ggimlick

I'm battling some allergies that seem to have finally included epoxy. I've been allergic to CA for years and tried various brands but have been reduced to using a respirator with gloves and exhaust fans when I try it. The same has now happened with epoxy and I'd like to find out what others have tried in lieu of 5 minute epoxy.

I've heard of guys using PFM, but it doesn't seem that would be good for things like joining wing panels, etc.

Anyway, got any ideas?

banktoturn

ggimlick,

Aliphatic resin, also known as wood glue, is my choice. I use it whenever I can. A popular brand is Tite-Bond. Tite-Bond II is also waterproof, which may not be necessary, but can't hurt. Aliphatic resin needs a bit more drying/curing time than epoxy before you can put any stress on the joint. All of these glues are stronger than the wood you are gluing, so strength is not an issue.

Good luck,

banktoturn

Ptarmigan

Wood glue would work. You can try using superglue as well. Its strong. Epoxy can be messy.

Lynx

Look around at light industrial suppliers, they should carry some sort of varied supply of epoxies, I doubt you're allergic to all of them, they don't all use the same chemistry. If however your allergies are growing switching to any of these products is liable to eventually form a new allergy, as if they're getting worse you're probably one of those unfortunate people that just has a hyper active immune system. I'd actually suggest talking to your doctor to see if there are any drugs out there that can lesson your susceptibility to these kinds of reactions.

hebertjj

Polyurethane glue: not as fast as 30 min epoxy, but expands to fill gaps and is kicked off by water. Try Elmers ProBond PolyU or TiteBond's ( I think ) GorillaGlue.

Also, Elmer's ProBond carpenter's glues is a particularly fast drying alaphatic.

ggimlick

Thanks for the thoughts and suggestions.

I do use mostly aliphatic resins, Pica Gluit being my favorite so far, but have used Titebond as well. The main problem comes up when dealing with some of the ARF's that involve gluing wood to fiberglass and that's the main epoxy use.

Yes it's accurate to say I have a hyper-active immune system (I have multiple sclerosis) and the allergies are being monitored on an almost weekly basis by doctors. I don't think they can add any more drugs to the routine, nor am I big on adding them.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

Take care,
Greg