Epoxy resin

A two-part thermosetting resin used as an adhesive, as a coating and as the matrix of composite bodies and necks.

Epoxy cures hard when two components are mixed, and luthiers use it for jobs that need a stronger or more gap-filling bond than hide glue or aliphatic resin will give, such as setting carbon fibre reinforcement or joining composite parts. Poured or laminated with cloth it becomes the body of a composite instrument in its own right. It is commonly described as contributing a hard, glassy character, because cured resin transmits vibration differently from wood and adds very little damping. It is messy, strongly sensitising to the skin once mixed, irreversible when set and impossible to soften with heat the way a hide glue joint can be.

Example: A neck reinforced with carbon fibre under epoxy stays straight for years, and the same resin can be the entire body of a moulded composite guitar.

typical use: Adhesive, coating, composite reinforcement and moulded composite bodies.

Epoxy resin

See also