Have you ever wondered how strong an epoxy joint really is?  The following picture tells the tale.


What are we looking at?  This is a cheap plastic cup that I buy at the grocery store for mixing epoxy.  When I'm done with a batch there is usually a little bit of mixed epoxy in the bottom.  Also, sometimes there can be small leaks in the bottom of the cup (heat and/or vigorous mixing and cheap plastic).  When I'm done I set the cup down on the cement floor overnight until the left over epoxy cures and is safe to throw away.  This cup leaked a bit more than most.

The epoxy leaked out the bottom and bonded with the concrete floor.  The bond was so strong that I couldn't break it free with my hand.  So I started kicking at it.  You see the cracks in the plastic.  But it didn't crack anyplace that was covered with epoxy.  When I finally broke the cup free of the floor, the concrete stayed with the plastic.  The Epoxy bond didn't break - the concrete broke.  The plastic that had epoxy on both sides didn't break either.  The parts of the cup with epoxy on only one side didn't crack.

Epoxy is amazing stuff.

        

 

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