polyethene resin?

[Timothy L]

What are the pros and cons of a 5’ sub hull made with “polyethene resin in silicon rubber moulds”? This is a quote from a manufacturer and I’m not sure if the spelling is correct. If I’m searching the right material, it would suggest it’s good for highly detailed hulls? Apparently it is not the same thing as epoxy resins? The only resin material I am familiar with is the west system epoxies and FG that I’ve used on wood hulls. Thank you.

[redboat219]

Are you sure it's not POLYESTER or POLYURETHANE resin?
AFAIK, Polyethlene which is a thermoplastic, is what they make plastic bags and bottles(PET) out of by injection molding or extrusion.

[JHapprich]

As Romel said.

Maybe it's a fancy new "flexy-sub". Translation issue with product from PRC?

[Timothy L]

Gentlemen, to answer your questions I really don’t know if it’s a misspelling or what. I can tell you that it’s not a translation problem. I don’t know if it should’ve been polyurethane or polyethylene or any other chemical description. This is an area I have no background or experience with. Thank you.

[redboat219]

If it's molded in a silicone mold, it'll either be polyester, polyurethane or epoxy resin.

[Subculture]

Is this the R&R Resolution class kit?

A lot depends on the type of Polyurethane resin used, whether reinforcement has been added and what if any post-curing actions have been applied.

[Timothy L]

Thank you Subculture - it is the recent version from R&R, the HMS Repulse. it looks to be a very fine kit but I’m really unclear as to the material used for the hull - including pros and cons of the material, characteristics, glues to use etc. The online photos show an astounding amount of detail in the hull. I have just sent a message to R&R about it and he is very patient with my questions. However, since it’s such an unfamiliar material to me I wanted to get some input from anyone who has used the material or is familiar with it. I do appreciate any help. Thank you.

[Subculture]

The best person to ask is Ron Perrott. It does look like a polyurethane casting to me. The strength of polyurethane resin is good, but it can be brittle without some kind of reinforcement fibres. However there are different grades and some are quite tough and/or elastic. Cast walls can be a bit thicker than a well laid laminate, which tend to lead to bigger ballast tanks.

With regards to glues, no special requirments, you can use cyanoacrylates, epoxy and modified acrylic adhesives to bond the items together to either themselves or other materials.

[Timothy L]

Subculture - thank you. That’s very helpful. I did send a note to Ron to get more clarification - when I hear back I will share the info for future readers of this thread. Thanks again,