Epoxy adhesive

Epoxy glue or epoxy adhesive is glue that contains epoxy resin as the main ingredient. The epoxy is the resin produced by the condensation reaction in which a polyhydric compound and epichlorohydrin are reacted in the presence of alkali. Epoxy adhesive is a two component material, the epoxy resin and the hardener that will crosslink the epoxy to make a dry, hard and strong bond. The hardener is chemical that will react with the epoxy groups, including amines, thiols, hydroxides, and acid groups, but amines are the most common hardeners.

The epoxy glue is a versatile adhesive is widely used for various purposes such as: the building construction, bicycles, sports equipment, boats, decking and even the aircraft construction. Epoxy adhesive can be used to glue the glass, metal, plastic, wood, and iron. It can be made in wide range performance from the clear, transparent, to the opaque performance; it can also be formulated in an elastic or rigid, fast or slow dry. In the wood adhesive, the epoxy is widely used for outdoor furniture, boats, decking or construction. The adhesive has some advantages such as: cure at ambient temperatures, have good gap filling ability, and available to bond with many other substrates. The epoxy glue can be used to produce a bond to the wood as well as for in-place repair of the damaged wood at structural members.
But the fact that the uses of epoxy adhesive in wood adhesives is quite less. It could be caused by two factors, the price is relatively expensive and the unsatisfied bonding result. The study and test carried out to the epoxy adhesive showed high failure compared with other types of glue that is cheaper and easier to be used. Two major factors that contribute to durable wood bonds are less creep and its ability to withstand the tension caused by changes in humidity of the wood.

The more discussion about the epoxy adhesive can be found in the article; Does the epoxy adhesive strong enough?

epoxy for bamboo laminated

The tips to use the epoxy adhesive:

• The epoxy adhesive is more suitable to make the outdoor uses wood product. It is waterproof, and has high resistant to the outdoor weather. It can be used to laminate or assembly the patio furniture, garden furniture, fences, decking, boat and other outdoor wood product. The glue is expensive and considered is not suitable for the indoor furniture, plywood, barecore, m.d.f., particle and other indoor product.

• Select the proper epoxy adhesive according to the project. They are available in many forms: liquid, paste, more elastic or more rigid, longer drying or faster drying, Choose the most suitable formula according to production process and condition. 

• Prepare well the wood. The failure of the wood bonding mostly is caused by the wood problem. The wood moisture content is the main factor, make sure the wood pieces have dry enough and have uniform m.c.

• Make sure we read and follow the instruction according to the adhesive. Read the specification about the time curing, the pressure needed and the mixing ratio of the adhesives.