Alumilite Explains: The Science Behind Yellowing Epoxy

Have you been wondering why epoxy yellows after time? What the difference is between UV-resistant epoxy and regular epoxy?

Wonder no more! This new Alumilite Explains video will teach you not only why epoxy yellows but best practices to slow down the time it takes for your clear coat to change.

Have more questions you'd like answers to? Let us know in the comments below!
---------------

✨ Our Socials ✨

[amsbeats]

Insanely informative and honest from a company with an incentive to do kind of the opposite. Many thanks!

[ecopoxy]

Good job Jordan. Not only did you cover an important topic but you did it in an interested and informative way. I like your teaching style. Jack Maendel, CEO, EcoPoxy

[jencstephens]

I really appreciate these educational videos. They are very helpful. 😊

[daisensei]

Good short VID on the issue. One thing that also impacts is the finish. Many people finish with oils and the majority of these are already yellow in some form. Finishing in a good clear car lacquer helps in two ways, one it is a perfectly clear hard wearing finish, but it also provides additional UV protection. Nothing of course will stop the yellowing, but a good clear car lacquer can add up to another 10 years before the yellowing is noticeable on the majority of colours. A lot of people don't like the lacquer finishes due too the high gloss, but there are additives used that can give you anywhere between full gloss and flat, personally on tables I use a 30% sheen.

[TheDoctorswoodshop]

Sorry, I can't resist. Aliphatic compounds can be cyclic...like the cyclohexane you drew. Add three double bonds (essential elements for generation of free radicals) to that structure, obey Hückel's rule on aromaticity and there you have it, an aromatic compound. This chemistry is also the essence of the drying oils like walnut, tung, and linseed oil. The rest of the talk was spot on and very useful.

[annawang]

This is my new favorite info channel, doing the lords work my guy

[officialExcerpt]

This is a great explanation. You sound extremely comfortable with the material.

[naxalotl]

i often want to know something that is borderline too technical for "typical consumers" [aka "shut up and use the product we tell you for a given scenario"] and it's damned hard to find answers. this was a great summary for me

[arual]

OMG!!!... I wish you were my Chemistry Teacher ... think I would have passed the subject with flying colours!!!🤓

[gazsto]

Epoxy Resins are obviously the worst for the yellowing and free radical molecules - YES! I have seen many use Top Coats that appear to protect them, is this right? you can protect or at least delay the process with a good quality UV Top Coat I am surmising . Do Epoxy Resins break down completely and eventually become brittle or do they just go yellow?

[christianchuaedutainment]

fantastic! became smarter watching your video!

[slicksport]

I had wondered why epoxy yellowed. Thanks for the info, buddy. 👍

[catlady]

Great video on yellowing but you might want to mention the amount of time to play with the resin is drastically reduced when using the Clear Cast Plus or you for so much science. I will share this video for sure.

[martindekker]

Highly interesting and glad I purchased UV-resistant, to a degree, Epoxy. My question is for my customers how to best look after their epoxy wall art that I make and sell. Eg: Should they hang their art pieces away from direct sunlight? How to clean and keep the high gloss finish? etc Cheers Mate

[RickyBobby]

Actually the “aromatic” molecule drawn on the board is actually a cycloaliphatic one. Aromatic structures are looking alike but have double bonds between some of the Carbon bonds. It is the double bonds that is more unstable and actually breaks down and create a free radical (free electron) that wants to bond to something else

[BigJthumpalump]

Question: Since yellowing can only happen when in contact with oxygen does that mean only the surface of my epoxy countertop is yellowed? If I were to sand down the top layer that's in contact with oxygen would the layer underneath still be white?

[chelseaRiley-bvhf]

Hi, great videos! I was wondering what time frame this is on. Like how quickly projects yellow depending on the type of resin. Does it take weeks or years? In sunlight or out of sunlight? From a small business perspective I don’t want to sell products that will yellow in a short amount of time. Thanks!

[viktoroudovenko]

Thank you for a great video. Quick question: will a layer or a few layers of polycrylic sealant reduce i.e. slow down the yellowing process ?

[tsuobachi]

The solution is to make your epoxy wear sunglasses.

[blvcklistedx]

I've been having a lot of issues with fumed silica in pigmented resin bubbling up. I'd love to see one of these about thickening and thinning resin.