Epoxies are one of an MRO technician’s best friends. Just as many people use duct tape to fix or reinforce anything around the house, a maintenance technician can repair, rebuild and restore just about any damaged part in a manufacturing facility with a good epoxy.

When fully cured, a good epoxy can be drilled, tapped, sanded or machined, as well as painted.

A variety of strong, filled epoxies are available to meet any repair need, but the effectiveness of any multipart epoxy is preparation.

Follow these five tips when working with epoxies in order to get the best results:

• Thorough mixing of epoxies in the proper ratio is critical to their performance. When possible, the complete containers of epoxy and hardener should be mixed at one time. Keep in mind, however, that larger masses of material will cure faster.

• Continue to mix the epoxy and hardener until the product is free from streaks or other variances. Failure to mix the components thoroughly will result in soft spots.

• Monitor the temperature. The higher the temperature, the faster the cure.

• Prior to epoxy application, ensure that the surface is dry, clean and abraded to provide a profile in which the epoxy can take hold.

• If creating a mold with an epoxy, coat the mold surface with a silicone lubricant or other release agent before adding epoxy.

This article provided by Loctite Corporation, a manufacturer of proprietary high-performance engineering adhesives, sealants, coatings and chemical brand-name specialties. For more information, visit www.loctite.com.

Back to top

Back to Uptime archives