JB Weld epoxy- strong odor.

[Paul Taylor]

I put this in another thread but was wondering if anyone else noticed a different kind of bad odor with JB Weld  epoxy?
I normally use loctite with not as strong of odor.

This JB Weld I have to immediately dispose of the mix after use. And when I glue the doublers on the fuse I have to let is gas off in the garden shed.

[Paul Taylor]

[Steve Helmick]

Have not seen clear JB Weld epoxy like shown. I'll have to seek out some of that, 'cause I tend to like stinky stuff. Does it smell like Nitro Benzine, by chance?    Steve

[Paul Taylor]

Have not seen clear JB Weld epoxy like shown. I'll have to seek out some of that, 'cause I tend to like stinky stuff. Does it smell like Nitro Benzine, by chance?    Steve

Nothing like Nitro. Or Castor. I like the smell of a fuel soaked rag.

This stuff is at Lowe’s.  My smeller got damaged from a mild bout of Covid last year. I’m just getting it back and I somethings I can’t smell and some I can. I can’t smell a fart but this glue must be bad if I can smell it. 🤣

[Brett Buck]

Nothing like Nitro. Or Castor. I like the smell of a fuel soaked rag.

This stuff is at Lowe’s.  My smeller got damaged from a mild bout of Covid last year. I’m just getting it back and I somethings I can’t smell and some I can. I can’t smell a fart but this glue must be bad if I can smell it. 🤣

    I note that the filler in many consumer epoxies (inert material to make the mix 1:1 or so, instead of the 16:1 or 32: 1 it would otherwise be) is apparently *castor oil*, which may explain it. That;'s also why trying to speed it up by using more "hardener" is a bad idea.

      Brett

[Paul Taylor]

    I note that the filler in many consumer epoxies (inert material to make the mix 1:1 or so, instead of the 16:1 or 32: 1 it would otherwise be) is apparently *castor oil*, which may explain it. That;'s also why trying to speed it up by using more "hardener" is a bad idea.

      Brett

This stuff doesn’t smell like any castor I have ever smelled. 🤣

But speaking of smelly castor, reminds me of my friend Arlan and his fuel castor mix. He once bought some pure castor from a beauty supply place. That was some of the nicer smelling jugs of fuel. Ran good too. 🤣

[Arlan McKee]

I have to agree with Steve. I use epoxy at work as well as with models and the stuff that really stinks seems to be superior to the low odor kinds.
As far as what Brett said about castor oil in the mix, I always thought that castor oil was used to adjust the working time of the epoxy and I never considered that it could be the primary filler component. We all have observed that the shorter the working time, the more flexible the glue is when cured. I assumed this was achieved with castor oil.
Paul, that wasn't Beauty store castor, but close. Twenty years ago I was buying Castor in 5 gallon buckets for $15 a gallon from a company that supplies small soap/shampoo/conditioner/lip balm/body oil companies. Castor oil is classified as a "fixed oil" and is used in many cosmetics and as such has to be pure, first press castor. It is as good as castor oil gets. Their prices have skyrocketed in the past decade and I'm glad I bought alot back when it was cheap.

[Motorman]

Any 5 minute epoxy I ever used had a strong smell to it. Don't know why but probably the hardener.


MM

[Dave Hull]

Paul,

The MSDS for JB Weld 5-minute Epoxy says that it has an “ammoniacal odor.” Sounds like a combination of demons and maniacs? Perhaps a demon drinking ammonia straight up?

Epoxy resin (45%):

     p-tert-butylphenyl 1-(2,3-epoxy)propyl ether  2.50%

Hardener Component:

     Tris-2,4,6-(dimethylaminomethyl)phenol 3.73%
     Bis(dimethylaminomethyl)phenol 0.55 %
     1-(2-Aminoethyl)piperazine  7.00%

I suspect that Giffy is onto something: the faster the cure time the stinkier the stuff seems to be in my experience. That means that the amines (and maybe the phenols?) are likely the culprits.
The MSDS says that the product has "a distinct amine odor."

Further, the MSDS says that if you use the stuff, you have to take off your shoes, socks and pants afterwards. They say you can just wash the shoes, but you have to throw the pants out…. (They really get down in the weeds about washing your leather belt, watchband and other stunt accouterments. This would be a great way to get rid of those white belts and loafers….)

As far as adding castor oil to epoxy as a filler to enable a 1:1 mix ratio I've never heard that before, and kind of doubt it. But I certainly am not a chemist. The 5-minute formulations are all kind of rubbery, but there are plenty of 30-minute 1:1 epoxies that do not have that rubbery property, so....

[Perry Rose]

The catalyst for Super Fil is the strongest stuff I've ever smelled. 

[Lauri Malila]

[quote author=Dave Hull

As far as adding castor oil to epoxy as a filler to enable a 1:1 mix ratio I've never heard that before, and kind of doubt it. But I certainly am not a chemist. The 5-minute formulations are all kind of rubbery, but there are plenty of 30-minute 1:1 epoxies that do not have that rubbery property, so....
[/quote]

That’s interesting, my experience of quick epoxies is that they often become too hard and brittle. Maybe the rubbery end result is due to improper mixing?
Remember that there are good epoxies, bad epoxies and then there is the hobby shop epoxies that are in the lower end of quality.
I don’t really understand the 5-minute epoxies, especially in workshop use. It’s easy to warm up the workpiece a little (hot blanket, lightbulb, warm air..) and get a much better result with a slower epoxy in almost the same time.
From all the hobby/hardware store epoxies, I think the 2 best are UHU Endfest 300 and West G-Flex.
The UHU is nice as it even says in the instructions that you can manipulate the final hardness & heat resistance with the mixing ratio. Less hardener = harder and higher heat resistance. More hardener = more elasticity. L

[jerry v]

The best epoxy is 24 hour epoxy. To speed up the curing time typically used the phosphoric acid H3PO4. More acid-faster cure time. Acid cause skin and breading problems. But we drink it - it’s the part of soda to kill bacteria )) For better flexibility in epoxy can be added plasticizer up to 15 percent. SPI sales all kinds of it. Plasticizer mostly used in F2D combat props.

Jerry

[Jim Svitko]

The catalyst for Super Fil is the strongest stuff I've ever smelled.

Agreed.  That ammonia smell is very strong.  But it will not stop me from using it since it is a very good product.

[Massimo Rimoldi]

Paul,

As far as adding castor oil to epoxy as a filler to enable a 1:1 mix ratio I've never heard that before, and kind of doubt it. But I certainly am not a chemist. The 5-minute formulations are all kind of rubbery, but there are plenty of 30-minute 1:1 epoxies that do not have that rubbery property, so....

It will probably surprise you but many epoxy resins are obtained from castor oil.

Just as an example    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142941823000971

The fact that some remain more "rubbery" or "sticky" on the surface usually depends on specific characteristics of the various resin-hardener systems (assuming they are used correctly); not "all" 5-minute are rubbery
However, especially in the industrial field, a single resin can usually be combined with various hardeners and mixing ratios (and vice versa) to achieve different application and/or performance characteristics.

Massimo

[Dave Harmon]

The catalyst for Super Fil is the strongest stuff I've ever smelled.

That's for dang sure!!!

Everyone just be sure to never use any 'P B Blaster' penetrating oil.
If you get any of that stuff on you....you will have to stay outside for a month until it wears off....can't wash it off.
This stuff stinks sooooo bad....much worse that Super Fil...or anything else!!