Epoxy Vs Polyester

[WtGreg]

I am in need of opinions from anyone with experience with these resins. I use them a lot for projects I have going on here and there. In working with them, I usually know immediately what would work best under whichever situations. This time, I am just not sure...

I have a 4x5x3 wood enclosure for my burms. Right now I have reduced to one (see how long that lasts lol) and this gives me an opportunity to do something I have planned on doing for a long time; refinish the wood. I have not used these resins on a snake cage of this size, or any snake cage for that matter. I worry about strength, brittleness, cleaning, and so forth. The plan is to round out the now-square edges and then refinish with one of the resins for a nice, thick coat. So, simply, what is the recommendation between these two and, just as important, why?

 

[marsell]

I would say an epoxy resin would work better. Although more expensive it would bond better, allow less water absorption, and won't "crack" as much, if at all. I have never used either in an application of this sort so follow up posts as to your progress would be greatly appreciated. Keep us updated.

 

[WtGreg]

Marsell: I was thinking the same, especially with the cracking-prone brittleness of polyester, but wasn't sure of others experiences. Unfortunately I won't be tackling this for a little longer than I expected due to the temps going just low enough now to conflict with good application. When I do it, though, I will post a follow up for how it works and then any pertinent updates if it fails or problems arise.

The costs will be more since the cage is so big, but I need to redo the cage and round out the corners anyways, so all in all it would be just part of the process and a time saver from wood sealers.

 

[mxracer4life]

I have been building wooden cages for boas for a long time. What I have always done is sanded the wood really well, apply whatever kind of stain I am going for then use MINWAX polyurethane. I have found that many thin coats work better than a couple thick coats. One of the cages I built a long time ago is still being used today and has been working great. The problem I have ran into is the type of wood changes how well the poly will seal. For instance, a good quality, sanded wood seals a lot better than standard plywood. Just my .2 cents. Hope it helps.

 

[WtGreg]

MXracer: Thank you for the info. That is what I have done in the past and on this cage, so that is actually the base I am going to be sanding down and coating over with the epoxy. I used the same brand and everything. I plan on keeping the walls with the same coating, possibly even re-coating when I tackle the project, but I want something more on the floor.
What problems have you had with plywood? I have used plywood mostly without problems. The problem I found with plywood is that it can split and separate if used with a heating device, like a good heatpad. That was not a problem with the poly's sealing though, rather the wood.

 

[mxracer4life]

Well, the wood cracking is one thing. More or less I have just seen better results with the sealing when using a good quality plywood. The better quality plywood is stronger on the ends, seals better at the joint. The cheaper stuff I would sand down with a belt sander, poly it and I would still have problems with wood cracking, or water seeping out if a bowl was spilled. Do you know what I mean by the cheap and the good plywood? Like at lowes you got your, I think its called C grade plywood, which is standard building plywood, maybe $17 a sheet, then it goes up in better quality. I use something in between. I am building a cage now. I am using 6' by 12'' shelving board for the top, sides and back, stained with poly. The bottom will be made out of either shelving board covered with linoleum, counter top or melamine shelving for ease of cleaning and making it more water resistant. Haven't decided yet. I know linoleum can be a pain to clean if you get something cheap.

 

[mxracer4life]

Let me take that back. I am going to use laminate flooring for the bottom of the cage. Cheap, easy to clean and looks great. I will keep you posted.

 

[WtGreg]

I have seen people using the laminate flooring with problems when they get the textured kind. Watch out for the textures with deeper imprints, or designs that create undercuts into themselves. Let us know how that works! I may need to re-consider that approach to my project.

 

[mxracer4life]

I have already been through that problem, very diffucult to clean. I am going for the smooth, wood floor type laminate. It will look good, found some cheap and it will be water proof and easy to clean. Like wiping off a counter top is what I am going for. I will keep you updated. With it as cold as it is here though it has slowed down my cage building. I may move my project into the house, lol.

 

[polasian]

...but I want something more on the floor.

How about putting a thin strip of plexi glass, at least on the floor? Anytime I've built wooden caging, I attached 1/4 plexi on all the interior walls. Its a lot easier to clean and I never had to worry about what the wood would do in such a hot/wet environment.

Since you'll probably have the floor covered with substrate...plexi wont be noticeable. Even if you decide to put plexi on ALL the interior...other then some extra glare, the aesthetics shouldn't suffer

Either way, good luck and be sure to post pics when your done.

 

[mxracer4life]

I thought about that but decided against it. This is the last cage I am builiding for awhile, long while and I want it to be perfect. The laminate I found is going to be easier to cut/install then plexiglass and cheaper. It looks good too, like hardwood flooring, just haven't decided on color yet. I appreciate the advise, but plexiglass is so much harder to cut and get perfect straight edges on I decided against it.

 

[polasian]

This is the last cage I am builiding for awhile, long while and I want it to be perfect.

Absolutely...if your gonna do it, do it right, I agree!

When you guys are done...please post pics...I really want to see how these cages come out

 

[Chris_Harper2]

I am in need of opinions from anyone with experience with these resins.

The main reasons why I would choose epoxy resin instead of a polyester is due to the greater clarity and flexibility compared to even a high end polyester. Great clarity means it just flat out looks better and the flexibility means it is less likely to develop "crazing", or micro cracks on the surface.

There are some polyesters that are very clear, however.

Some will compare the two and say polyester is cheaper but really it needs a thicker dry mil thickness than epoxy so the cost savings is lost.

Other advantages to epoxy are the greater adhesive properties, overall better strength and less moisture permability.

Epoxy resin has a much more tolerable odor than polyester but also is more likely to cause exposure allergies than polyester.

Do I understand you're applying this over a previously applied polyurethane topcoat? If the polyurethane was oil-based then you might have adhesions problems, although an epoxy will bond better to a cured oil-based poly finish than a polyester.

I would sand the polyurethane finish off or at least get it really scuffed up to encourage a stronger bond.

What sort of epoxy will you be using? If you're planning on one of the bar top epoxies do understand that these go on very thick which does make them very expensive. But the peace of mind of a thicker finish, at least for the floor, might be what you're looking for.

For reference, bartop epoxies are generally poured at about 120 mil thickness. It is very difficult to pour them to 60 mil thickness, although there are some tricks if you want to try this.

A marine epoxy resin can waterproof at plywood fish tank at as little as 10 mil dry thickness so they actually end up being cheaper. But again you might want that greater thickness anyways.

 

[mxracer4life]

Here is some pictures of the cage I stained and sealed.