1. CASE 12 RESIN IN THE MARINE INDUSTRY

2. 3 MAIN RESIN TYPES Polyester Polyester Resin consists of two principal types used as standard in Laminating systems, Orthophtalic and Isophtalic Vinyl ester Is more water resistant, stronger with greater flexibility than Polyester, but with many similarities Epoxy The best heat resistance, strength, and water resistance of all the resins

3. POLYESTER RESIN Polyester is a laminating resin cured by adding MEKP Orthophtalic Polyester is an all purpose resin, Isophtalic Polyester is more water resistant and the resin used for boatbuilding Polyester is made up in a 2 step process with raw materials from coal and petroleum bases to finally form a thermosetting plastic Polyester is mixed with up to 50% styrene, a monomer to improve the resins viscosity

4. VINYL ESTER RESIN Is cured in the same manner as Polyester Vinyl ester Has many of the same traits as Polyester, it is a laminating resin, as with Polyester MEKP is the most common activator (methyl ethyl ketone peroxide) Vinyl ester has greater resistance to moisture, more flexibility, better heat resistance and toughness which gives the resin a real advantage in reducing Osmosis compared to hulls laminated from Polyester The cost of Vinyl ester is between Epoxy and Polyester

5. EPOXY RESIN Epoxy Resin cures by adding parts (A) and (B) together, (A) being the resin and (B) being the hardener, manufacturers choose a ratio for their own product which would commonly be 5:1 or 3:1 Epoxy resin will out perform other resins in terms of its strength and its resistance to environmental degradation Epoxy will cure through a range of temperatures from 5deg. to 150deg. Epoxy cures more slowly and releases less inorganic material in the process than the Ester resins

6. PURPOSE AND SUITABILITY Vinyl ester and Polyester are laminating resins used in the production boat building Industry, these resins will adhere to one another. They will not adhere well to wood Epoxy will not adhere to the ester resins however it does adhere strongly to wood Vinyl ester and Polyester are cured when a curing agent is introduced which triggers that curing process. Its addition is by a percentage of the resin volume, 1 to 2.5% As well as a laminating resin Epoxy can be mixed with various powders to change its viscosity and form a glue or filler

7. PURPOSE AND SUITABILITY Epoxy part A and B must be accurately measured for a cure to reach maximum strength Epoxy resin is used in the custom boatbuilding field to laminate racing boat hull and decks, masts, and components, often cured and vacuum bagged in an Auto clave, or vacuum infused over a hull or deck mould It is used in modern wooden boat construction to form a composite structure with wood as the core

8. HEALTH AND SAFETY The exposure to styrene in Polyester and Vinyl ester resin should be minimised and air extraction, a breathing mask, rubber gloves, a paper suit and footwear should be worn during laminating work. The flashpoint of Styrene is 32deg. Which categorizes Polyester and Vinyl ester as flammable liquids they need to be treated as such What precautions should be taken? No exposed electrical connections, Fire extinguishers at hand, no smoking, store in a dangerous goods store, be careful of spillages

9. OTHER POINTS TO REMEMBER Do not laminate using Ester resin products in an area which is not suitably designed and prepared to do so Epoxy does not pose the same health risks as Polyester and Vinyl ester however it does have its own health risks, in particular exposure may lead to epoxy dermatitis Cleanliness and organisation is the key to successful laminating work Resins are damaging to the environment, they must be used with care

10. OTHER POINTS TO REMEMBER Epoxy resins cure more slowly and release less volatile vapour than Ester resins Epoxy resin can be made to cure slowly and require heating over a particular period of time to reach full cure. This can be an advantage in some lamination work An example of this could be resin produced by adhesive technologies known as ADR which is an epoxy manufactured to be cured at a certain temperature for a set time after laminating. Resin Information