epoxy resin pigments

R

Rich Goupell

New member
I have built a skiff and in am in the process of fiberglassing it, with two part epoxy resin. I would like to color the epoxy so i dont have to paint it like i have done on other skiffs. Can I use automotive paint pigment to color the epoxy or would it react with it. thanks

Rich
 
I don't have a clue, but would like an answer too.

I built a Busick layout boat about 25 years ago, and Paul gave me a small container of battleship grey pigment. It's awesome to get the color in the epoxy so when you scratch it, it still shows grey.

Jon
 
Rich~

As Tod said, epoxy needs to be protected from UV rays (sunlight). U S Composites sells pigments - it adds about $6 per gallon of resin.

My approach is to not use pigment - so I can see (from inside the hull) where my paint might have worn through.

All the best,

SJS
 
I think there is a analysis on the West Systems website outlining the impacts on tensile strength of adding various coloring agents to epoxy and epoxy resins. I used US Composites coloring agents, mixed with a base olive drab epoxy coloring agent made by a German Co.,Myxol to tint Marine-Tex epoxy I used to fill some hull scratches on a boat I am refurbishing. Per the quoted analysis, if you hold the pigment content at less than five percent by volume you alter the epoxy paste's tensile strength when dry a very minimal amount. It does however change the viscosity of the epoxy. I am going to color the final coat of epoxy resin and biaxial cloth inside a forward storage compartment and bulkheads to cover some Kevlar layers I added to my boat on Wednesday, so I can give you some feedback on what happens when added to US Composites epoxy resin 3:1 formulation.

One other point...there aren't many compounds that are UV stable on chronic exposure. UV light degrades nearly everything it impacts, from polyester resin in gelcoat to paint coatings, as well as epoxy resin; rate of degradation is the important factor to consider.
 
I just checked...adding pigment to epoxy resin actually slows the rate of UV degradation considerably over straight clear epoxy.
 
I just ordered the Epoxy for my Zack Taylor upgrade from US Composites. I elected to go "naked" as far as colorant, or in other words-natural. The company didn't offer anything close to what I would want, and I don't want to fuss with researching and buying the colorants somewhere else.

Jon
 
I made the initial mistake of buying a 200ml Mixol colorant. It is very pigment dense "stuff", a 20ml bottle would be sufficient. I purchased red and blue 1oz. colorant bottles from US Composites to match to the TDB brown/green gelcoat. I put a three part coating of Wearlon Wetlander Marsh Brown on the running surface of the hull for abrasion protection, so all the scratch repairs are not visible. I think there was a chip in the port blind support channel that I repaired, so I will get a pic of the match.

Here is a Mixol pigment spec. sheet:http://www.sculpt.com/technotes/Tech_Sheets/MixolPaintPro.pdf

I did find it to be better to mix-up the right color match of the three pigments and then place this in a sealed container to add to the individual epoxy batches.

I should have mentioned also that the West Systems analysis found good adhesion values for many coloring agents that most would never consider adding to epoxy: http://www.westsystem.com/ss/adding-pigments-to-epoxy/
 
Thanks for the help, I used PPG automotive pigment with my epoxy, seemed like it worked well. The pigment mixed well no streaking, I will let everyone know how it turns out.

Rich Goupell
 
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