AEROPOXY From PTM&W Industries - Review

General Composites Discussions Articles and Tutorials
#1

Aeropoxy is an aircraft grade epoxy. Mixing ratio is 3/1 by volume or 4/1 by weight. This particular epoxy has excellent bonding quality but it also has its drawbacks.

The epoxy is thinner than most of the other stuff that I have tried. Pot life is very long (just over an hour) so you have plenty of time to work with. Cure time at room temperature, however, is extremely long. I found myself waiting up to 5 days for it to completely cure at time. Raising the temperature did help.

Another drawback is the slight amber in coloration. It also states on the label that this epoxy is not completely clear.

Overall, this epoxy is very strong and bonds great. I would use it with reinforcement layers but not as the top layer. The epoxy also has a small amount of wax property within so be sure to rinse that off before you do any sanding.

#2

I am currently trying the aeropoxy, and I agree with the slow cure time. I’m also having a horrible time getting it to release. Perhaps the bonding properties are too good. Has anyone else had this problem?

#3

Same here. The bonding property is extremely high. I actually ruined one of my mold thinking that parting wax was enough.

#4

Matt,

Next time try the laminating resing from PTM&W with the PTM&W label. I spoke with them at the Composites 2003 convention this week and they said that the Aeropoxy is just something that they labeled for the aerospace industry. I have the PTM&W laminating resin right now and the mixing ratio is 100:17 (weight) instead of the 3:1 volume from the Aeropoxy.

Evan

#5

Hello,
I’ve found many distributors of Aeropoxy but all seem to be out of Florida and charge me an exorbitant hazmat fee.
I really wanted to use Aeropoxy because I looked up many epoxies online and it seemed to have the highest tensile elastic modulus, according to PTM&W’s website.
Does anybody know of a distributor that doesn’t charge hazmat, or is in north Florida?
Can anyone recommend a very high modulus laminating resin with documentation? The doc part is helpful for when I write the paper on my project.
I’m fabricating 21 flow turning vanes 6’ long, c=6.18" for our newest wind tunnel. I need them to be as ‘stiff’ as possible so that the acoustic energy from our 350hp fan doesn’t cause them to resonate(shake and then explode)
Thanks

#6

PTM&W is about 20 mins away from here. If you need some let me know I can get it. Just let me know what quantity you are looking for.

Evan