You may have heard of “epoxy” or “5 minute epoxy” and wondered what it is, what it’s used for, and whether or not it can help you with your concrete repair project. You’ve come to the right place! Before we get into that, let’s cover some basics about epoxy.
Epoxy is an adhesive. In other words, it glues things together. It’s made from two parts: a resin and a hardener. When the two parts are mixed together, they will cure (harden) into a plastic-like material that is extremely strong, durable and resistant to chemicals.
5 minute epoxy refers to the time frame in which you have to work with it before it begins hardening on its own: five minutes!
Does epoxy stick to concrete?
The glue that you are using is known as epoxy and it is a type of polymer. Polymer means it is made up of different types of materials.
When the two components are mixed together, a chemical reaction occurs that hardens the material and bonds both surfaces together. This can be used to create a strong seal between any two materials.
Some important things to know about epoxy:
- It creates an extremely strong bond that is durable and waterproof.
- It will stick to nearly anything including glass, metal, wood, tile, and concrete, making it useful for all kinds of projects around your home or in the garage.
Table of Contents
What is 5 minute epoxy used for?
Five minute epoxy is a wide adhesive that can be used for a variety of projects, including mending cracks in concrete, other materials, and woodworking. It can also be used to repair broken items, fill gaps in metal, and complete home projects.
Five minute epoxy is even used in art projects and industrial applications.
The most popular use of five minute epoxy is its ability to mend cracks in concrete. Concrete is made up of cement paste that glues together sand and gravel to form rock-like masses or structures. The cement paste contains about 15 percent cement and 85 percent water.
As the water evaporates from the paste, the glue hardens over time into a solid state called hydration products. These products are what hold the sand and gravel together tightly as one mass of rock-like material known as concrete.
How strong is Devcon 5 Minute Epoxy?
Devcon 5 minute epoxy is a very strong product that can be used to fill cracks in concrete or bond things to concrete. Once you mix the two components, it hardens in only five minutes. After the epoxy has dried, the surface can easily be painted and will not shrink.
How long does it take for 5 minute epoxy to fully cure?
The good news is that epoxy hardens within five minutes. The bad news is that this doesn’t mean it’s cured yet. Epoxy will fully harden in seven to ten hours, depending on temperature and other conditions around you.
If you are impatient (who isn’t?), there’s a workaround for speeding up the cure time: heat the epoxy mixture using warm water or a heating pad, which can reduce cure time by as much as half.
Another way to improve the curing process: do not mix the epoxy with cold water, as doing so will increase your cure time to over 24 hours!
Will epoxy fill cracks in concrete?
In general, epoxy is not a good choice for filling cracks in concrete. It is difficult to work with and provides no additional benefits over other fillers (in fact, in some cases it’s worse). You should use concrete putty instead.
You can use epoxy if you have a very small crack or hole that needs to be filled, but this isn’t usually the ideal solution because there are better options available (concrete putty).
If your cracks are bigger than 1/2-inch wide, then go with concrete putty instead.
If you’re wondering whether or not you can fill large holes with epoxy – the answer is yes! You’ll need multiple applications though because epoxy doesn’t spread as well as other materials do.
How do you apply epoxy to concrete?
How to apply epoxy to concrete:
- Scrape away any loose debris that may be present in the area you’re trying to repair. This could include bits of loose pieces of concrete, dirt, or broken shards of glass.
- Clean the area with soap and water, then allow it to dry. If there’s flaking cement, use a wire brush to remove it and loosen the surrounding soil.
- Mixing your epoxy is an important step! Stir your two-part epoxy in its canister for at least three minutes before transferring it into another container that makes it easier for you to pour over the affected area. A cup or bowl should do just fine (just don’t forget to add some wax paper underneath so you can avoid making a mess). Use your mixing stick again once all parts have been combined together—it’s best if everything gets mixed thoroughly for about another minute before being applied onto anything else!
- Pour some more wax paper into another bowl or cup before pouring out enough epoxy from one container onto this new surface so that there will be enough coverage if needed later on during application time later on down the road when working with different types of surfaces like wood floors vs tile floors etc.. And voila! You’ve got yourself a fresh batch ready for use next time around too 😉
How good is 5 minute epoxy?
It is not good for concrete. The set time of epoxy can vary depending on the product/environment it is used in and I am sure there are some epoxies that would work well on concrete, but in general 5 minute epoxy will not.
5 minute epoxy is too brittle for use on concrete and will chip or break off after a short amount of time. Not only that, the epoxy will not even stick very well to the concrete since the bond strength of this product is poor. It doesn’t matter how quickly you can apply it if it won’t last!
While 5 minute epoxy may not be great for concrete, it does work extremely well for metal, wood, glass, and plastic applications. This material dries hard, so if you need to drill or sand the surface after curing you definitely want to make sure your surface can handle it!
How hard is 5 minute epoxy?
Here’s what you need to keep in mind: Although 5 minute epoxy sets up pretty fast, it doesn’t mean it is fully cured. The material will become hard within 5 minutes but the full cure happens in 24 hours. Until then, you still have a bit of time to make changes and clean the surfaces if needed.
Afterward, there is no way to make any changes unless you use sandpaper on the epoxy which will make your project look ugly. Therefore, be sure that everything is okay before allowing the epoxy to dry and cure.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has helped you decide if epoxy is the right option for your concrete repair. If you’ve decided to move forward with epoxy, we recommend grabbing a tube of Rust-Oleum Heavy Duty Epoxy Quick-Set Repair.
It’s an easy to use, 100% solids epoxy that dries in about 15 minutes. In addition to filling and sealing cracks in concrete, it can also be used to repair spalls and holes.
If your concrete needs more than just a quick fix, our favorite is Rust-Oleum Leak Seal. It can be applied in one coat without requiring a trowel or brush application and will cure within 24 hours so that you can get back to using your repaired surface as soon as possible.
