PC 7 Paste Epoxy
Posted By RichC on May 24, 2005
In keeping with “Desultory” … I’m posting something out of the blue.
This weekend I had a couple guys over working on my daughters VW Jetta TDI. We had the intake manifold off and realized after installing that one of the ‘non-essential’ bolt holes was oversize or stripped. (just holds the plastic noise cover in place) Not having a helicoil to fit, I decided to try some PC 7 Paste Epoxy.
I’ve used many different brands of epoxy adhesives over the years preferring them for most repairs over any other adhesive type. From my sailing days (and aviation), I’m familiar with the West System products for large scale projects are hard to beat, but I have found I like keeping the tubes of JB Weld in my tool box. These work great for close fitting pieces and for parts you are not going to be reworking … especially the tube JB Weld liquid type epoxy.
The PC 7 and I suppose the other brands of ‘paste’ and ‘putty’ epoxies are a bit different. First the container is a really nice sized for the ‘once in a while’ toolbox use. The part A and B products stay ‘paste-like’ for a long period of storage time and being in a durable all in one container makes it nice. The caps that seal the ends are just like 35mm film canisters and make resealing and popping off each end really easy. The paste is very firm and can be ‘mashed’ together with a screwdriver or stiff putty knife. (I prefer using an old screwdriver as you can dig the paste out of the containers easily) I thing that the product is a bit too stiff for tongue depressors, although if you were careful they would probably work fine.
The beauty is that the paste fills any void and can be work and packed very slowly. The product (PC7) does not harden for a long while. It does start to stiffen after about an hour but will not turn machineable for at least 24 hours. The repair went perfect and the stud is as tight and firm as new.
For a second test I thought I would try the stiff paste on something that I would normally used the liquid epoxy. I am adhering a rubber pad back on the bottom of a steel wedge. The only requrement is that the rubber pad stays in place even if wet. So far so good. The key is to spread the paste as best you can over the surface and then clamp with heavy pressure. In my case I used a vice to force the adhesive to bond with both faces. So far so good … but I did notice that the leftover I had on a piece of paper stuck very well.
Give the PC7 Paste epoxy a try … it will stay in my tool box.
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