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Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer (CPES) consists of a tough, flexible resin system in a solvent blend which dissolves the sap, oil and moisture found in wood. Wood is strengthened while allowing normal expansion and contraction with changes in temperature and humidity. When repairing wood that has mild dry rot, CPES will migrate along the abnormal porosity which dry rot fungus creates within the wood, as long as it continues to be fed in. Impregnation of wood with CPES changes the cellulose of wood (which fungi and bacteria find tasty and easily digestible) into epoxy impregnated cellulose which resists further attack by fungi and bacteria while reinforcing the wood, accomplishing permanent restoration. Paint or varnish will last longer becuase the paint has a stronger chemically compatible surface to bond to.

CPES comes in both cold and warm weather formulas. The solvent blend of cold weather formula has a milder odor, as well as evaporating about six times faster. These features allow restoration work to be completed sooner and to be done in the winter when most products do not work properly.

Restoration of wood inside a house such as in a bathroom, a door threshold or the inner part of a window sill, should be done with the cold weather formula rather than the warm weather formula when the house is occupied, due to the much milder odor and more rapid solvent dissipation of this version.

The long working time (pot life) of these products mean they will retain their penetration and moisture-dissolving ability for more time. Read and follow application instructions. Keep rain or dew away from areas being treated with CPES until solvents have evaporated out of the wood. This will take at least a day and may take a week or more, depending on the extent of deterioration, how deeply the CPES soaked in and the temperature of the day and night. CPES is also a consolidant for old crumbly concrete or mortar between bricks, and is as essential component of effective osmosis blister treatment on fiberglass boats.

Examples of rot and the paths left by fungi. In order to stop rot from progressing you must not only stop the fungi that is present in areas that are visibly but also the fungi that is in solid wood adjacent to visible rot. This can be up six inches depending on the wood. Via capiliary action CPES solvents will carry the epoxy into these areas and encapsulate the fungi and make the wood in the surrounding area foul tasting to fungi. You have not only restored the wood but stopped further progess of fungi.

The Cold Weather versions of Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer was developed because there has always been a need for restoration on deteriorated wood, repair of osmosis-damaged fiberglass boats, and adhesion-promotion of sealants of coatings in cold weather as well as moderate or warm weather.

The particular kind of resins that must be used in Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer in order to obtain all its usual performance features, which have made the product famous, do not cure well below about 10 degrees centigrade and essentially stop curing by 2 degees centigrade. This problem is characteristic of that entire class of materials, and has been well known to chemists for half a century.

Early in 1991 the research staff of Smith & Co. discovered the fundamental reason why this is so, and discovered the Dual Synergistic Catalyst which makes it possible for these resins systems to develop a full and predictable cure at temperatures down to minus 2 degrees centigrade, slightly below freezing!

The entire formula was redesigned to take advantage of the new technology without sacrificing any of the existing properties or advantages. The new formulation behaves essentially the same in freezing weather as the standard formula of Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer does in moderate weather. The new formulation was designed to absorb as much water as the existing systems does from wood or osmosis-damaged fiberglass laminate, and in addition to dissolve the ice crystals that form in damp materials subjected to below-freezing conditions.

Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer will prevent freeze-thaw damage to concrete. This surprising performance was discovered by a customer in Finland and verified by the National Testing institute. Copies of the test report are available.

This product is recommended for use from 10 degree centigrade to -2 degree centigrade. Above 20 degree centigrade the solvent evaporation rate may be too fast for some applications. The Cold Weather version of Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer is furnished as two-component system which mixes some one-to-one by volume. Once mixed, it is recommended that the product be used within its"pot life", although it will be fluid for much longer.

	Temperature	Time
Pot life at	10' C	4 hours
	0' C	8 hours
Full chemical cure at	10' C	2 - 3 days
	0' C	4 - 6 days

In estimating the state of cure obtained after some time it is important to consider that the nightime temperatures are usually much less than daytime temperatures and so nighttime provides less progress towards full cure than daytime. This makes the Cold Weather version of Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer valuable when the daytime temperatures are in the 10 -15' Centigrade and night time temperatures are in the 0 - 5' Centigrade.