Epoxy adhesive. Instruction for domestic use

The name of this glue is known to everyone, but how to use it, alas, few. His old, still Soviet, epoxy adhesive EAE passed him widely. And any of the inhabitants of the present CIS, who are more than twenty years old, heard about him and "knows" that they can glue anything. Meanwhile, when it comes to practice, it is not easy to find instructions on how to apply epoxy glue. On this subject, there is a lot of advertising and almost nothing concrete. The purpose of this article is to provide exhaustive information about what epoxy glue is used for. Instructions on how to prepare and use it will also be given.

Sphere of application of epoxy resins

Epoxy resins are, as a rule, viscous liquids that harden under the action of hardeners. It is this quality, multiplied by the high strength and the possibility of processing after drying, allows using them as epoxy adhesive, impregnating material, waterproofing and filler for casting in the mold.

Household use and instructions

Impregnation of fiberglass is a rather complicated process, requiring special preparation and experience, and therefore this topic is beyond the scope of the article on household use of epoxy. We will describe the most common cases where epoxy glue can be used in domestic conditions.

Glue

First, let's talk about using it in the form of glue itself. As already mentioned, epoxy glue is two-component and consists of resin and hardener. In order to glue together, you need to mix both components in a ratio of ten to one. This combination is considered optimal, but, in principle, it is permissible and 5/1. The components are mixed until a homogeneous mass is obtained, after which an irreversible solidification process begins. The fluidity of the composition depends on its temperature and can persist for an hour and a half. During this time, it is necessary to apply epoxy adhesive to the prepared parts and connect them. The complete drying of it occurs, as a rule, in twenty-four hours. To prepare a mixture weighing several grams, it is not important to keep clear proportions and temperatures, but if you need to prepare a large volume, then you should follow specific rules.

First, before mixing, the resin needs to be heated (in a water bath) to sixty degrees, and in no case should water be allowed to enter or overheat. In both cases it will "boil" (it will be covered with foam, it will be cloudy) and become unusable. Then, very slowly, gradually, while stirring all the time, a hardener is added to the container. Since the reaction causes a temperature rise, it makes sense to cool the resin a little before this step.

Mold filler

The resin is well cast into the prepared forms. The parts thus obtained can be machined. In this capacity, epoxy adhesive is often used, for example, by modelers. The rules for preparing the mixture are the same as described above. To obtain a certain color of the product, a dye can be added to the resin, and a plasticizer can be added to increase plasticity.