about like an 1/8" sheet of wood. Pure resin--no additives.

For additional information, refer to the Tropical Hardwood Epoxy Adhesive Material Safety Data Sheet.