What Epoxy System do I Choose?

What Resin Do I Need and Why?

At times this can be a challenging decision for our customers. One big advantage to the Resin Research Brand is that we have a wide variety to choose. But this variety can often be overwhelming for the customers.

Let’s start at the top…. first you must answer hand layup or infusion.

• Hand Layup Resin Products
  • Mix Ration: by volume, 2/1; by weight 100/45
  • Products: range from 1980 to 2040
    • 1980 is the highest viscosity, tends to be the stiffest. You will want to use this resin when your application requires the extra stiffness and strength. This product is a good selection for adhesives due to the high viscosity of resin will keep the resin from draining out of the glue line.
    • 2000 is the go-to product for almost all surfboard builders on their lamination coat. The 2000 series provides the extra strength required on foam blanks, excellent on fiberglass boards, and carbon fiber marine composites.
    • 2020 is commonly used for wood board builders. 2020 is a bit easier to work with over 2000 (viscosity standpoint). You can use 2020 on wood boards since the wood board helps provide additional strength to the overall construction. Use 2020 on synthetic composites/fabrics such as nylon, polyester, bamboo, and hemp. 2020 is chosen with synthetics because the resin must match the elongation of the fibers.
    • 2040 is the lowest viscosity and highest flexibility product in the 2:1 system. This product is used widely in marine because of the flexibility of the resin. The flexibility allows for dents and dings rather than cracking when impacts occur. 2040 is an excellent choice for fillers (Cab-O-Sil) to make a puddy to fill gaps or make a radius in a corner.
  • Hardener:
    • 2100 Series: Fast, Slow, XSlow, this depends mostly on ambient temp, size of the project, and desired cure time.
  • Infusion Resin Products
    • Mix Ration: by volume, 3/1; by weight 100/30
    • Products: range from 2050 to 2090
      • 2050 is the highest viscosity, most stiff. Used with carbon fiber in earthquake zones to strengthen the concrete in buildings.
      • 2090 is the lowest viscosity, most flexible.
    • Application:
      • Vacuum Infusion Systems and designed with extremely low viscosity to allow resin to flow through multiple layers of fabric.
        • Note: This resin can be used as hand layup if desired but was designed for vacuum infusion with extremely low viscosity.
      • Hardener:
        • 3100 Series: Fast, Slow, XSlow, this depends mostly on ambient temp, size of the project, and desired cure time.
      • Specialty Resin Products
        • Mix Ration: by volume, 2/1; by weight 100/45
        • Products:
          • Kwik Kick:
            • The resin and hardener are designed to be used together on the surfboard hot coat. The chemical reaction between the two products is unique and was developed to keep the resin from flowing off the board (we call this B stage or gel stage). During the B stage, the epoxy is a gel and can be pushed around but tends to stay where you put it. This system has been the go-to hot coat system for a high majority of our customers for many years.
          • Surf Pro:
            • The resin and hardener is Kwik Kick 2.0 and released in 2022. We took the pros of the Kwik Kick System and improved on them slightly. What we found during our testing, the Surf Pro Series can be used not only in your hot coat, but also wets out really well during lam coat. This system is the best of both worlds since customers can buy one product line and not two.
          • Marine Pro:
            • The resin is designed for max flexibility to avoid cracks when your boat hits the bottom, rocks, beach, etc.
          • Craft Pro:
            • The resin is designed with a low viscosity to flow well across any application you may have. The key here is to select the correct hardener for the job at hand. If you are doing a tabletop, fast or slow would be the right choice based on ambient temp and size of the counter. Deep pour or castings would require XSlow pouring 1-2” max depth.

If this all seems to be confusing, simply ask and we would be more than happy to work with you to find or create the perfect solution for your application.

As always, stay safe my friends.