There’s an old, half-rotten, wooden bench out behind the center shed where we place left-over catalyzed epoxy cups and buckets to cool off before we throw them in the dumpster. The crew is quite disciplined about it as a fire prevention measure. The reaction between the resin and the catalyst produces heat and, under the right conditions, it can start a fire. The plastic mixing cups we use will actually melt to that old bench from the heat generated within that reaction. We had a dumpster fire at our Riviera Beach location twenty years ago from dumping hot epoxy and we’ve been mindful of that ever since. I pitch the cold containers into the dumpster each morning when I open the doors and, on a recent morning, I got to thinking about good ol’ epoxy. What would the modern boatyard be without it?
Before the advent of
