You are correct, the Pettit Rep was trying to sell me something. But his experience with the insurance company, maybe just one company, came from his previous life as a big boat repair guy. I think they key bit of info I picked up from his story was that the epoxy resin supposedly made a stronger repair. So I don't want to report my story wrong or try to influence folks one way or another, it is possible that the insurance company was wrong.
Please tell us more about your experience with polyester resins. I have heard that they are a lot cheaper than epoxy resin and good to?use for large?projects. I have not noticed them for sale at my favorite haunts, but I haven't looked for them. I don't know where to look for them or who the?best manufacturers and suppliers?are. Do you have a favorite and have you worked with them a lot? I also hear they smell bad and were more hazardous to work with than epoxy. Let's see, what else...this info below came from the web (Ref:?) Some of the info sounds like sales talk, other bits of the info are in line with what the Team Epoxy folks repeat.
EPOXY RESIN CHARACTERISTICS:
-Epoxy is extremely strong and has great flexural strength. Our??and??epoxy resins have a flexural strength of 17,500 psi. Our??and 400/11 epoxy resins have a flexural strength of 12,800 psi.
-Epoxy has a great shelf life. While we guarantee our epoxy resins for 6 months, you can reasonably expect the epoxy to last at least a few years properly? stored on the shelf.
-You cannot vary the cure time of epoxy resin. Epoxy resin’s cure time is determined by the hardener and the temperature. Our 300 resin with 21 hardener has a cure time of 24 hours at 70 F. Our??has a cure time of 60 minutes at 70 F. Adding more hardener will not make it cure more quickly! Too much hardener will actually make the cured epoxy rubbery. You can decrease the cure time by raising the ambient temperature around the epoxy resin. For every 10 F the temperature is raised above 70F, you can cut the cure time by 10%. However, don’t raise the temperature over 100 F.
-A gallon of epoxy generally costs slightly more than polyester resin.
-Epoxies like ours that are 100% solids are low to no VOC. They have a hardly any odor. Epoxy is also non-flammable.
-Epoxy cures fully when applied as a thin film, making it ideal for adhesive applications.
-Epoxy does not shrink when cured.
-Epoxy is very resistant to wear, cracking, peeling, corrosion and damage from chemical and environmental degradation.
-Once cured, epoxy is moisture resistant.
-Epoxy is not, on its own, UV resistant. Some epoxies have a UV resistant additive added to them that works moderately well. However, the best way to ensure that your epoxy doesn’t yellow or breakdown from UV rays is to top coat it with clear UV resistant urethane. Then, you will have the strength and durability of the epoxy and the UV protection of the urethane.
-Epoxy generally has a bonding strength of up to 2,000 psi.
-Epoxy will not bond to polyethylene, polypropylene, EPDM, anodized aluminum, Teflon or Tedlar.
POLYESTER RESIN CHARACTERISTICS:
-Polyester resin is brittle and prone to micro-cracking.
-The shelf life of polyester resin is about 6 months – 1 year.
-You can vary the cure time of polyester resin by adding more or less of MEKP catalyst.
-Polyester resin generally costs slightly less than epoxy resin.
-Polyester off-gases VOCs and has strong, flammable fumes.
Polyester resin does not cure well as a thin film, so it doesn’t work well as an adhesive.
-The larger the pour, the more polyester resin shrinks when cured.
-Polyester resin is UV resistant and does not need to be top coated to prevent yellowing or degradation from sunlight.
-Once cured, polyester resin is water permeable, meaning water can pass through it eventually.
-The bonding strength of polyester resin is generally less than 500 psi.