STAR Distributing
Wood Restoration and Refinishing Products

10 Reasons to use Smith & Co. Epoxy
(As opposed to Other Brands)

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  1. Others: Mixes five to one, ratio critical. Must be within two percent according to manufacturer. Ten percent off one way or the other gives VERY degraded properties.
    Smith & Co: Mixes one-to-one, entirely forgiving of minor errors in ratio, Ten percent one way or the other and you'll never know the difference.

  2. Others: Short working time, mix a bunch and it goes off HOT, smoking toxic fumes.
    Smith & Co: LONG working time, in excess of an hour. No fireballs. No smoking.

  3. Others: Won't reliably glue oak [random acids in the wood] or teak, other oily hardwoods. Their applications people admit this.
    Smith & Co: Not affected by acids in oak or other acidic woods. Not affected by natural wood oils, and no special solvent cleaning, etc., needed. Just saw-cut and sand to remove any surface saw-glaze, and glue it.

  4. Others: Famous for its "blush", an oily film formed by exudation of plasticizers [diluents] out of the resin system as it cures. This “blush” must be sanded or chemically clean off to get anything to stick.
    Smith & Co: Doesn't blush because we don't use cheap ingredients such as benzyl alcohol.

  5. Others: Very brittle.
    Smith & Co: Not brittle. Test for yourself: Pour a puddle of theirs and some of my glue on a piece of clean polyethylene such as a plastic bag. Let them both cure, say, two days at a comfortable room temperature. Peel off the polyethylene sheet, so you have a thin puddle of epoxy. Hold between your thumbs and forefingers, and bend the puddle until it breaks. Notice how theirs breaks like a piece of glass, even with splinters flying up in the air [wear eye protection...this is dangerous.] Notice how mine bends farther and breaks cleanly.
    Which do you think is a better match to the properties of wood, a flexible substance?

  6. Others: Made with petrochemicals and diluents [benzyl alcohol, cannot dissolve natural wood oils.
    Smith & Co: Made largely with natural wood resins, which is why it is so compatible with all kinds of wood. Contains no diluents or extenders.

  7. Others: Contains "hydroxybenzene", a clever way of camouflaging the fact that it is really made with Phenol [the correct name of "hydroxybenzene"]. Phenol is a POISON, and easily absorbed through the skin. As little as two grams of phenol has proven LETHAL. Here's an MSDS for Phenol: http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/PH/phenol.html
    Smith & Co: Contains none of that stuff.

  8. Others: Their formula limits the thickness of the glue to one choice. Fillers must be added to thicken. This limits the gap filling properties of a clear glue joint.
    Smith & Co: The products are made so the user can match the viscosity of the epoxy to the job without the need to use fillers. Our epoxy ranges from water thin to peanut butter thickness. Of course the usual thickening agents can be used like the other epoxies should the application require thickening.

  9. Others: Their web site advises against thinning their epoxy. A 10% thinning with acetone will create a 70% degradation of molecular bond. In addition clear coating with thinned epoxy will create microscopic pinholes in the coating as the solvent escapes before full cure. These holes nullify the intent of clear coating. On top of this is the “blush” to be removed.
    Smith & Co: Using CPES as a sealer under paint or varnish gives a more reliable bond. For a full moisture barrier, High Build Epoxy Paint remains flexible and can be sanded for recoating with any paint. The same properties associated in the epoxy glue are also incorporated in the epoxy paint. This allows a seamless chemical match from start to finish.

  10. Others: Their formula requires full cure before any additional coatings can be applied. Remember to remove that blush!
    Smith & Co: The no blush formulation allows recoating during the semi-cured stage to assure a chemical bond instead of a mechanical bond. A chemical bond is stronger. A semi-cured coating can be faired using a rag soaked in Epoxy Clean Up Solvent. This quality removes the time usually required to grind and sand between layups or paint layers.

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This article written by Steve Smith ©2002, All rights reserved.